Housing Visitors Report for the month ending 31st March 1973

Ladywell, Howden, Barclayway.

[Tenant] [address] This tenant came at the beginning of the month. They have had difficulties over unpaid bills at their previous address. He was educated at a ‘Backward School’ and is ready to accept advice and help; his wife gets into a panic when confronted with things she cannot cope with. They have been given help with their rent rebate, furniture and taken to the SSEB Bathgate to arrange weekly payments (of their electricity bills). They are also paying rent on a weekly basis for the time being. He is now working regularly, but it will require friendly visits until a routine of paying bills is established. They have also had assistance with clothing.

[Tenant] [address] This young couple of six children, the eldest of whom is six. He frequently changes his job involving ‘lie-time’ which gives them no chance to budget on a regular basis. The family is known to the SWD, there are rent arrears, and although visits seem indicated, she is showing opposition to this.

[Tenant] [address] This woman is separated from her husband and coping with her family herself. She is in a very depressed state, mainly because her daughter is in a home being a Spastic/Epileptic and only capable of leading a vegetable existence. There is a teenage daughter unsettled at her work and causing her mother concern. There is a younger daughter who is again not attending school regularly, but I have the feeling that this has the mother’s approval, for some reason. She wants to bring her daughter home to stay, but this seems totally impracticable because of the girl’s health and [the tenant’s] health. I am of the opinion it would cause further disruption between the girls. It would seem a better solution to have the eldest daughter transferred to a Home nearer at hand where her mother could visit her oftener and the St Vincent De Paul are making moves in this direction.  

(this post has been edited to comply with data protection)

Ladywell/Howden/Knightsridge - Report for November 1972

Once again, I have found this month that new tenants are generally in employment, able to furnish their houses, and well prepared for coming here in that they know what to expect and are ready to make an effort to settle.

I would like to report that SWD is now fully staffed and much more able to take referrals from HV (LDC policy of more selective letting has also helped here). The SWD is now split into two teams – one for Ladywell/Howden/Calders and one for Craigshill/Balerno/Currie. This agrees with the areas of LDC HVs and AHOs.

There is an impression in the town that the employment situation is improving – several men I have known as long-term unemployed have started jobs. Again, the policy of selection has helped.

Three families I have spoken to are using a rented house as a ‘stop-gap’ until they can find accommodation to suit their (middle class) needs. It seems unfortunate that the town should lose these people to Bathgate, Edinburgh etc. As we do not provide housing which is ‘exclusive’ or ‘expensive’ enough.

We will be faced again this winter with many cases of disconnected electricity. Is there no way in which this can be prevented?

The information sheet for Knightsridge tenants has not yet been received, and Rev. Hughes has communicated his anxiety to me about the possibility a temporary community hall for the area.

I would like to note that the tenants of Whinbank seem particularly disconnected, although they do not mix with one another (or because they do not mix with one another)

Howden Park Centre

For over forty years, Howden Park Centre has been integral to the cultural output of Livingston so I thought I would look, briefly, at its history.

Invitation to the opening of Howden Park Centre, 1972

In 1972, as part of the tenth anniversary celebrations of the Livingston Development Corporation, the stable block and coach house of Howden House were developed into an arts and conference centre.

 The building was opened by the actor Andrew Cruickshank. This new centre provided the Mews Theatre, an exhibition space, and accommodation for other groups involved in the arts. The Centre was administered by the Community Development Team of the Livingston Development Corporation until the Corporation's Wind-Up in 1997, when the Centre was taken on by the newly formed West Lothian Council.  Refurbished and extended, Howden Park Centre reopened in Spring 2009 following redevelopment to designs created by architects Nicoll Russell Studios.  In 2010 the Centre was named "Building of the Year" by the Edinburgh Architectural Association.



Cover of brochure for conference facilities
at Howden Park Centre



The local amateur dramatics society, The Livingston Players, put on three shows a year in the theatre, and have done since before there was a theatre.  Again, even before the buliding’s conversion, the stable block had been used by Livingston Arts Group as a meeting place and the Corporation promised to incorporate for facilities to use once the building had been converted – the group still meets there today. There have also been countless business conferences and art exhibitions and concerts and gigs held at the centre.



