Wester Inch, Bathgate - Re-visited - Monday 08 June 2009
By Heather Rose
A YOUNG couple are unloading the weekly pile of shopping bags from the boot of their car. A little farther along the road a chap is tending his garden. Nearby three young girls are enjoying a joke as they chatter on their mobile phones.
These delightful scenes are the everyday happenings you expect to see within any residential setting in the country, outward evidence of the happy, homely lifestyles being enjoyed by those at home within the surrounding properties.
But at Wester Inch Village, Bathgate, these snapshots depicting happy home lives are especially significant. In a few short years Wester Inch Village has already become an area with a strong community spirit, a location which its new residents are proud to call home.
While some inner city zones become widely known by their local name, it is rare for zones within suburban settings to become instantly recognisable so quickly throughout the length and breadth of the country. Wester Inch Village has.
Although its creation is still an on-going process, the growth of this new community is a wonderful example of how a forlorn part of the country can be revitalised, becoming a great symbol of stylish living.
For this very spot is now adorned with a glorious collection of beautiful new homes. Yet, hard as it may be to believe today, it has also been the setting of great sadness and despair a mere generation ago.
This very location was once a hive of industrial activity. It was the site of the British Leyland truck factory. But in the 1980s it was making headlines for the worst of reasons. The British Leyland-Rover Truck assembly plant closed down. The job losses were on a grand scale. News reports of the period were regularly revealing the agony people were facing as they woke up to a bleak future dogged by unemployment.
Gradually, as time passed, the pain and anguish eased. But the site remained a stark reminder of those unhappy times. For almost two decades this vast site lay untouched, seemingly forgotten.
Then, at the start of the 21st century, a new future began to dawn for the area. When I was first told over a quiet lunch at one of Glasgows finest restaurants, about what was planned, it all seemed too amazing to be possible, let alone true.
I was shown the master plans. Months, if not years, of hard work must have gone into all the preparatory work. It was spellbinding.
The forthcoming Wester Inch Village was to become the setting for around 1600 homes, maybe more. It would be home to around 5,000 people - and maybe more. It would be a new village with a true community spirit.
It would open the door to new job opportunities. There was going to be a new school and top names in the housing world were already coming together to transform this area that had been witness to so much employment sadness, into one of the country's hot spot residential settings.
To my shame, I must admit this all seemed an ambition too far. How wrong I was. By 2003 the on-site creation of Wester Inch village had begun.
Six developers had formed a consortium that was starting to put Wester Inch Village on the Scottish housing market map.
Two years ago the new primary school, Simpson Primary - named in honour of Sir James Young Simpson of chloroform fame - had become a functioning educational establishment. Sir James had been born in Bathgate in 1811 and the town is rightly proud of his achievements.
Having a new school added, of course, to the appeal of the area for families. But people of all ages have been eager to put down roots at Wester Inch because of its great choice of housing, good prices and locational advantages.
Even during the credit crunch potential buyers have been carefully studying the many benefits, and the new future which is Wester Inch Village. For Bathgate itself is a place with a good community spirit and a great array of amenities for people of all ages. It has much to offer those seeking the perfect home base.
Importantly, too, is its geographic situation. Handy for the M8 it is within easy reach of both Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as Stirling, a mere five miles from Livingston and within 30 minutes drive of 80 percent of the countrys population.
But it is not only road travel that makes this such a convenient setting. Rail links for Bathgate are adding to the areas appeal for commuters.. Bathgate already has a good rail connection into central Edinburgh. Even better travel facilities are on the near horizon. Network Rail is in the midst of work to re-open the Airdrie-Bathgate passenger rail link after 50-years.
Once completed it will not only mean a connection between Edinburgh and Glasgow through Bathgate and Airdrie, it will make other rail destination points like Helensburgh, Balloch and Milngavie easy to reach. The overall project also includes the upgrading of the existing lines between Bathgate and Edinburgh and Drumgelloch and Airdrie.
Scheduled to be fully operational by 2011, this is certain to make Bathgate - including the new Wester Inch Village - even more attractive to an even wider spread of buyers.
And that, of course, is likely to make these new homes even more sought after in the future, making them a first class investment today.
In line with all this, the areas bleak past is dimming into history with the accent switching to the new generation which is already happy to be coming home to the great future which is now set out before them within Wester Inch Village, Bathgate.
Ordinary, everyday activities like shopping, gardening, washing the car and children playing outdoors, might be insignicant elsewhere. Here in Wester Inch Village it is this ordinary aspect coupled with well designed homes which adds to the everyday values of life in these suburban surroundings.
Studying the development information of the six developers bringing Wester Inch Village into action, proves the point.
Barratt Homes' Castlepark development is situated near the new primary school, and features 3-bedroom apartments, 3 and 4-bedroom townhouses, 4, 5 and 6-bedroom detached properties. For further information visit www.barratthomes.co.uk
At their Albion Gardens development at Wester Inch Village, Charles Church an exclusive range of two bedroom apartments and three, four and five bedroom homes from £126,950. For further information visit www.charles-church.co.uk
Wester Grove at Wester Inch by Bryant Homes takes in 2-bedroom apartments, and 3 and 4 bedroom houses. Visit www.bryant.co.uk for more information.
In the next phase being released by Persimmon Homes at their Stewart Park development, the selection features 1 and 2-bedroom apartments and 2, 3 and 4-bedroom homes. For more details visit www.persimmonhomes.com
Strathclyde Homes also have a broad range of homes on offer at their Scholars Gate development at Wester Inch Village - 2 and 3-bedroom apartments, 3 and 4-bedroom townhouses and 3, 5 and 6-bedroom villas. For more information please visit www.strathclydehomes.com.
The latest builder to join the villages line-up is Thomas Mitchell Homes.
Thomas Mitchell Homes Sales & Marketing Director,
Thomas Mitchell Homes are renowned for the superior specification in their properties including oak finishes and quality chrome ironmongery as standard. Theresa comments "these are items which are normally "added extras" in new build homes; it's these special touches that make our homes stand apart from the rest."
She also comments "the current market is very challenging however, for various reasons people still require to move home and to assist them in this process we have a variety of offers to choose from including assistance for first time buyers, shared equity or part exchange on your existing home."
With so many options available to entice buyers, together with competitive prices and excellent low mortgage rates there really couldn't be a better time to purchase a new home.
For more information on the homes available at Liberty Gardens call or visit our Sales & Marketing Suite. Open Thurs to Mon 11am - 5pm. Or visit www.thomasmitchellhomes.com
