Building on a long history of west end development

By Heather Rose
Posted: 2007/11/02

LONG-ESTABLISHED builders Mactaggart and Mickel, responsible for many of the trademark tenements of Glasgow`s west end, are continuing their link with the area…

THERE is always an air of excitement when a housebuilder announces the official launch of a new development. But for Mactaggart and Mickel there is special cause to be proud of one of their newest projects. It is located in an area built almost entirely by the firm over the past century.

Gainsborough Court at Chesterfield Avenue, close to Great Western Road in Glasgow, is one of two developments Mactaggart and Mickel are launching in the west end of the city this month.

What makes these developments, so significant is the fact that almost the entire residential area has been brought into existence thanks to the skills of Mactaggart and Mickel and all the craftsmen who work with them.

One of Scotland's oldest housebuilders, the firm has its origins in the creation of elegant tenement blocks in the Hyndland area of the city, such as those edging Novar Drive, Dudley Drive and Airlie Street, homes which remain highly sought after in today's established property market.

Their building progression was to lead them to nearby Kelvinside where the build programme included family-sized terraced and semi-detached homes
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Again, these have remained highly prized in today's market, although costs have gone up considerably over the years. In the late Twenties and early Thirties Mactaggart and Mickel were advertising a new three-bedroom showhouse with tiled bathroom and kitchenette at Manchester Avenue in Glasgow's Kelvinside.

Even in that era they were stressing the financial merits of buying compared to renting. It was possible to own a five-apartment villa for a cash payment of only £50 and a total annual cost of £80, including all taxes.

That was good value compared to paying £60 to £70 a year in rent and taxes, pointed out the advertisements. It was hardly surprising that more people were stepping into home ownership and the housebuilders were playing a significant part in this growth.

By the Fifties, they were back in the west end's new homes market as well as expanding their build programmes in the south side and in Edinburgh. Bungalows and villas were under construction with flats beginning to surface not far from today's new Gainsborough Court.

As the years went by these building connections continued into the Eighties when their Ascot development blossomed near Anniesland. Into the 21st century and they were expanding the west end's residential horizons, transforming a former garage in Netherton into plush homes beside an established residential area.

Now Netherton Gate, off Netherton Road in Anniesland, is being launched, a range of two- and three-bedroom apartments and duplexes. At Gainsborough Court in Chesterfield Avenue, Mactaggart and Mickel will be building 62 homes, a selection of two and three-bedroom apartments and duplexes plus some three-bedroom townhouses.

Here they can truly claim to be happily at home in their surroundings, ensuring their buyers will appreciate the connection built up through the family firm's own generations.

As marketing co-ordinator Jenny Harvie put it: "Mactaggart and Mickel has a long association with the west end of Glasgow and constructed a large proportion of the tenements and other homes in the area. These properties will be absolutely ideal for families who have outgrown their west end flats but really don't want to move out of the area."

INFORMATION:

0141 950 2974; 0845 600 1925; www. macmic. co. uk