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Editor

From Mrs Rose Butters (No33)

Thank you for all your condo-

lence cards received on Neil’s

passing. It was so kind of you all.

Neil coped with his illness with

strength, courage and a positive

attitude. To know that others un-

derstood and cared makes the loss

of Neil less difficult. The amount

raised for the Marie Curie Foun-

dation at Neil’s funeral—£834.80

Rose

WELCOME

The WWRA committee would like to welcome several new resi-

dents to the park and to the Com-

munity. To Linda Lennox at

No17, Lorraine and Donny

Woodmore at No5 and to Mrs

Nan Leitch who had just moved

into No 14. We wish them every

happiness here at Willow Wood.

Wilma Gault

Chair

LETTERS

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AND HARDWARE

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Stoneyburn

01501 763363

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WANDERER NOTICES

‘Creating a Community’

Chair: Wilma Gault 01501 760087

Secretary: Susan Meiklejohn 01501 760190

www.willowwoodwestlothian.co.uk

THE WILLOW WOOD WANDERER

11 Cuthill Brae

West Calder EH55 8QE

EDITOR: JIM HALUCH

TEL: 01501 762190

WILLOW WOOD RESIDENT S ASSOCIATION

Breich Valley Church

Stoneyburn

Worship every Sunday at

10.30a.m.

Rev Robert Malloch

VAL HUGHES

Neighbours and Friends were

shocked to hear of the sudden

and untimely death of Val

Hughes (No12) on 28 August

2014. Originally from Essex,

Val and David moved to Wil-

low Wood in 2004 where they

became well known in the Com-

munity, David serving as Chair

of the Residents Association

and both participating in social

events. Although Val suffered

ill health in recent times she was

a strong member of her reli-

gious community and that com-

munity and her Willow Wood

friends provided strong support

for David at the funeral and at

the memorial service at the

Kingdom Hall in Livingston.

WWRA PROGRAMME

NOV-DEC 2014

WED 14 NOVEMBER

2PM

AGM 2014

———

FRIDAY 5 DEC. 5PM

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

SWITCH-ON

Mulled Wine

———

SATURDAY 20 DEC

6PM

CAROL CONCERT

SUPPER

Christmas Raffle

On 11 September 2004,

16 residents of the then

‘New’ Willow Wood met

at No9 Cuthill Brae, the

home of Roger and

Suzie Eastland to dis-

cuss the formation of a

residents association for

Willow Wood. At that

time there were 14 homes

on the park with 24 resi-

dents. The rest is history!

Ten years later with 45

homes on the park and

some 66 residents much

water has passed under

the Willow Wood bridge

and that water would have

flowed faster sweeping

much before it had it not

been for the WWRA and

its mission to create a

community. Inside this

edition, Mike Larkman

more than adequately

chronicles the past ten

years of WWRA, its ups

and downs, mostly ups

and he lays out the

achievements of the as-

sociation, socially, po-

litically and community.

Of those original 24

residents no less than 4

(that we know of) have

passed away. Only nine

of the original homes

are occupied by their

original owners. This

edition of The Wanderer

celebrates the ten years

past and looks forward

as well.

The AGM of the Asso-

ciation falls due and will

be held, together with

the Community Com-

pany AGM on Friday 14

November in Breich

Valley Church hall at

2pm. The meetings will

be preceded by a soup

and sandwich lunch

served from 1pm. To

ensure the greatest

number of members

turn out, any who re-

quires a lift to the meet-

ing should contact

Wilma or Susan who

will assist.

This AGM will see the

retirement of a number

of stalwarts. Wilma is

standing down from the

Chair and Roger from

the Vice Chair and the

Committee. Gerald

Carson has indicated

his intention to retire

also. Vacancies will be

created and with the

influx of new residents

who have joined the

Association it is to be

hoped that they will

step forward to assure

the next ten years.

