It is situated south of the River Clyde, falls within the Southside Central ward under Glasgow City Council, and is part of the Gorbals historic area.

By the mid-1990s, almost all of these amenities had either been knocked down or were scheduled for demolition along with the housing,[3] the main exception being St Margaret's Church which was earmarked as the site of a new community centre, but its conversion was delayed by various factors including the poor condition of the building.

[30] Part of the land clearance in the area (including the removal of the derelict Rosebery Park football ground) had been for the construction of the motorway and the reconfiguration of its major road to meet this new junction and connect to the Glasgow East End Regeneration Route,[31][32][33] but had also encountered safety problems and attracted protests due to the presence in the ground of carcinogenic Chromium VI which had been dumped by a large chemicals firm that had operated nearby.

[34][35] That contamination also affected the burn running through Richmond Park into the River Clyde, causing the water to turn unnatural shades of green or yellow at times.

[41] Two allotment sites were laid out, and the Oatlands Development Trust created a new play area[27] as the first phase of the £2 million extension and upgrading of Richmond Park.

For many years, redevelopment was prevented because of the risk of fire or explosion from propane stored nearby; 756 flats in red sandstone tenements were demolished after the failure of a £7 million refurbishment scheme.