Findings from Visits to New Arrivals, in response to letter from Washington Development Corporation, County Durham.

It has been found that there are three phases to the ‘settling-in’ process in the new town. While this is a general finding, the length of each ‘phase’ varies for each family.

Phase 1: Honeymoon period. During this time the family is so excited by its new home that everything seems perfect. It is difficult to point out the problems and drawbacks. This ends when all the furniture has arrived and been placed, the new carpets are fitted, husband is settled in work again, and children at school. It is common for the family to revisit Glasgow/Edinburgh etc. at weekends or for parents/in-laws to visit the family here, so that there is little opportunity to explore the possibilities of the town.

Phase II: this begins when there is no longer the flurry of finding the shops, the school, the doctor etc., and the worry of evaluating the decision to come here commences in the ligh to fits consequences. A feeling of isolation is common and doubts are very strong, homesick feelings being quite usual.

                Contributory factors:

1.       Wrong expectations. Ofter a family will expect some long standing family problem to be solved by this move, although they very rarely admit this, even to themselves. This can greatly increase anxiety at this time. There is also misinformation about the town itself and anger results when the truth is discovered (usually wrong ideas about employment situation, shops, buses)

2.       Bus services. The absence of rail services and the comparative infrequency of buses compared to the city makes it very difficult for people to travel to work and drop in on their old haunts. This causes great frustration, as families are made to feel completely dependent on the town right from the start without gradually ‘growing away’ from their previous home.

3.       Telephones. Corner telephones are very important to the new arrival for him to keep in contact, especially with elderly relative whom he may feel he has abandoned . This is accentuated by delays in installation of private lines (several months at times).

4.        Day nurseries. A young mother’s feeling of isolation can be increased to desperation if she cannot escape from her under-5s. While we have play groups in the town, these can only take a child for two sessions a week at most, and there are waiting lists, even for this facility. It is not enough for a mother coping with several under 5s.  There is no facility for under 3s. A young mother may miss extended family where grandmothers, aunts etc., could keep children while mum went shopping, to the hairdressers.

5.       Absence of commercial facilities which town dwellers expect. This includes shops, cinema, restaurant, Barrows, swimming pool. Although these facilities may never have been used by the family in the city, they miss the availability and the opportunity. Shops are really missed as a day at the shops cannot be spent here.

6.       Strangeness of layout. Whilst this is not important in itself, frustration is felt at not knowing the area and segregated pathways are initially confusing. Although street plans are given out with other town information, this is often put away during the first phase and not remembered when it is needed.

Phase III:             This is the time when the family will settle (or not), and depends largely on the effect of the above factors on the family, especially wrong expectations. Most families do settle perfectly well, and enjoy living here. If a visit can be made to the family during phase II (about 8 weeks after arrival) this can make an enormous difference to anxiety level.

Those who do not settle –

1.       Families coming ONLY for the sake of a house. Usual comment “If I could only take this ho use back with me to....”

2.       Families coming with a problem – unemployment, debt, truancy, marital problems. They expect too much, and cannot find their traditional forms of help in the area. Thier sense of failure can be increased in a new town as they feel they have no reason to fail. A visitor can greatly help this type of family.

3.       Older parents (40+), who have no family in the area.

Those who do settle:

1.       The vast majority of people, who are happy within their own family unit and appreciate the housing and environment which gives them an opportunity to be part of something new.

2.       Those with a special interest in some club or other, as they have plenty of scope here to develop this and the town is very glad of their help and interest. They can build up tremendous morale in their own family and in the town.

3.       Ex-service families, who are used to moving around a lot and settling quickly. They do not expect much in the way of facilities, and like the idea of a new town. They are often a bit older than the average young family.

4.       Pensioners. Our pensioners are exceptionally happy here, possibly because they have an extra last chance to have a good time. Their clubs and activities thrive, and there is also an outlet for those who wish to help the old.

5.       Families returned from Canada/Australia etc. For some reason these people settle very well, perhaps for the same reasons as ex-service people.

Janet & Joan.

 

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.

The New Town Blues

I am a bit pressed for time this week so I thought I would just write a short entry explaining the title – the New Town Blues. I was going to wait until it came up in the housing visitor reports but I’m going to have to jump the gun –

“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.”

This problem was oft commented upon at the time. New Town Blues came to represent hte isolation and loneliness people felt in this new town, cut off from friends and families, and, often even without a house telephone on which to ring home. The Livingston Development Corporation went to great lengths to combat the Blues (see the previous posts about the number of social groups that was started up in Livingston. The resulting community spirit is still felt today.)

Anyway, one specific attempt to combat loneliness at the time was the “Bureau for Lonely People” which was kind of like a dating agency but for those who only wanted friendship. Those who wanted to sign up gave their details and the Social Relations/Community Development Department kept an index on filing cards and matched up prospective friends. The Head of the Department, Leslie Higgs, was rather proud of his idea and it garnered nationwide press coverage, including appearing on the BBC. In the end, it matched up about thirty families. This bureau is also an example of the difficulties of using archives as evidence – you know it existed, but how do you prove it? After much scouring, in the end, I was only able to find a couple of brief mentions in our records, including these in the Corporations’ newspaper ‘Location Livingston’, in 1973: