In pictures: Scotland's vanishing '˜villages in the sky'

THEY were once hailed as the antidote to the country's housing problems, but over the past few decades Scotland appears to have fallen completely out of love with the high rise dwelling.
The Leith Fort multi-storey flats opened by LP D M Weatherstone in the 1960s. Picture: TSPLThe Leith Fort multi-storey flats opened by LP D M Weatherstone in the 1960s. Picture: TSPL
The Leith Fort multi-storey flats opened by LP D M Weatherstone in the 1960s. Picture: TSPL

Back in the 1960s, these ‘villages in the sky’ were seen as the homes of the future.

They were built en masse up and down the country, but were particularly popular in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.

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However, as the years rolled on, the dream began to turn sour and the multi storeys were soon associated with high levels of crime and poor standards of living.

In Glasgow, where more than 4000 high rise homes were built, the Hutchesontown flats at the Gorbals were among the first to be demolished in 1993.

Since then, dozens more have toppled in Glasgow and elsewhere, with local councils now committed to the wholesale demolition of the post-war tower blocks.

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