The WAT IF?
Warbler
Woolfords, Auchengray and Tarbrax Improvement Foundation
March 2015
Winter Road Success
There have been some successes over the winter, with both South Lanarkshire and West Lothian Councils. South
Lanarkshire has responded to community feedback by providing two extra grit bins, one at Mosshat and an extra
one in Tarbrax, and we are continuing to work in partnership with them to find solutions for problem areas off
the gritting routes. This includes ensuring a good supply of grit in Tarbrax for the local ‘Ice Busters’ group.
With the closure of the C24 (the Dogs Trust road) during January and February, there were major concerns for
those travelling into West Lothian as the diversion was down Baads Brae which isn't a priority gritting route—
Jemma negotiated with West Lothian Council for a large quantity of grit to be delivered to Chris Pittendrigh at
North Cobbinshaw who kindly offered to grit the Baads road on top of the council treatments to keep the road
clear. The Trust want to say a big thanks to Chris for his help!
WAT IF? Spring Event!
On Saturday April 18th from 12pm—4pm WAT IF? will be hosting a Spring Extravaganza in Tarbrax. (More
information on the exact location will be released closer to the time). There will be fun for all ages, with egg
hunts, competitions and a raffle! It’s also an opportunity to chat to the representatives of the Trust!
Local thoughts…
From Chris Walker, Muirhall Energy Ltd:
“Muirhall Energy is thrilled that all the hard work of WAT IF? Community Trust is now showing visible results. Not
just from the Trust’s investments, but with the first newsletter in December and the great new website. As a
local business, and the power behind Muirhall Wind Farm, we would also like to reinforce the message of WAT
IF? and remind you all that the Muirhall projects have contributed £219,985.36 directly in the South Lanarkshire
Renewable Energy Fund and a further £54,261.97 direct into the community. Some of this funding has already
been used, but it is topped up throughout the year and will continue to be made available over the next 24
years.”
If you would like to send in your ‘local thought’ please get in touch with Jemma.
Grant Schemes now open for applications
WAT IF? directs 20% of the annual Muirhall donations into the Grant Schemes:
There are two Grant Schemes now open for applications. These will run until November 2015.
- Small Grants are open for applications up to £500.
A maximum total of £5,000 will be awarded through the Small Grant Scheme.
- Large Grants are open for applications up to £2,500.
There are two deadlines for applications during the year and only two Large Grants will be awarded.
You can find all details on how to apply at www.watif.scot or contact Jemma on 01501 785172.
WAT IF? is a registered Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SC043606)
Community Action Plan Updates
The 5 themes come from the Community Action Plan which was created based on the
response of the community consultation in 2012/2013. You can see the action plan at:
http://www.watif.scot/uploads/3/5/6/7/3567688/wat_if_community_action_plan.pdf
Theme 1: Roads and Transport
See the ‘Winter Road Success’ story for an update on the winter road services. The ‘Tarbrax
Ice Busters’ are looking for more members; if you have spare time during the week to help
clear snow and ice during the winter months please get in touch with Mo on 01501 785508.
Jemma is still investigating various transport solutions, both into South Lanarkshire and
West Lothian. We really need to know where people want to travel to—please get in touch
if you want to give feedback.
Theme 2: Green Spaces and Heritage
The working group doing research and planning for a Heritage Trail from Tarbrax to
Woolfords needs new members. If you are interested in helping with the group, please get in touch with Jemma. They meet once a
month and you can help in various ways; from compiling local stories, making signage or helping with route planning.
Theme 3: Village Enhancement and Facilities
There is now a Woolfords Village Association which is running Woolfords Hall, and you can book the hall for a variety of uses. For more
information call 01501 785172. The final phase of refurbishing the hall will be resurfacing the car park. It is planned that the works for
the car park will include bike racks, a picnic table and a noticeboard for Woolfords, which can be used to advertise events, businesses and
local news.
Woolfords play park has been upgraded by South Lanarkshire Council and so is not a current priority for a full upgrade, but we are still
assessing the other parks in the area and working with residents to help get them up to a good standard.
We are looking for ideas for future projects in the WAT IF? area, please get in touch if you have ideas on what can be done to enhance
your community. The Grants Scheme (see overleaf for details) can be used for village enhancement if there are groups looking to do
work, but we are also open to larger scale ideas and visions for the future.
Theme 4: Community Activities
There is a Spring Extravaganza planned for Saturday 18th April, and we are also in the early stages of planning a large summer event. The
WAT IF? Facebook page can be used for advertising local events, such as quiz nights, social nights or sporting events—just post on the
page or get in touch with Jemma who will post on the page for you.
WAT IF? is currently applying for community land located at the rear of the new Auchengray Primary school—we hope this will be
successful and can be used for a community growing garden, and possibly allotments. We have already been in discussions with the
school to ensure they can benefit from it also. If you would be interested in starting a group to take forward the development of a
community garden please let Jemma know. (We need all types of skills for a community garden, if you’re not particularly green-fingered
don’t worry, we can use your other skills!)
Theme 5: Services and Communications
We are still working with Community Broadband Scotland to investigate options for better broadband in the area. This is a key priority for
2015, and we hope a technical survey will be taking place ASAP to provide us with options for moving forward to better broadband.
Thank you to everyone who did the survey to provide us with feedback needed to get a technical survey done.
WAT IF? is a registered Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SC043606)