WW

RA

AG

M 2

014

ED

ITIO

N

Written Agreements

form with the new regula-tions. The Association did indeed write to the site owners on the matter and two very unsatisfac-tory letters were received from the company dis-missing a small part of the matters raised and ignoring others. The Committee decided to take no further action on the grounds that the

points had been made and in any subsequent dispute we have made our position clear. This position has been en-hanced by the Scottish Government decision to include any evidence of not complying with the Written Statement Regu-lations in considering the Fit and Proper person test for licence renewal.

Editorial, Newsdesk1, photo feature 2

Features 3

Main feature—”Nostalgia or....” 4

Main feature continued 5

Main feature continued 6

The Politics Page, 7

Letters, Obituary, Advertisements and Notices 8

Inside this issue: S

ER

VI

NG

T

HE

R

ES

ID

EN

TS

O

F

WI

LL

OW

W

OO

D

PA

RK

31 October 2014

Autumn Edition 2014 WWRA—TEN YEARS OLD

Th

e W

illo

w W

oo

d W

an

de

re

r

WWRA AGM 2014

FRIDAY 14 NOV 2014

1PM FOR 2PM

BRIECH VALLEY

CHURCH HALL

SOUP AND SANDWICHES

1PM

AGENDA & PAPERS INSIDE

“Building a Community”

We reported in the last edi-tion of The Wanderer that the Association had voted to reject the amendments made by Wyldecrest to our Written Agreements on the grounds that, among other things, their amendments were in-complete and did not con-

Minister to bring forward regu-

lations which provided for park

homes generally to be accepted

for the Green Deal.

The Wanderer understands that

several owners have now ob-

tained Green Deal vouchers to

assist with the cladding but these

vouchers only cover a part of the

cost with each homeowner con-

tributing a substantial sum from

their own funds.

Cladding of many of our homes

is moving along swiftly just in

time for the winter.

Those residents who did not

qualify for cladding by virtue of

there circumstances won a par-

ticular victory for park home

residents generally when Jim Ha-

luch lobbied our MSPs and the

AGM 2014

It’s AGM time again, that time of the year when we attend the meeting but avoid eye contact in case we might be cajoled onto the Committee.

It is also the tenth anniversary of the forming of the Willow Wood Residents Association and Mike Larkman has con-tributed an in-depth piece cataloguing the past ten years.

Mike’s article makes fascinating reading but more importantly clearly illustrates what can be achieved when people come to to-gether for common cause. If we had not had an association, would we have the amenity we have here to-day at Willow Wood. The editor regularly visits parks throughout Scotland and Willow Wood is the envy of them all. A strong associa-tion has brought benefits to us all and the learning that came with it was the catalyst for the seismic changes in park home law—some, the first for over 50 years.

But what of the next ten years. Some of the founding members are still around, all too many have passed away but that is the nature of a retirement community—we grow old.

The reputation of Willow Wood, the knowledge that a strong com-munity has grown up here has at-tracted many new residents. We are one of the very few parks (even good ones), if not the only one, where there are no homes for sale. Indeed the Willow Wood website has a small waiting list of would –be residents.

It is to these new residents, the new generation at Willow Wood that we turn for their assistance in maintaining the community. Our Committee needs new blood. Sev-eral committee members intend to retire this year and we urgently need to replace them. You don’t need special qualifications, just a desire to help and be part of some-thing special. Please attend the AGM and do not avert your eyes!

Moving in Exalted Circles

At Willow Wood we have been lucky to have good friends in the political parties in West Lothian, at the Scottish Parlia-ment and even at Westminster.

This edition contains the regular columns from Angela Constance, Neil Findlay and Graeme Morrice. So what is different this time?

By our next edition, one or two of our correspondents might be lead-ing their respective parties—Angela running for Deputy leader of the SNP and Neil for the leadership of the Scottish Labour Party.

