Disabled veterans face eviction over charity cash troubles

An estate for disabled veterans is facing demolition after its charity landlord revealed plans to sell the land to developers.

Linburn estate in West Lothian has been home to tenants of Sight Scotland Veterans – formerly Scottish War Blinded – for decades.

However, the charity has now told residents to find new homes within a year – with 27 of them facing life on the housing list.

It comes after Sight Scotland Veterans faced losses of more than £18m over the last four years.

The charity said it was working with residents and no one was facing immediate eviction.

Linburn Park sits on the former Linburn estate, which also houses a military museum, a veterans centre and a community hall.

It contains 23 homes – 10 of which have lain empty in recent years.

The decision affects a total of 13 residential properties on the site, including seven veteran tenants with vision impairment and six private tenants.

It also impacts three non-housing tenants – a military museum, a farmer and a garden project.

Bill Mackie, 71, has lived on the estate since 2015. He is partially sighted and has mobility issues.

He showed BBC Scotland News a map of the proposed development site in Wilkieston.

Bill said: “This lot is all going to go and when it does, it’s because they’re selling the land to a developer.

“We’ve heard 40 houses are going up, 50 houses, 400…

“I asked at a meeting if [the charity] is going to give us help to find new houses. They said, ‘Oh aye, we’ll give you a letter that says you’re out in 84 days.’ That’s it.”

He added: “It’s every man for themselves. We’ll have to go on the housing waiting list.”

There are currently 10,820 on West Lothian’s list, including 1,260 live homelessness cases.

Like the other residents, Mr Mackie was first made aware of the plans in a meeting on 3 June at the village community hall.

Residents then received a letter from Sight Scotland Veterans.

It read: “Unfortunately, it is no longer financially viable for our charity to run the estate as it is. Many of the houses are vacant, some are in disrepair and the estate is costing us more than we are earning from it.

“The central part of the Linburn Estate – excluding the Centre and Centenary Hall – was approved as a potential housing development site by West Lothian Council a number of years ago.

“Given our current financial situation, we now intend to sell the surrounding land to a housing developer and inform the council of our intentions as part of the Local Development Plan.”

The letter added that no deal had yet been made with a developer.

Worried residents got in touch with Your Voice, Your BBC News.

Two doors down from Mr Mackie, veteran Craig Kirkland has lived in Linburn Park with his wife Caroline for 18 years.

The 53-year-old is a former infantryman with King’s Own Scottish Borderers who is blind in one eye and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

After moving there, he was the estate’s groundsman and owns a parcel of land nearby and raises sheepdogs.

The Kirklands said they believe homes in the estate have been left empty on purpose.

Craig continued: “It means we will need to find somewhere else. We have 12 months’ notice, give or take a few months’ leeway.

“They said if we had a private let, they’d help with the deposit. How can I go into a private let?”

The couple sold their Lanarkshire home in the 2000s and signed a tenancy agreement with the charity.

They believed they would stay in the community for the rest of their lives.

Caroline, 52, added: “At my age, I’m not going to have a mortgage. We’d sold our house to be here.

“The tension here has been very harsh in the last few weeks.”

Not all of the tenants are veterans. The housing was opened to private tenants due to a lack of demand from veterans with sight loss.

Keith Fisher, 39, has cerebral palsy, learning difficulties and hearing problems.

He was offered a tenancy at Linburn Park 15 years ago.

His parents Kim and Paul Forbes sold their own home and moved to the area to be Keith’s full-time carers.

Mrs Forbes said: “We came out here thinking it was for a lifetime, and this house would be Keith’s forever.

“We thought we were going to here for the rest of our days. This news is devastating for all of us.”

She continued: “To get the three of us in a home together would be rather difficult.

“Keith would go into supported accommodation, which would mean he would leave the family home, and we would apply to get accommodation for over-65s.

“Other than that, there is no way we can go to anybody else. We will be homeless, which is very sad.”

Local MSP Angela Constance – who is also the Scottish government’s justice secretary – met with residents to hear their concerns last Friday.

She told the BBC that she contacted Sight Scotland Veterans who “outlined at the top level the financial issues that they are wrestling with”.

“It is my job to represent my constituents and the veterans that are residents here in Linburn,” she said.

“It has been deeply distressing. They have felt as if the rug has been pulled from under their feet.”

Constance said the site’s history dated back to the end of the First World War.

She added: “When people came to live in this community, they were told they had a house for life. That has been taken away from them.”

Sight Scotland Veterans – named Scottish War Blinded until 2017 – has the same board as sister charity Sight Scotland, previously known as Royal Blind.

In 1946, Royal Blind paid £14,000 for the estate. It was transferred to Sight Scotland Veterans eight years ago.

Over the decades, Linburn estate developed into a campus offering workshops, tuition and therapy for blind veterans. It also provided housing.

However, in recent years, both charities have faced financial strain – with the veterans’ charity posting budget shortfalls between £4m and £6m each year since 2021.

Chief executive Craig Spalding said the number of supported veterans had increased from 1,500 to 5,500 in recent years.

He said: “Veterans are living longer, which is of course welcome, but it has resulted in more age-related sight loss and a greater need for support.”

Mr Spalding said income was limited and depended largely on fundraising and investment returns.

He added that between 2020/21 and 2024/25 it supported services from its reserves, which have been reduced from £61.8m to £46.5m.

Mr Spalding added: “Running the Linburn Estate alone has generated a loss of almost £1m over this period.

“To secure our services beyond 2031, we now need to generate additional income through the sale of land, investment in income-generating assets, and increased fundraising efforts.”

Mr Spalding told the BBC the charity was working closely with each tenant.

He said: “We wish to make it clear that no one faces immediate eviction.

“We have started open and transparent discussions to outline our intention to sell the land for development.

“Our priority is to engage constructively with all those affected and to work together to find solutions that are fair, respectful, and take everyone’s circumstances into account.”

A West Lothian Council spokesperson said: “The council has not received a planning application or granted consent for the redevelopment of the veteran’s village at Wilkieston.

“However, we are preparing a new Local Development Plan for West Lothian.

“Through the ‘call for ideas’ part of this process we have been made aware by Sight Scotland that they wish to dispose of this site for market and affordable homes.”

The spokesperson added the local authority was reviewing all of the proposals and would publish a proposed plan “in due course”.