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)

Housing Visitor Report for the Month Ending the 28th February, 1973.

Ladywell, Howden, Knighstridge

 By and large the tenants of Knightsridge feel they are ‘pioneering’ and have a feeling of being out of contact with the rest of the town.

The feeling is partly engendered by being in West Lothian and the children attending schools in eans, Bathgate and Broxburn. As a good number have taken tenancy over the dark winter period there does not seem to have been the usual neighbourliness. One charming little staff nurse is feeling particularly ostracised but implies this is because she is coloured. She would have been happier in Deans where she has friends. She occupies a ground flat and the neighbours upstairs upset her while she is studying, although they are not unduly noisy. She may settle in better in April when her sister comes to live with her.

At one point where there are OAPs facing on to a cul-de-sac there is some ill feeling about it. A) They do not have cars themselves but have them parked there – in one case the cars are parked almost against the gable wall. B) The cars are a disturbance C) People are tending to use the parking bay for repairing cars.

Untaxed cars are lying about in various places on the schemes.

The residents in Knightsridge would like the mobile library service extended to their area and this is apparently under consideration. Several tenants in Ladywell have expressed the concern that they think the Corporation has been niggardly by installing false drawers in the kitchen where there was room for proper drawers and also the area under the sink is open.

There are complaints also that the plants put in by the LDC at the front are too near the house and impede window cleaning.

A picture of the community space in Knightsridge, 1979

The 10,000th House in Livingston was opened in Deans in the 1970s



Deans Community High school under construction in the 1970s



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)

Housing visitors’ Report for October 1972



Livingston was proud of its ability to attract industry,
but many still found it hard to find work. This image is
from Cameron Iron Works on Houstoun Industrial estate.
When it was built the iron works had the largest iron press
in Europe.



Again it was noted that the new tenants visited seem to be settling well, and that they are in employment, have furniture, and seem to be able to cope with the expense and problems of moving here.

The mood in town is that the employment situation is improving and I have noted a few men who have been able to gain employment here within a few weeks of coming to the town.

Since the current intake to Ladywell is financially ‘better off’ than that of last year, the problem of garage lets has been raised to me a few times by the new tenants.

Howden Park – since the opening of the Arts Centre, Howden House is often locked up during the day, and children who come to play in the park now have no toilet facilities available to them.



Livingston was constantly expanding. Many new schemes
had events to celebrate the work - this is an image from the
ceremony that began ALmondvale Bridge, which links
north and south Livingston



Knightsridge – people in Kr seem ready to grab any passing LDC official and pump for information as they know very little about the area (i.e. Kr not the town as a whole). Mostly, they do not have family or friends in the town (was this known?) and the general feeling is that it is an area where ‘people keep themselves’ – although everyone says this. They would all be very glad, they say, of a place to meet, and I think a notice board available to these tenants would be a boon as they are finding contacts, both with those who can help them, and with themselves, a problem. Can any facility be provided Kr this winter?

Note:  in addition to the visits or the returns, there were 76 visits to pensioners in Deans for the garden survey.

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.

Report Of Assistant Housing Officer (Ladywell & Howden) For January & February 1972

In January I visited 29 new tenants, leaving cards with 65, and made second or subsequent visits to 21 new tenants. Of this 29, 17 had no complaints and are settling well into the town. The problems for which I am revisiting are unemployment 13, lonely or not settling 2, financial problems 11, unsatisfactory job 2.  In addition to new tenant visits, I have made 9 initial calls, and 10 to tenants about rent arrears, transfers and general difficulties – these tenants have either requested that someone call or have been referred to me by AHO.    

In February I visited 18 new tenants, leaving cards with 6, and made second or subsequent visits to 21 new tenants. Of this 18, 14 had no complaints and are settling well into the town. The problems for which I am revisiting are unemployment 7, lonely or not settling 4, financial problems 10, unsatisfactory job 2.  In addition to new tenant visits, I have made 11 calls to tenants about rent arrears, transfers and general difficulties – these tenants have either requested that someone call or have been referred to me by AHO.   

Problems and Complaints

1.       There is a great deal of concern and anxiety among tenants over electricity bills. In many cases, money is not saved toward this bill at all – it is treated as the “great unknown”, and panic ensues when it arrives. In other cases, the bill is more that was expected and there is hardship to meet the extra cost. For most people, however, the main problem is the insecure feeling caused by a long-term, large, fluctuating bill. The cards provided by SSEB for calculating weekly costs are not widely used, partly because they are not understood, partly because of inconvenience, but mostly because people would not really believe them, or do NOT want to know about their bills, hoping that they will be small when they arrive. Since SSEB policy is now to disconnect supply for an unpaid bill, and not to accept weekly payments, and since SWD will not help clients with payment of electricity bills by a loan, the consequence of insufficient saving is too often the loss of supply, or large debt contracted to keep the supply. For reconnection, the consumer must pay the original bill, plus unit used between last reading and disconnection, plus reconnection fee, plus a deposit toward the next bill.

Since the problem of electricity paid in arrears for unlimited supply is causing so much distress, and since the re-education necessary to the tenants is not being undertaken by SSEB, would it be possible for LDC to consider collecting an electricity payment with the rent, or to approach SSEB to discuss other possible solutions to this problem – Installation of pre-payment meters, weekly collections of money, monthly rather than quarterly meter readings etc.

2.       It has been brought to my notice that there are no litter bins in the streets. Since there is quite a litter problem in some areas, would it not be possible for some litter bins to be provided to help train children, and to remove the “no bins” excuse for litter.

3.       The library is not open at the weekends. Could it the local authority be asked to reconsider its hours, or to investigate demand for weekend opening?

4.       I have again received many complaints about dogs, bus services, telephone Kiosks, and distance to school from Ladywell tenants.