I watched both Neil and Angela be-ing interviewed on TV this week by top interviewers and it was with a bit of pride that I though “ These are friends of ours”. As Mike adequately does overleaf, great credit and thanks must go to Angela and Neil for their friendship, support and advocacy over the past ten years. The Wanderer wishes them both the very best in their endeavours.

Page 2

EDITORIAL Creating a Community?

T HE WI LLOW W OOD WA ND E RE R

The Wanderer Photo Feature ... Nostalgia Pictures: The Wanderer

Newsdesk 1

Cathy Halpen opens the commu-

nity Garden 1st August 2008 The gates actually once worked! Before the Community Garden

I would like to thank each and every one of the 119,115 voters in West Lothian who made their

mark in Scotland’s historic referendum. While I am deeply disappointed at the result I am

delighted with the record levels of turnout and confident that the referendum has changed

Scotland forever. Scotland continues to be on a home rule journey and I, other Yes supporters

and indeed many No voters will hold the Westminster parties to account for their "vows" of more powers for the

Scottish Parliament. Promises will have to be kept now there is a clear mandate for comprehensive and substantial

new powers that can address social and economic inequality in West Lothian and across Scotland.

I would also like to pay tribute to everyone who helped in the Yes campaign in West Lothian as they have made an

invaluable contribution to democracy, our community and helped secure 55,342 Yes votes across the county.

The referendum leaves Scotland with the most politically engaged and informed population anywhere in the world;

the disenfranchised became voters and many voters became activists. I am also heartened by the massive increase

in SNP membership and other Yes supporting parties such as the Green and the SSP. For my part I will always

campaign for what I believe in and will continue to represent Almond Valley and all of my constituents irrespective

of how they voted and, in doing so, I hope to make a contribution to the next stage of Scotland's story. Angela

31 OCT OB ER 20 14 Page 7

THE POLITICS PAGES

UK Parliament Report from

Graeme Morrice MP Since the Scottish independence referen-

dum, focus in the UK Parliament has

turned to the topic of more powers for

Scotland. I participated in a Parliamen-

tary debate on devolution, during which I

emphasised the importance of moving

forward as a united country following the

referendum outcome and the need for

further powers not only to Holyrood, but

to local communities. You can read my

speech in full via the following link:

http://www.graememorricemp.co.uk/?

p=6996.

I am always delighted to visit local

schools and particularly enjoyed visiting

Woodmuir Primary School in Breich re-

cently, as part of the ‘Send my friend to

school campaign’. The pupils wrote to

me to speak up for the right of all children

across the world to get the chance to go to

school. During the visit, I was treated to a

fantastic presentation from the pupils,

which included singing and a question

and answer session.

Post Offices play an important part in the

lives of residents, which is why I am

pleased that a consultation was carried out

with local people regarding the proposal

to move Stoneyburn Post Office branch. I

recognise that there were some concerns

with the proposal and I have been assured

by the Post Office regional manager that

these concerns have been addressed. I

look forward to seeing the new modern-

ised Post Office next year.

With energy prices rising and winter al-

most upon us, it is important that people

are aware

of what

they can

do to keep

their fuel

bills

down. I

backed

Big En-

ergy Sav-

ing Week which aims to help people

cut their fuel bills and get all the fi-

nancial support they are entitled. I

would urge residents to make use of

the free and helpful advice available

from Home Energy Scotland

(Scotland).

(www.bigenergysavingweek.org.uk).

Finally, I wish to take this opportu-

nity to congratulate Willow Wood

Park on its ten year anniversary. One

thing that is particularly evident over

the ten years of Willow Wood is the

enormous sense of community spirit

amongst residents. From social activi-

ties to lobbying the Scottish Govern-

ment, the Willow Wood community

has gone from strength to strength and

I wish all residents a very happy fu-

ture.

I am very keen to be of assistance to

as many constituents as possible, so if

you have a problem you need help

with or just want to raise a concern or

any other issue, please get in touch

with me either by calling 01506

410109 or emailing

graeme.morrice.mp@parliament.uk .

