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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
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
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