Thursday July 24th 2025
Bill and Heather Mackie who live at no 15 with their two sons who are their carers
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
Staff from Sight Scotland Veterans will today meet Linburn householders who last month were given notice to quit their homes on the charity’s West Lothian estate.
The meeting this afternoon (Thursday) at the Linburn centre’s Centenary Hall at Wilkieston was described by the charity as “ongoing engagement” with tenants.
In June the charity announced a decision to sell off large parts of the Linburn estate, home for decades to war blinded veterans, for housing development. Residents have been given a year’s notice.
As highlighted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) earlier this month, some veterans fear they will be unlikely to find homes.
The plan affects a total of 13 residential properties on the site, including seven veterans with vision impairment, and six private tenants.
A spokesperson for Sight Scotland Veterans told the LDRS: “Sight Scotland Veterans are committed to engaging with the tenants who live in the area of our Linburn estate in West Lothian that we are planning to sell to raise vital funds for the charity.”
They added: “The meeting is part of that ongoing engagement. We have been exploring options for appropriate alternative housing, after discussing each tenant’s individual needs with them, and will be sharing what we have found out to date with the tenants.”
The announcement last month brought an angry reaction from local politicians. Labour leader of West Lothian Council Lawrence Fitzpatrick wrote to the Defence Secretary, John Healey, asking him to “intervene immediately and help these veterans”.
Conservative group leader, and ex RAF serviceman, Councillor Damian Doran-Timson urged the charity to guarantee a home for a home for the veterans.
In a letter to a resident local MSP, the SNP Justice Minister Angela Constance offered her support and added that she would seek a meeting with the Veterans Minister and said it was important he link in with herself and Sight Scotland.
The charity has told residents to find new homes within a year as it revealed plans to sell the land for development.
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It comes after Sight Scotland Veterans faced losses of more than £18m over the last four years.
The charity stressed it was working with residents and no one was facing immediate eviction.
Some veterans said they fear spending the rest of their lives on the council’s housing waiting list which already has around 11,000 names.
One, Bill Mackie who lives with his wife and two sons, who act as carers for their parents, claimed that the charity had plans as long ago as 2023 to clear the site for sale to developers and said this had been denied earlier this year by senior executives.
The Mackies have lived at Wilkieston for ten years. “I know I’m going to have to go, but why would I make it easy,” Mr Mackie told the LDRS earlier this month.
He added: “The thing is our lease says ‘home for life’”.
Speaking to the LDRS last month Craig Spalding, Sight Scotland Veterans Chief Executive, said: “Selling the land will secure the financial future of the charity. However, it will mean that the existing housing on the site will need to be demolished.
“We recognise that we have a duty of care to the existing tenants and are committed to finding each tenant alternative living arrangements that are as good as, if not better than, their current accommodation.”
A council spokesperson told the LDRS that the council has not received a planning application or granted consent for the redevelopment of the veteran’s village at Wilkieston.
However, the charity had responded to a “ call for ideas” with proposals for development at Wilkieston as part of the council’s work to develop a new long term Local Development Plan.
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