You can also find full details about my

work at www.graememorricemp.co.uk

From Neil Findlay

MSP Lothians (Labour)

2014 has been an amazing year for Scot-

land.

The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow

was a huge success; as was the Ryder

Cup at Gleneagles and, of course, the

independence referendum.

The key theme throughout the year has

been participation. The number of candi-

dates who applied to volunteer at the

Games was hugely encouraging.

As was the sheer number of voters who

elected to vote on the 18th of September;

and, in particular, the turnout amongst

young vot-

ers. It is this

that allowed

for such a

decisive

result.

In this vein

I would like

to congratu-

late Willow

Wood on

their tenth

anniversary. The community spirit their

organisation has sought to develop over

the last ten years should be an example

to all of us.

But we should conclude the year by turn-

ing our attention towards the long term

issues facing Scotland today: poverty,

the housing crisis, and the need to pro-

vide jobs for our young people. We can-

not allow ourselves to get side-tracked,

patting ourselves on the back for our

achievements - there is too much work

left to be done to redress the inequalities

in our society. That is the big challenge

facing us all.

31 OCT OB ER 20 14 Page 6

(Nostalgia—continued from page 5)

2008 We must have ticked all the right boxes as we are

advised that the council will start work early in the new

year on the installation of an external footpath and light-

ing

2009 March the footpath and lighting is completed.

2009 The Association forms The Willow Wood (West

Lothian) Company, to facilitate the purchase of the park;

the Company spends the whole year trying to obtain

Lottery funding to assist with the purchase of the park.

There was a point when we thought we had made it but

in the end were frustrated when Welch took the park off the market. It was a great pity we had the funding in place,

a sound business plan, and the full backing of the residents and oh yes relative youth was on our side. Although we

lost the sale we retained the Right to Buy for another day.

2010 Wilma took over as chair person and a new emphasis and a concentration on social events was now the order

of the day and politically things were relatively quiet. The Welch family were absent from the park and as Creswell

himself only occasionally visited, it was obvious that something was about to happen. Something did happen—the

park went back on the market at £1m. Although we did make a good fist of attempting a buy out we had lost the lot-

tery funding and we had to withdraw our bid. What we did not know was that behind our back Welch was negotiat-

ing with other parties to dispose of the park since his business was failing.

2011 Welch’s Parks (including Willow Wood) goes into Administration with debts of several million pounds and the

liquidators pre-package an agreement Wyldecrest Parks to take over the

running of his parks, essentially for a sum much less than the £1m

Welch was demanding from us. What a pity,12 months earlier we may

well have been in a position to take over the park on the same terms as

Wyldecrest.

2012- 2014 We are surviving. Wyldecrest have been relatively quiet;

when they have not played fair we have opposed them and they have

gone away. Being a big operator they allegedly have plenty of issues

down south and just last year were heavily criticised by a Westminster

Parliamentary all party committee who were considering changes to park

home legislation. That doesn't mean they will always be like that and we

must be prepared to take them on as and when required. We now oper-

ate however, from a position of great strength. Since September 2013,

new regulation have transformed the park home scene. Residents have much greater autonomy, site owners have no

say in home sales, outdated rules and practices have been outlawed, the park owner no longer can say “its my park, I

can do what I like”. Better still in 2015/16, all park owners in Scotland will have to re-apply for their licences in-

cluding Willow Wood. And it won’t be a nod over; the principals of the company, its senior managers and its local

site mangers will all have to undergo a ‘Fit and Proper Person Test’ where any criminal record, financial misdemean-

ours, having disregard to written agreement regulations or record of flouting other park home regulations will debar

an applicant. The legislation however, completely assures the position of residents even if a licence is not granted or

withdrawn. Finally, the local council will be required to inspect sites and follow up any complaints from residents

and must take action on these. Progress indeed and all led by Willow Wood.

