West Dunbartonshire Council will draw up a masterplan for the future of Dumbarton’s Willox Park sheltered housing estate.
At a meeting of the local authority’s housing and communities committee last week, Labour’s David McBride and the SNP’s Karen Conaghan raised their concerns about the quality of housing at Willox Park, with a number of residents reporting issues with damp.
Councillor McBride said: “We know about the plans to demolish the care home, but could I ask what the plans are for the current properties in Willox Park?
“There have been a lot of rumours and speculation going round the local community that they are getting flattened. But I’m not aware of that.
“I think the current stock certainly does need investment.
“There have been reports of damp conditions which would require some work.
“What is the plan?”
Councillor Conaghan added that residents should not be experiencing damp.
She commented: “A good few years ago now I raised the fact that some of the properties at Willox Park are subject to issues with dampness.
“I think given the nature of the residents we have there, not that anyone should be living in a property that suffers from dampness, but that certainly shouldn’t be the case in something that is very specifically aimed at people who are elderly or have mobility issues.
“We really need to be getting that right.”
Demolition of the former care home in Willox Park, which has been empty since 2017, was given the green light by councillors last month.
John Kerr, West Dunbartonshire Council’s housing strategy manager, explained to councillors that work on the sheltered housing complex will be the next focus.
He said: “The old care home became of interest to us and we purchased it for the new build scheme.
“We will develop new homes on that specific site.
“When we were doing that and engaging with the community we felt like, with the current condition of the existing stock there, the whole area would benefit from a regeneration masterplan.
“We will progress on that matter, but no decisions have yet been taken on what the decision is.
“There will be options from refurbishment right to phasing the stock out and creating new builds there.
“At the moment there are two separate projects.
“We will deliver new builds on the care home site, but we will have a more holistic masterplan in sight for the whole Willox Park area.
“It’ll probably be towards the end of the year before we have anything to bring forward to the committee.
“At the moment there are no firm plans other than the fact we’re aware that the stock there could do with improvements.
“There will be a whole masterplan approach and the community will be heavily involved in that going forward, but it probably won’t be before the end of the calendar year that we have any proposals.”
The senior housing officer went on to add: “In the meantime work on the new builds will progress on the former care home site.”
