Page modified 14th May 2024

Western Gate - Block 2

15 Benalder Street (11 flats) G11 6PU

17 Benalder Street (11 flats) G11 6PU

30 Partick Bridge Street (11 Flats) G11 6PQ

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A group of proprietors of 33 flats in Block 2, Western Gate, we are a mixture of owners, some of whom live in their flats, while others choose to let their property to tenants, directly or via agents.    

Although the buildings comprising Block 2 are only just over 20 years old, even a superficial look at the exterior will tell you that perhaps not all is well - it already looks neglected and uncared for.  What is more significant than the state of the exterior is that it has been known for many years that buildings on the Western Gate estate suffer serious water ingress that is affecting not only individual flats, where damp is chronic, but also the fabric of the building itself.  The Factors, Ross & Liddell, became increasingly concerned about these issues and commissioned a surveyor to undertake a major survey;  his 97-page report was received early in 2015 and, we understand, was circulated to all owners at that time.  Since then, little has been achieved by way of essential remediation because such works, even when split into manageable tranches, have to be approved by the majority of owners.  This is a requirement of the Title of Deeds which record our ownership and set out our responsibilities as proprietors.  Regrettably, it seems that consensus has rarely been achieved, with owners unwilling to commit to their specified share of the costs, and the Factors stymied in their genuine efforts to address what are serious problems.  Thus, little essential work has been possible for many years now and, in the meantime, the building continues to deteriorate.

The purpose of the initiative is to try to end this paralysis and to find some way we can facilitate the Factors in undertaking essential repairs.   If we fail in this, the consequences will be serious.  Our building will become increasingly dilapidated and eventually even unsafe;  in consequence, the value of our property will decline.  These problems will start to be noted on vendors' Home Reports and we could find ourselves in a situation where our flats will become unsaleable, with mortgage companies declining to lend to prospective purchasers and our investments put seriously at risk.  

We have therefore created Western Gate Initiative and urge you to join this group of owners so we can initially agree on strategy, work with the Factors and identify the most pressing problems and collectively agree that the essential maintenance is indeed essential. In order to make any progress most of us need to take this matter seriously and try to achieve a  consensus and gradually start resolving the problems.   The option to do nothing would be plainly foolish, unless you wish to finish owing a flat that is worthless, unsellable in a dilapidated building and I cannot imagine that any of us wish this to happen.    

Philip Thomson BSc Hons, Building Surveyor for Ross & Liddell Ltd, opened his letter to owners with the following words: "As numerous proprietors may be aware, and with some proprietors being acutely affected, there are many instances of water ingress into various parts of the buildings that comprise Westerngate, which is causing undue stress to some proprietors and a loss of their enjoyment of their property.  And, potentially this water ingress will inevitably lead to long-term harm to the building, thereby probably diluting your long-term investment."

That was almost a decade ago, with little having been done since to improve matters, and water penetration already doing serious harm to the building.  If we allow this inertia to continue, all our investments will be in jeopardy.  While owners who are landlords rightly continue to receive a proper return on their investments, in the form of regular rental income, we ask you, please, to pause for a moment and consider a time when you may decide to sell your property and monetise your asset, only to find that the sale will be problematic and the value of your property significantly diminished.  In our opinion, doing nothing is no longer an option unless, of course, you are one of those happy few who are unconcerned about the real possibility of financial loss.  I imagine that most of us are unlikely to fall into this category.    

You should by now have received a personal letter from two relatively new owners (Milan Svanderlik and Gerald Burnett) urging you to signal your support for this proposed group of concerned owners.  You will then be kept up-to-date with developments and be able to influence the formulation of a strategy to help Ross & Liddell identify priority areas and divide remedial works into manageable chunks, thereby completing, over a number of years, a planned programme of essential maintenance in Block 2.

Documents sent to owners by the Factors are necessarily formal but some owners may have found these opaque, struggling to discern how the proposed works actually impinge upon their own flat or block.  We hope to help with this problem by creating a page on this website for each proposed parcel of work where we have responsibility, employing plans, drawings or photographs to illuminate the formal documents you receive from Ross & Liddell.  We will also, whenever possible, upload on to the same page photographs of the completed work.  So, for the first time you will see how your money is contributing towards the maintenance of this building and thus safeguarding your investment.  To those owners who have tenants, such improvements would gradually, over time, enhance the quality of accommodation that you provide to your tenants with a concomitant impact upon rental income - in Glasgow's West End, there is always a demand for high quality accommodation to rent.

If you have not done so already, please GET IN TOUCH soon, join the Western Gate Initiative and help with our efforts to resolve, however gradually, the major issues related to the maintenance of our properties and to safeguard the value of our investments