2012-2014 This period has been notable as we see the fruits of our slogan ‘Creating a Community’. A long list of

social events have been reported in The Wanderer and again this edition. At long last, properties started to sell al-

though at much reduced prices, but at least there are no empty properties for sale now when there were five just over

a year ago.

The AGM is due, Wilma is giving up the post of Chair, Roger has done a 10 year stint Jim and I as long. Susan has

been the Association’s secretary/treasurer for three and a half years now and Tom for twice that time has cared for

the garden. We have new residents on the park now, some with relative youth on their side and we hope that they

will pick up the reigns and fight the good fight on all our behalf, particularly as the founders are now ten years older!

Its been a momentous ten years and we have created that community.

Mike Larkman.

Members confer at the ‘Right to

Buy’ meeting

Before the footpath & lights

Looking back it hardly seems that

it was six years this summer since

the official garden opening. The

first garden team of Cathy Halpen,

John Wemyss and myself were

given the task of developing the

area which Mr Welch had laid out

for us at the top of the Park.

A lot of time and hard work went

into choosing and planting flowers,

trees and shrubs and with the help

of volunteers taking on various

roles we arrived at the opening day

on 1st August 2008.It was a won-

derful day enjoyed by many.

The garden has had a better year

weather wise this year due to lots

of lovely warm sunny days fol-

lowed by a good September. The

grass, I think, has had its last cut

and some dead flowers have been

cleared out and some shrubs cut

back. The year just seems to fly.

It will soon be time to put up the

Christmas lights; some have been

discarded due to wear and tear and

will have to be replaced. I will be

looking for helpers as usual for this

job and will phone round when

work will commence. Let’s hope

we have half decent weather for

the switch on and for the Carol

Service.

It just remains for me to thank all

who have assisted throughout the

year.

Thank you from Tom and the team

Over the past four years the associa-

tion committee has tried very hard

to organise events for the residents

to enjoy, beginning with the Christ-

mas lights in the community garden

and the Carol Service each year.

The lights brighten up the Park

through December in the run up to

the festive season. The first carol

service was very atmospheric with

the snow beginning to fall as it be-

gan and all who managed to attend

were delighted even though it was

very cold. The mulled wine and

other refreshments at all the services

were appreciated.

Sadly last year the service had to be

cancelled at the last minute due to

the terrible weather which almost

blew the marquee away and thor-

oughly drenched all who were try-

ing to take it down.

There have been several dinners

organised for the festive seasons and

no doubt residents could tell a tale

or two.

The annual garden parties have been

well attended beginning with the

one to celebrate the Diamond Jubi-

lee of her Majesty, a bright and col-

ourful day. All who helped to organ-

ise and prepare the food each year

made the days ones to remember.

The BBQs each year at number 11

have all been

very enjoyable

allowing resi-

dents to meet

up for a chat

and to get to

know any new

residents who

have joined us

at Willow

Wood. This

year the format

A U TU M N 2014 Page 3

The Wanderer Features changed slightly with it being a Fish

Supper night, saving Joyce and her

team of helpers a lot of work.

Several coffee mornings have been

held at various houses raising much

needed funds.

A craft fare and a jumble sale have

been held and along with the Christ-

mas raffles and donations, anony-

mous or otherwise, we were able to

buy such things as the hut for the

garden along with the marquees and

other things needed, to make life

easier and better for us all.

A trip to Berwick on Tweed was

organised, we all enjoyed the shops

and a walk around the town even

though the wind was, shall we say,

bracing. The fish supper was good

though.

We have also had visits from our

local MSP Angela Constance and

the Housing Minister Margaret Bur-

gess to talk about new legislation

relating to Park Homes. All in all it

has been good and with the help of

all residents we hope to continue in

the same vein for the future.

