In April 1967, housing in Blantyre was very much at the forefront of local discussion. County Councillor Walter Cameron had some interesting news that held the attention of everybody at a Labour Party meeting that first Monday evening in April.
Walter announced that the Scottish Special Housing Association were interested in acquiring the fields of Wheatlands with the intention of building 200 homes and flats next to the existing Orlits site. Furthermore, the County Direct Labour Department were interested in tendering for a further 46 homes.
This came on the same month where clearance work at the High Blantyre Prefabs was announced, to make way for a further 350 homes already scheduled. The Labour party were instrumental in making developers aware of the need for new housing in Blantyre. With so many homes planned, it would seem that rural Blantyre was rapidly vanishing.
Pictured is Glenfruin Road, a prominent arterial road within the SSHA estate.
Featuring Blantyre Project Social Media with permission. Strictly not for use by others on or offline, our visitors said:
Catherine Newell I have lived in Portsmouth for 46 years but I previously lived in the new houses in High Blantyre at 22 Ardgour Court I was one of the first tenants on the estate my name then was Wolohan
Robert Henderson I fell of a set of garages just off glenfruin ended up in hospital for a while was on my way home from school was 7 yrs old
Kerry Tremble Kevan Loved ours 24 Glenfruin rd. My mum & dad moved there Jul 1971 until 2000. Great times growing up in the SSHA 🙌
Marion Jones My dad worked with SSHA when they built these houses my pal Helen and I used to go and see him he drove the crane .
My father, Joe Friel was not only the Site Agent, who oversaw the construction of these houses, we moved there and lived in Kintyre Road for many years. I have happy memories of the Hoolet’s Nest, when it was run by the late Margo MacDonald and Pappa Frank’s (Doon Inn).