Parkhead Housing Association welcomed minister for local government and housing Kevin Stewart MSP to Parkhead yesterday to open the Association’s latest development at the site of the old Blackcat Studios.

The site, at the corner of Burgher Street, Dechmont Street and Springfield Road, will provide 36 new homes for the local community. This particular new build development will complete the corner, linking the Association’s development at Springfield Road with its houses at the end of Burgher Street.

The development is being constructed by its partners McTaggart Construction and will consist of one and two bedroom apartments.

Parkhead Housing Association chair, Elizabeth Kennedy, said: “In this the Association’s 40th Anniversary we are delighted to welcome the Minister for Local Government and Housing Kevin Stewart MSP to mark yet another milestone in the history of Parkhead Housing Association. My thanks must go to the staff and Board for delivering the project and also to our construction partner McTaggart Construction and Glasgow City Council for their continuing support of our development programme.”

The site was previously home to the Blackcat Picture Hall, opened in 1921, where local patrons would flock to see the latest cinema releases. The cinema closed down and the facility was then re-opened in 1955 as a TV studio for BBC Scotland. Legend has it Andy Stewart recorded the classic novelty song ‘Donald Wears Your Troosers’ at the studios.

Jim Strang, chief executive of Parkhead Housing Association, is delighted to see the once derelict site brought back to life: “It was such a shame to see an area of Parkhead with such a rich history be forgotten about, so we are naturally over the moon to see brand new homes developed on the site. The feedback we have received from the tenants has been excellent and we are sure many families will spend many happy years living there.”