Milton is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

in the Scottish city of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, situated north of the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

. The housing scheme is about north of Glasgow City Centre and forms part of the northern edge of the city's urban area.

Location and history

The construction of Milton started in the late 1940s as a part of a general

post-war A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...

construction programme by the Glasgow Corporation to deal with housing shortages and

slum clearance Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low-income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...

. The district is bordered to the south and east by Ashgill Road, dividing it from the older Parkhouse neighbourhood. It is also bordered by Liddesdale Road, which had previously connected Colston to Balmore Road. The new streets were named after the Scottish islands: Berneray, Birsay, Castlebay, Cathay, Egilsay, Longay, Mingulay, Ornsay, Raasay, Ronaldsay, Scalpay, Scaraway, Shillay, Skerray,

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

, Torogay, Vallay and Westray. The area had only a few private homes (in Liddesdale Road/Birsay Road and Loskin Drive) prior to the new development. The initial scheme was completed in 1952. More housing was added in later years, including high-rise flats in Castlebay Drive in the late 1960s. Housing styles varied from gray stone apartment houses with back and front doors, to brown or white clad pre-fabricated apartments and 4 storey flats of 8 units each, some with open verandas. All housing was rented

social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

. Milton suffered from social problems such as gang fighting and

drug abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...

. The gang fighting caused urban decay by the end of the 1960s, and drug abuse made Milton one of the worst drug areas in

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In the late 1980s, many of the flats in the area were replaced with social housing units more suitable for urban living. The last of the original flats in Scaraway Street was demolished in 2006 and parts of the area stand desolate.

Politics

Milton is part of the Glasgow North East constituency, which has been represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

by Anne McLaughlin of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

(SNP) from 2015 to 2017, Paul Sweeney from 2017 to 2019 and McLaughlin again from 2019 onwards. Milton is part of the Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn constituency, and is represented by Bob Doris of the Scottish National Party in the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

. At local

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

level, Milton has formed a core part of the Canal ward since 2007.

Education

Children attend the merged St. Ambrose and St. Augustine's schools known as St. Monica's (Milton) Primary School. This holds Milton's Community Campus. Non denomination schools in the area are Miltonbank Primary School and Chirnsyde Primary School.

Religion

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

churches are located in nearby Liddesdale Square. The Methodist Church shares a Minister with the Methodist Church in Kilsyth and Colston Milton Church in Egilsay Crescent (Church of Scotland). The Church of Scotland Manse is located on Birsay Road.

Services

The scheme suffered from poor social planning. Pubs, cinemas or community amenities were accessible only by bus/car. A community centre was built in Liddesdale Road in the early 1970s. No factories or industry offered jobs in the area. The scheme was part of the Maryhill parliamentary constituency and is now within Glasgow North East. The four shopping areas were Skerray Street, Scaraway Street, Westray Circus and Liddesdale Square. Buses M3,8,75 and 128 serve the area. Community activists successfully campaigned to prevent the conversion of the site of the demolished Saint Augustine’s Secondary School into housing. Its future remains in doubt. LoveMilton, a community development trust for the area, obtained planning permission for a multi-purpose, community facility.

Notable persons

* Kenny Dalglish, footballer ( Celtic,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

), whose first team played on the spare ground at Egilsay Street and was called "Milton Milan" * Jeannie Fisher, Television Actress * Stephen Maguire, snooker player * Frank McAvennie, footballer (Celtic, West Ham and Scotland) * Paul Riley, Actor (Still game, Chewin' the fat) * Dylan McGeouch, footballer (Celtic, Hibernian,

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and Scotland) * Ada Aline Urban (1868–1937), film executiveBirth certificate, National Records of Scotland

References

External links

Commonwealth Games pitches close

Modern Times: 1950s to The Present Day

Love Milton

Streets of GlasgowMilton profile
(also includes Lambhill and Parkhouse) at ''Understanding Glasgow'' {{Areas of Glasgow Areas of Glasgow Housing estates in Glasgow