The following article was published by Eddie McRorie on 12th August 2024 on the Johnstone History Facebook page and is reproduced here with his kind permission.

Johnstone and the Glasgow Overspill.

(Houston to be a new Town for the Glasgow overspill)
At the Burgh centenary celebration dinner of 1957 Provost James R McKay gave his view on the suggestion of a new town Houston by saying that it would be utter folly to spend millions and millions to set up a new town outwith the Burgh boundary. The Provost continued by saying it would be wiser economics to expand the boundaries of the Burgh along with the facilities already here in Johnstone which would help with Glasgow’s overspill problem.
He referred to the housing progress in post war years and that apart from the gradual rebuilding of the town area they had planned, they had under construction a further scheme for 1200 houses in the Johnstone Castle policies.
The total assets of the Burgh were £3 million of which housing represented £2.5 million showing that they were quite capable of following the Burgh motto “Gang Forward” to even greater things.
So with the notion of creating a whole new town at Houston dismissed, it was the current plan to house Glasgow’s overspill in the new housing being constructed at the Johnstone Castle policies where the Town Council had purchased the old P.O.W. Camp
The Scottish Special Housing Association were to build 518 houses of which 240 will be in two-storey blocks, with the remainder of the site accommodating about 106 houses which Johnstone Town Council will build.
By using different sized blocks of housing a density of 30 houses to the acre will be attained without sacrificing the main advantages of open development.
The SSHA area will be a completely smokeless zone and the flats totally electric, There will be gas services in all the other houses.
Space will be reserved for 112 lock up garages and for outdoor parking. Space will also be left for children’s playgrounds, a football pitch and fields.
The first family from Glasgow were allocated no.1 Yew Place which was officially opened by Mr John S. Maclay the Secretary of State for Scotland.
A crowd of local people gathered around the platform erected in the front garden of the three room terrace house where Provost Nat Hayes was accompanied by Glasgow’s Lord Provost Myer Galpers, Sir Walter Gay-Stewart, Lord-Lieutenant of Renfrewshire and The Scottish Secretary of State Mr Maclay who in his speech stressed that no one in Johnstone would have their chance of rehousing made worse because of new arrivals, as the Council would continue to build homes as needed.
During the speeches the young couple who were to get the first house stood on the path waiting for Mr Maclay to officially open the house and hand over the keys. Mr & Mrs Wilson and their two young children formerly lived in a room and kitchen in Oatlands. Mr Wilson is a maintenance fitter with the Regent Tyre & Rubber Company, the first Glasgow firm to move, under the overspill agreement to Johnstone. Of its 50 employees only 12 volunteered to move to Johnstone but since the factory was opened in May the firm had recruited 70 employees.
In a newspaper article by Magnus Magnusson (no less) four years later, looking at how the overspill scheme of folk-migration of modern Scotland had gone, the reporter found that in his words the new tenants had “done a moonlight flitting “ early in their tenancy!
The house had a small plaque on the wall commemorating the first tenants on this momentous day.
Magnus spoke to The Rev. E.R. Marr minister of St Andrews Trinity Church which has built an extension church-hall in the Castle scheme, is delighted with his new parishioners from Glasgow saying “ they are integrating very well on the whole”. At first I think we in Johnstone were a little bit apprehensive-I suppose we had a suspicion that Glasgow would be trying to off-load undesirable people onto us. But not a bit of it, they are delightful people.
Magnus Magnusson also mentions that the Scottish Secretary had confirmed a compulsory purchase order for 160 acres at Howwood, near the Castle scheme on which the Town Council plans to erect some 2000 additional houses.
In discussing Johnstone residents Magnus says; Yes , they are good-hearted people, neighbourly people, always ready to help out. My favourite symbol of Johnstone’s character is Mrs Sarah McCollum M.B.E. a delightful lady of 75 who seems to be on every single activity in town that calls for voluntary effort. She sits on the Rent Tribunal, she’s a life member of the Red Cross, a W.V.S. organiser, a street savings group secretary, a past Matron of the Eastern Star, the social convener of the Townwomens Guild. She got her M.B.E. in 1957 the same day as Stanley Matthew’s the footballer, bless her.
She is infinitely more representative of Johnstone than that ill-chosen first Overspliller from Glasgow.

Proposed layout of Johnstone Castle housing scheme.

Town Council in Session.

Johnstone Castle from the air

First overspill house was allocated to a family from Oatlands in 1959

The town council urge new industry to come to Johnstone.