A once-bustling housing estate in Edinburgh became a ghost town before it was demolished. Images of the infamous ‘Ramps’ scheme in West Granton from the 1980s have resurfaced online.
The brutalist estate was thrown up in response to the growing population in the capital in the 1970s. At the time, they were hailed as an architectural marvel – but the praise was not to last.
In the pictures, the geometric buildings sit in front of the giant gasometers from the Granton gasworks site. The scheme was featured in Irvine Welsh’s legendary novel, Trainspotting, where they were described as “varicose vein flats” because of the white plaster used to fill cracks in the exterior rough cast, Edinburgh Live reports.
The author wrote: “This is one ay the varicose-vein flats, so called because of the plastered cracks all over its facing.”
The shoddy refurb work made the estate look tired and its early promise fell away. It was also known as a hotspot of crime during the 1980s and the area has undergone a major regeneration since the scheme was demolished in the 1990s.
When the images were shared online, former residents spoke about their memories of The Ramps – both good and bad. Many loved their time growing up on the scheme, while others hated the life of poverty and crime that plagued West Granton.
On one Facebook post, someone replied: My husband and I were pleased to at last be given a house of our own. They were lovely to live in when they were first built. Everyone was so friendly, we had a ground floor maisonette with a yard out the front where the babies would sleep in their prams.
“My daughter was born here and after they had been demolished, she worked for the builders of the new estate in the site office. Actually got her picture in the local paper as being there at the beginning and end of West Granton housing estate.”
Another with cherished memories, commented: “Had some great times living here, especially sliding doon the poles on The Ramps, and walking on the walls behind the shops. [There was a] great wee bakery shop, newsagent, butcher and of course VGs where I used to do a wee bit o’ shoplifting.”
Others described the brutalist area as like living in a prison complex – or even “hell” itself. One person happy to be shot of the place, said: “Stayed in West Granton Road, above D’Inverno’s chippy.
“Walking home in the small hours, as you did often aged 21 or so, you would encounter packs of dogs that had been booted out the house for the night. Sobered you up quickly as the mutts gave you the eye.”
Another replied: “I remember jumping about the concrete park doon that part! It was concrete city! Lots of smashed glass, needles and litter – [it] was like a third world country within a first class country.”
One former resident was glad the scheme has since been demolished, sharing on the same post: “We were one of the first families that moved into a ground floor maisonette. Everything was concrete. Even the small play parks. Ugly buildings – glad they are gone.”
The site of the Ramps is now home to Edinburgh College, with the skeleton of one gasometer still standing in the background. The huge gaswork structure is now used to host the Hidden Door Festival that sees creative types from across Edinburgh come together to reinvigorate the space.
Granton gasworks was built in the 1890s, as the UK began to shift from coal power to gas. The site was more than 106 acres and was bought from the 6th Duke of Buccleuch for £124,000.
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