5.       I think it worth noting that the tenants I have visited who are in houses with the “Heatovent“ storage heaters have not complained about them, and they have been described to me as “very good” and “great”.

6.       Two tenants have asked why LDC do not sell regulation garden sheds in addition to issuing plans to those who wish to build them. Has this been considered?

7.       I am told that there is some concern about rowdiness and vandalism in parts of Ladywell. Reports are mainly about young children (8 to 11 years) rather than teenage hoodlums. These children play in the streets and throw anything to hand – mud, stones, empty bottles. This problem could be solved to a great extent by the provision of a well-equipped play centre, with a play leader, and activities for indoor as well as outdoor equipment. Unless children are controlled at this age, it is likely that they will become vandals in a few years.

8.       SWD                I would like to report that a case which I did refer to SWD this month was not dealt with. The tenant had had her goods valued for a warrant sale before contacting anyone. I called, collected details, and attempted to persuade the Sheriff Officer to drop the sale for a weekly payment of the bill, having tried everything, I was completely unsuccessful. In order that the tenant should not think that she had not had the best possible help, I took her down to SWD where Bill Campbell again contacted the S.O. He was also unsuccessful in eliciting any helpful response from them and told the woman that she should call back on Monday to see if the SWD could help financially. I then discussed with the women what money she could possibly raise towards averting the sale, and left her, on the understanding that I would see her again to discover what SWD had done to help. When I did see the women again I discovered to my horror that SWD had referred the woman to the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, which was not only of no help to the woman but very unfair on CAB. By borrowing, the woman was then able to avert the sale, but she had no help from SWD. Another tenant had called at SWD to discuss leaving her husband and SWD had recommended that she ask to see an LDC visitor. This woman’s problem is a complex marital one which it is not our job to deal with. Insofar as it was a problem of housing, I told her to see Mr Carse.
       

9.       I have been discussing the problems of loneliness with quite a number of tenants. This problem is known as the New Town Blues and is widely recognised.  Its avoidance lies in the development of a sense of community.  And I feel this is difficult for Ladywell, which has no focus other than St Pauls which itself can act as a repellent to many. The Social Centre is not a focus, as most of the time there is nothing happening there, and many of the tenants do not even know of its existence. Has the possibility of more accommodation for community activities (especially in the absence of a school building) been considered, as this is a point brought up by many tenants? The St Pauls coffee morning has been a great help, but this is only a ‘focus’ for about two hours per day. The possibility of street welcoming and social committees has also been put to me. Is this feasible, the size of many Ladywell streets which are almost areas in themselves.

Report on Home Visits by Assistant housing officer – Tenancies commencing Feb 1971

No of home visits = 87

“      “     “     revisited = 18

The names and addresses of elderly persons were notified to the Secretary of the Livingston Old People’s Welfare Council.

One Gentleman offered to deliver copies of “newsflash” to his neighbours. This information was passed to Editors.

Six tenants (breadwinners) were found to be unemployed. They had relinquished their jobs on coming to Livingston and had been unable to find employment here.

There were few complaints made this month. Storage heaters in the Ladywell area have proved troublesome and people complain at the length of time they have to wait for repairs.

Ladywell housing in the 1970s
(Ladywell 6 Housing Alderbank LDC/IN/209)

One or two criticisms have been made and these have been passed on to the appropriate department. The transport position continues to be under fire and one tenant complained that the information given to them by Glasgow overspill was misleading because it state that there were plenty of buses to and from Glasgow but omitted to say that it takes 1 hour 55 minutes to travel there. There was also one complaint that the Department of Employment & Productivity in Glasgow had inferred there was plenty of employment available in the Livingston area – this, the tenant had found to be untrue. One tenant complained that she had found she had to pay 9d (old pence) per packet more for her babies (she has twins) milk and on checking with the Health Visitor at Craigshill, it was established that the previous M.O.H did not approve the proprietary baby foods being sold at the Welfare Clinic and this policy has been carried on. In this case, the cost to the tenant was quite considerable.

Report on Home Visits by Assistant housing officer – Tenancies commencing Dec 1970

No of home visits = 141

“      “     “     revisited = 19

 The name of one elderly person was notified to the Secretary of the Livingston Old People’s Welfare Council.

One lady expressed the wish to help in the delivery of Meals on Wheels and also to visit an elderly person. Three people volunteered to help with work at Craig’ Farm. These offers of help have been passed to the agencies concerned.

On several visits, it was found that the tenant (and/or his wife) had given up jobs on moving to Livingston and have been unable to find employment. There are danger signs with one or two families and they will be revisited during February to assess the latest position. Young people are still finding difficulty in obtaining work. A call at the Department of Employment confirmed the fact that jobs are extremely scarce.

Visits to the Ladywell area proved to be much more time consuming that visits nearer the centre of the town. Tenants were eager to know everything there is to know about the facilities provided in the town and the activities. Mothers are still anxious about the schooling as it appears that even with the new school due to open in Howden in the near future, children from the same family will go to different schools at Primary level. The transport problem causes much worry to parents in the Sedgebank-Ryebank area. The service bus does not always arrive and the children are late for school.

Complaints have been few from tenants in Ladywell – no condensation problems reported from this area. However, tenants in Burbank complain of excessive noise from Potterton Warm Air Heating Units. The level of noise is not acceptable – it interferes with enjoyment of radio and television and causes unnecessary irritation in families.

Bison flats visited brought the usual complaints of dampness – these were all reported to the District Office.



Public Artwork was integrated into
many of Livingston's new housing areas



Stray dogs are once again causing a nuisance in the town.

A post card conveying the good wishes of the Development Corporation and offering to revisit homes is now being left at houses where the tenant is out when a call is made.

February 1971.