THE DUKE and Duchess of Cambridge visited a Glasgow community to see how Wheatley Group is transforming the lives of disadvantaged young people and families.
Their Royal Highnesses heard first-hand about the work carried out by the housing, care and property-management group to tackle homelessness and support vulnerable tenants during the cost of living crisis.
The Duke and Duchess surprised tenants of Wheatley Homes Glasgow during a walkabout at Kennishead in the south side of the city.
They met children who are benefiting from free reading books thanks to a partnership between Wheatley Foundation and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Music student Ceri Maclarty, 25, also explained how an education bursary from the foundation is supporting her goal of becoming a secondary teacher.
Tenant Joanne Wales, 31, welcomed the future King and Queen into her home. Inside they met son Jason, 4, and heard from Joanne how the energy-efficient house design is helping reduce her energy bills.
Joanne said: “With four young kids then energy bills is a big concern. There’s always a need for a new pair of shoes or new clothes. I had a meeting with the energy advice team and they gave me great tips on how to use my electricity to keep my bills low. I don’t need to put the heating on as much during the day in my new home. It’s made a big difference.”
The Duke and Duchess were met in Kennishead by John MacLeod, Glasgow deputy lieutenant, accompanied by his wife, Mariella McLeod.
Wheatley Group Chair Jo Armstrong said: “They were very interested in the work of our foundation.”
The Royals were given a tour of the new wheelchair adapted LivingWell development, designed for tenants aged 55 and over. They learned how the community has been transformed with 48 new energy-efficient homes built on the site of two former 1960 tower blocks, which were demolished in 2015.