THE COMMUNITY

GARDEN

By Tom Meiklejohn

Xmas Lights 2013

THE WW SOCIAL

CALENDAR

By Susan Meiklejohn

A dreich day but still a

garden party 2013

FISH SUPPER SUPPER

Page 4

The earliest residents of the

park 2004/2005/2006 will re-

member well the original

owner of the park, Creswell

Welch, and his promises of

Monobloc roads, water fea-

tures, fountains, landscaping,

trees and shrubs and all this in

a secure gated environment

Creswell in his

fancy sales bro-

chures told us all

that "Dreams are

made of this"

and at first we

were fooled by

his engaging

manor and his glib promises

It didn't take long for the early resi-

dents to be awoken from their

dreams, they smelt the coffee and

realised that if they were to have the

park completed in line with the bro-

chure promises then they would join

forces and fight for it.

There were some who just wanted a

quite retirement, and why not, that's

what we all aspired to, but on the

whole the majority who believed in

justice and fair play put retirement

on hold and formed the Willow

Wood Residents Association on 11

September 2004.

The aims of the Association were

and remain so are;-

(a) To represent the interest of

members in consultation with the

park owners and with the local au-

thority and other bodies

(b) To make representations when

the association has received notice

from the park owner about matters

affecting the park

Roger Eastland became its first

Chairman Mike Larkman next then

David Hughes and now, but not for

T HE WI LLOW W OOD WA ND E RE R

to view the residents as members of

the travelling fraternity.

Any misunderstandings in this area

were soon put right and the council

admitted with honest candour, at our

first meeting, that they had lost control

of the development and had not recog-

nised that it was in reality a residential

development which required stricter

control and higher standards.

In the words of a Council planning

official, Welch had managed to “build

a small retirement village without the

need for the planning permission that

would normally have been required of

a bricks and mortar development".

The Council’s problem was, they did

not have and still do not have the nec-

essary powers to intervene.

As an example, most of us know that

last year the local authority tried to

include snow clearance as a condition

of the owners operating licence. The

owners Wyldecrest took the council to

court, the council lost the case and

paid costs of £7500. The Council

might have the last laugh however,

come 2016, when Wyldecrest will

have to reapply for the Willow Wood

Licence they will have to accept new

licence conditions which are likely to

include snow clearance.

After meeting the council and learning

of the inadequacies of the legislation,

the committee decided that if the laws

were inadequate then they must be

changed and to do this they must take

on the law makers.

Enter Angela Constance MSP!

Ever since she was elected as an MSP,

Angela has worked tirelessly on our

behalf and was instrumental in arrang-

ing for Mike to represent the associa-

tion and to meet the then Minister for

long Wilma Gault. Roger will re-

tire this year after many years as

vice-chair.

The core of the committee in those

early days were Roger Eastland,

Jim Haluch and Mike Larkman. Jim

worked his time as an excellent

Secretary and became the brains

and driving force behind our at-

tempt to purchase the park through

The Scottish Government Land

Reform Act

The Committee’s original aim was

to fight for our rights and persuade

the park owner to complete the park

in line with the sales brochure,

what we had been promised, what

we had paid for.

We very soon realised that in prac-

tice we didn't have any rights, we

were shocked to learn that our

proud homes were classified in law

as caravans and were regulated by

the local authority under two Acts

of Parliament namely The Caravan

Sites & Control and Development

Act 1960 and the Mobile Homes

Act 1983—both outdated and not

fit for purpose.

Our first step was to meet West

Lothian council, and we soon real-

ised two things, the first being that

they had very few powers under the

1960 Act and none under the 1983

Act and secondly, they weren't at

all bothered about this and until our

representation, they viewed the de-

velopment as a seasonal caravan

park and weren't at all sure whether

NOSTALGIA .. OR A HARD FOUGHT BATTLE?

THE WILLOW WOOD COMMUNITY DIDNT JUST HAPPEN !

