Empty promise of golden Games
Flats in Athletes Village remain unsold despite ‘legacy’ pledge
DURING last summer’s Commonwealth Games it was home to thousands of elite sportsmen and women as well as famous visitors from around the world.
The bustling Athletes Village saw Prince Harry partying with Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge rubbed shoulders with Sir Chris Hoy.
Now, however, the accommodation complex – which was meant to be the showpiece example of the Games’ lasting legacy – now seems to be falling well short of gold medal standard.
At a cost of £150 million the village was specially constructed to ensure it could be transformed after the event into 700 new homes for sale and rent.
But, almost 250 days after the last runners and jumpers left, the Athletes Village on the banks of the Clyde resembles a partly empty building site – with some crucial work now four months behind schedule.
An investigation by The Scottish Mail on Sunday has revealed the project has been hit by significant delays – with scores of homes unfinished and unsold.
The showhome has been closed while pavements remain covered in metal fencing.
In addition Glasgow City Council last night said it was unable to give a completion date for the 120-bed care home for the elderly being constructed at the heart of the site. Instead the authority asserted it would be ready ‘later in 2015’.
One estate agent said: ‘Why so much of the Athletes Village is still unsold is a bit unclear. Maybe people with £200,000 to spend don’t want to live within a mix of social housing in the east end.
‘It certainly seems a curious way of selling new homes. ‘New house develop- ments are booming across the country. Builders can’t throw them up quickly enough.’
With building work beginning in 2011, a string of housing awards followed, as the Athletes Village was named Scotland’s ‘Best Regeneration Project’ in 2013.
The energy-efficient buildings were constructed in a way that they could be quickly transformed into family homes. Initial prices for the private homes were set at £75,000 for a one-bedroom flat and £200,000 for a four-bedroom town house.
As recently as last year, the Scottish Government’s website said: ‘Following the Games, it will undergo a refit to transform the Village into state-of-theart homes. This project
should be completed by the end of 2014.’
Four months on, all the tenants of the 400 homes for rent through three housing associations have now arrived – but only a small number of the 300 owner-occupiers have moved in. Their part of the estate is off-limits to visitors because of the volume of vehicles still working on the site.
The sales office is closed won’t re- open until the middle of next month, missing the crucial-for-sales Easter weekend.
Last week, Audit Scotland praised the Games for coming in under budget. However, its report added: ‘Evidence from the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games legacy evaluation showed that once the Games are finished, the legacy programme began having difficulties. Strong leadership is therefore crucial to ensure Glasgow 2014 does not have these difficulties.’
City Legacy, the consortium of public and private organisations in charge of the Village, acknowledge 140 of the 300 private homes remain unsold.
A spokeswoman insisted there was interest from a further 84 potential clients, who had registered for ‘early bird information’.
She said: ‘The project is not late. We have always advised customers of a move-in date of spring and summer and again we are on target as the first residents of the private homes moved in earlier this month.’
A council spokesman said: ‘Hundreds of homes at the Athletes’ Village are now occupied, with the first residents moving in from January this year, as was always anticipated after the retrofit of the 700 homes.’