Do You Love Westfield?
Posted by westfield on February 15, 2009
I received a comment from someone who grew up in Westfield, married a Westfield lass and is considering moving back to Westfield. However, on a recent visit to the area they were quite taken aback and decided to pose the comment below:
….we are considering buying house in Westfield and as I visit my parents on a regular basis I can’t help but feel Westfield is going downhill. For example, when I walk the dog I could never remember there being so much litter i.e. Buckfast bottles, the ongoing problems with the bus shelters, and the sad prospects of an outdoor cash machine and telephone box. I feel Westfield needs to change drastically and something has to be done.
The community of Westfield, where are its problems, where the problems are coming from, what action is being done or what action could be done? …
Personally I have lived in Westfield for over 30 years and even though I have thought of moving out to different areas I have never done so. Why, because it is an excellent place to live, to have brought up my children and now my grandson, who also lives here. The people are helpful and supportive and extremely friendly. Yes, the area has gone downhill in those 30 years but that is a reflection of society in all areas and not just a problem within Westfield. However, that does not mean that we should be complacent. We all need to do our bit. Respect each other and be intolerant of those who abuse that respect.
One of the biggest problems within our society is that we turn to others to fix our problems. We pass all responsibility and accountability to anyone else and set up a ‘Nothing to do with me’ culture, sticking our heads out of our little protected cocoon, complain and then pop it back in again before anyone can see who we are. Many are so protectionist that they would rather complain in silence, bemoaning to their friends and colleagues rather than pick up the phone and give power to those in authority to act.
What is the solution? It might sound like an over simplification but GET INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY. Nothing will change until we change ourselves. I know that Westfield Community Council if full of old fogies. And that is not because we designed it that way. It is simply that young people aren’t coming up and taking part.
Be selfish, look after number one and create a community that will stick together and protect us all when we need it. If the Community Council or your politicians are not doing what you want them to do then kick them out. I would like nothing better than to spend the second Wednesday every month in front of the TV but I care about where I live and I care about what happens around me.
What action is being done? It is well known that I am not a fan of North Lanarkshire Council. However, Westfield is now getting a reasonable share of NLC regeneration funding. There are projects going on at the rear of Tomtain and discussions around the inclusion around the school to include the community halls etc. NLC also welcome any other proposals for consideration. That said, we are a small Community Council and we are limited in the support we can give to NLC so again it is about involvement. The greater the activity of the Community Council the greater NLC will provide funds.
There is an old Scottish saying ‘The girnin’ bairn gets fed first”, and in Westfield we don’t girn loud enough.
The upshot, to all reading this posting – If you love Westfield and want to make a difference then come and join us at the Community Council meeting and get heard. We hold our meetings on the second Wednesday of each month.
Allan Gordon said
Hi Wilf, thank you for taking the time to reply to my blog.
First of all i would like to agree that Westfield is an excellent place- but i don’t. From the age of 3 to around 13 I would have said Westfeild was the best place in the world but as tenneage life started it has to be said that Westefield was a boring place with nothing to do but walk the streets, having to climb fences to have a game of football and having your name put into a police officers book becuase you were standing in the same place for more than 10 minutes, however having good close friends we made do with what we had and didn’t become part of the WYT (Westfield Young Team) – the young ones that are being blamed for the current situation. I believe the situation is a result of boredom which leads to drinking alcohol giving he end result ‘vandalism’ and unsociable behaviour that could bring a good community down. On that note i would be very interested to know the number of bottles of Buckfast sold at the local shop? The typical scenario; 1 customer = 5 bottlesof Buckfast – no questions asked!
I don’t want to come across that i only have negative things to say about Westfield and just want to slag the place off but to be seen as someone who cares about an area my parents live in and the possibility of bringing my own children up in. Having it only been 6 years since last ‘hanging around the streets’ i feel i have a lot to say and a lot of views on Westfield and feel i could offer something to the commitee and would be grateful if you could give me more information on the next committee meeting. Thanks Allan
Wilf said
Hi Allan
Your comments are welcomed and valid. However, I believe we have become tolerant of antisocial behaviour. We have failed in our duty to set the boundaries but instead chosen to close our curtains, lock our doors, turn up the TV volume and expect anyone else to do something about our pain.
The problem is endemic across the UK, not just Westfield. However, Cumbernauld is unique in that people expect facilities to be on their doorstep. Teenagers, in the past thought nothing of jumping on a bus and going into town to a café or for a game of pool at a youth club. Not now, as in Cumbernauld we have no town centre that welcomes teenagers, we have no central non-alcoholic venues where they can meet and have a laugh. Our society has become risk averse and mollycoddled our youths to the point, where they are so frustrated, that many they seek comfort and excitement in gangs and groups.
I do not believe in blame as it never provides a solution but I have lived in Westfield for 30 years and for 28 of those years, both my wife and I have been involved in the community in one form or another. The sad fact is that it is less than a dozen of the same faces that have turned up to meetings, organised the Gala Days, looked after the pensioners, run our football clubs, Boys Brigade, Brownies, etc. That is twenty eight years of the same old tired faces, who have shown they care about our community and don’t just sit at home complaining.
So Allan, you are welcome to our Community Council meeting and when you eventually move into Westfield you will be more than welcome to join the committee.
Our next meeting will be on:
11th March 2009 at 7.30 pm in Westfield Community Halls (the small meeting room). And just by coincidence Alan O’Brien and Bob Chadha (Local Councillors) hold there meeting there between 6.30 till 7.30.