Livingston Development Corporation letter
regarding management of the Centre, 1974



In the archive we hold a variety of material relating to the centre.  We have the agreement to let the stables to Livingston Art Group, for example, and the minutes of the management group that directed the conversion of the building (and papers to do with the management of the facility in general). We also have brochures that advertise the conference facilities of the centre. More importantly, the Livingston Players, have, over the last few years, been depositing their records with us so we also hold a record of their performances.  We do, of course, as with anything that was built by the LDC, also hold an abundant amount of technical data on the construction and renovation of the building!

A lot of the cultural, social and economic conditions of Livingston today are a direct result of the decisions made in the 1970s - Howden Park Centre is one of the most positive results of those decision.  

Going back before Livingston New Town and the LDC, during World War II a bomb fell on the building Tuesday 25 June 1940 a bomb fell on the coach house and stables.  Mrs Maria Fleming and her granddaughter Margaret, aged 10, were killed.  These were the first civilians to be killed on the Scottish mainland and the only WWII deaths by bombing in West Lothian.

August – general comments – housing visitor Ladywell & Howden

Complaints again centred on shops and buses. Commercial entertainment has been mentioned by most of the new tenants (they are nearly all employed people and have a bit more money than the last influx) and I wondered if the possibility of a Chinese restaurant for the town had been considered. I have mentioned this to tenants and they seem to think it would be popular. In particular it might help with the problem of entertainment for young people since this would be a night out which they could afford. I have mentioned these findings to Mr Pollock in Estates, and it seems possible we may have such a facility in Knightsridge.

People are content with waiting for the major shopping development and the prospect of Knightsridge shops helps here – if possible, more information on plans, timing etc. – especially about the Regional Shopping Centre, would be appreciated by the tenants. Most people in the town go to Bathgate, Broxburn, Pumpherston or the major cities once a week at least to shop at present and this is not so much a reflection on the number and range of shops but on their poor quality and high prices.

Litter has been mentioned to me and on going around I notice that it mainly consists of sweet papers round about bins outside shops and along the main footpaths from shops. Maybe a schools’ campaign might help. One tenant (who is probably going to buy in Bathgate) told me that her main reason for leaving the town is that the children all ‘run wild’ about the streets. I am afraid it seems to be a side-effect of segregated pedestrian areas that mothers can send even the very youngest children out for a whole day without worrying about them, whereas back in Glasgow they would have to watch the children carefully. As a result there are groups of children roaming about quite unsupervised. When we do get the play areas in Ladywell, might the possibility of a warden or two be considered? I noted that many children are writing a short piece on adventure playgrounds for the exhibition said that they would like ‘someone to look after us’ ‘someone to stop the bullying’ etc. Since the focal point for all these children during the day is not mother and her watchful eye, we might find another in order to prevent vandalism long-term.

It is reported that the ‘workers’ bus’ to Glasgow is very well used and numbers continued to grow. The passengers are counted on every journey and I hope the bus company will be so convinced of demand that it may run more buses.

It is notable that I spent time with 12 families last month whose problems resulted from broken marriages. Usually the main difficulty was housing a wife and children who had no household goods and communicating with D.H.S.S. on their behalf. I can see this problem continuing as do the S.W.D. and we do not see it as satisfactory that these people are being dealt with by all agencies rather haphazardly where a great deal of suffering  is involved. For instance, we have several times given a house to woman and children, leaving the husband living alone in a 4 apt house (or larger) with all the furniture. This is legally correct, but hardly a suitable solution, regardless of which partner is in the right ‘1/2 I feel it might be useful to meet with SWD on this perhaps bring up a few cases to consider responsibility for welfare. If DHSS could also be involved we might further clarification.   

ALmondvale Shopping Centre was opened in 1978. Before this date shoppers in Livingston had limited options as to where to go - 'The Mall in Craigshill was a popular choice. Now known simply as  "The Centre" - Almondvale Shopping Centre was expanded during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The Centre now has over one million square feet of retail space.