Addiewell: scandal of the forgotten village - Part 3

The old police cottages in Addiewell, 1976.

Lothian Courier

The old police station

Third part of a report on Addiewell’s troubles,  by Joyce Summers  in the Lothian Courier, 26 November 1976

As in most places where there are no amenities for teenagers, there is a problem with vandals.  A tied house adjacent to Addiewell’s only pub have been empty for only five months and already it is unfit to be lived in.  Concerned by the condition of the building the Steering Committee recently contacted the owners, Ushers Brewery Ltd who now plan to renovate the building  - at a cost of £2,000.

The former Police Station stands at the approach to the village - the first building to be seen – empty, derelict and an eyesore.  The Police moved out about 10 years ago and the only people to have lived in the building since them are squatters.

The list of problems and difficulties is endless - Addiewell has no chemist or doctor, although there is a perfectly adequate health clinic to house them.

Old age pensioners and the sick have to travel by bus to West Calder to visit the doctor or have a prescription made up. 

Spirit is not enough

There is one thing that Addiewell possesses that other villages often lack – a strong community spirit based on its roots as a mining village.

it doesn’t seem to be doing us any good

‘Addiewell has a great many organisations doing a good job and trying to do a better jobs, but they keep on running into brick walls,’ commented Mr Dickson.  ‘They just don’t have the facilities and amenities they need.  Councillors Dominic McCauley and Willie Rankine once said we appear to be the only working and perhaps the best steering committee in the whole of the Lothian Region, but it doesn’t seem to be doing us any good.’

Lothian Courier 26 November 1976