By Mike Larkman

Willow Wood in 2003

Page 5

Housing and the Environment Alex

Neil. v

The meeting took place in the Scot-

tish Parliament November 8th 2008.

and as a direct result a consultation

group consisting of residents asso-

ciations ,park owners ,local authori-

ties and Government officials was

set up to bring about speedy change

to the existing outdated legislation

and first met in July 2010 with the

Willow Wood residents association

being well represented by Jim Ha-

luch

Last year new legislation was intro-

duced under the Mobile Homes Act

which amended the content of resi-

dents’ agreements with park owners

strengthening the hand of residents,

the most notable change was to

exclude the park owners from home

sales procedures

The Act also made it compulsory

for the Park owner to consult with a

properly constituted residents asso-

ciation just one more reason to sup-

port the association and contribute

towards a robust management com-

mittee

The process of change is ongoing

and just this year proposals to in-

crease the powers of the local Au-

thorities with regard to Park Home

licensing became law under the

Housing (Scotland) Act 2014

Why are these changes so impor-

tant? Well, they protect your future

security of tenure and maintain your

rights Park owners operate for a

profit and their whole business is

premised on the sales of new homes

and when you have a full park then

selling a new home is only possible

if he can remove an old one.

Think about it!

The association is ten years old this

autumn, let’s look at some of the

milestones over that ten years. As

you look at the list just think about

what has been achieved by our As-

T HE WI LLOW W OOD WA ND E RE R

ciation, at last some progress - Welch

appoints a manager and outstanding

work starts to get done

2006 March the internal road is sur-

faced and the one way safety system is

introduced.

2006 Creswell Welch agrees to donate

£1000 towards the garden and starts to

lay out the area but soon stops due to

disagreements with the Association.

2006 Frustrated with the constant fric-

tion between the site owner and resi-

dents, Jim Haluch launches the Right

to Buy initiative on behalf of the Asso-

ciation.

2007 Most of the year found the park

owner in a very belligerent mood.

Threatening to dig up the Garden, re-

moving the one way system. Actually

digging up the garden, altering resi-

dents plots, digging up the road, enter-

ing residents homes and demanding up

front cash payments in lieu of sewage

charges. Most of the Associations

focus was on dealing with this bellig-

erence and trying to resolve matters

with the help of the local authority. It

was not a pleasant time Police were

involved and some of our most vul-

nerable were so intimidated that they

gave up their homes on the park and as

a result lost a lot of money. It was

now realised that the site owner had

run into financial difficulty.

First Right to buy option granted by

the Scottish Government.

2008 March. After two years of lob-

bying the Council to install an external

footpath and street lighting, with the

help of Councillor Neil Findlay (now

MSP) Jim and Mike were invited to

address a meeting of the full council.

2008 Welch puts the park up for sale

but under the Right to Buy granted the

previous year, he must offer it to us

first. Now the pressures on we have to

find £1.1 million

2009 Welch applies for planning per-

mission to install rented caravans on

the park adjacent to the cottage and

the Association fights this application

and wins the day on behalf of the Wil-

low Wood Community (cont. P6)

sociation . Without it would the

park have been properly completed

(remember the original owners

went bust!), would we have a com-

munity garden, would there be an

external pavement and street light-

ing, a nearby bus stop but most of

all, would there have been legisla-

tive change affecting all park home

residents on Scotland and entirely

led by Willow Wood and its peo-

ple?

Willow Wood timeline

2003 First homes delivered

2004 Signs of the dream unravel-

ling—Creswell Welch and Family

not treating the residents with the

respect as would be expect in a cus-

tomer / supplier relationship. " We

own the park. We do as we like.

You do as you are told"

Sept 2004 Formation of Willow

Wood Residents Association

2005 Up to 30 homes now on site

Park infrastructure landscaping far

from complete;

Nov 2005 First edition of the Wil-

low Wood Wanderer

2005 with pressure from the Asso-

John Sloan’s cartoons rarely missed

their mark