Westhill, Aberdeenshire

Size of Westhill

The town of Westhill covers the area that was the Western Kinmundy and Blackhills Farming areas.

Demographics

The population in 2006 was 10,392, the forecast for 2011 is 11,274.

Origin

The creation of Westhill just outside Aberdeen was the idea of local solicitor Ronald Fraser Dean in 1963. With the backing of the former Aberdeen District Council (see Aberdeen City Council), the Secretary of State for Scotland and supported financially by Ashdale Land and Property Company Ltd., the new settlement of Westhill was created upon the old farming land. Since construction of the first houses in 1968, Westhill has undergone a gradual expansion, much of which is tied to the North East's oil and gas economy. In 2007/8 a major expansion of the industrial estate brought several thousand workers to the area. Most of these are in specialist sub-sea engineering oil service companies, making Westhill a world centre in sub-sea engineering.

The name Westhill was created in 1859 when John Anderson from Strichen bought the adjoining small estates of Wester Kinmundy and Blackhills. Both of these names were very old, dating back to at least the 16th Century, but Anderson seems not to have liked them. He therefore created the name Westhill from the other two names. This is recorded in the Register of Sasines December 2, 1859.

Wester Kinmundy and Blackhills were established either side of a geographical area known as 'The Clash', this was a marshy bog, historically listed as being sited between Brodiach/Borrow(ed)stone area and (Now Kirkton of)Skene. It is commonly thought the remnants of this area is still apparent but nowadays named Denman Park.

Growth of the town

Major housing expansions are under way at Elrick and to the west of Westhill. Many new housing estates are being built, primarily from companies such as Stewart Milne and Bett Homes.

Westhill Business Park is also growing, with an increasing number of companies creating offices in the park. Due to the demand for offices, many planning permission applications for using the unused land to the South-West have been submitted. The growth has been such that the Postal Area formerly known as Skene has been renamed Westhill, so that for postal purposes, the once two-horse-hamlet of Westhill now covers many square miles.

During the 1980s the local authority boundaries were to be moved such that Westhill would fall within the City of Aberdeen. This was seen as a cost-cutting venture, however the community set up a "Don't Move Westhill" campaign, and successfully stopped the town's absorption into Aberdeen. No new attempt to move the boundaries to include Westhill have been made since.

Retail

Westhill has developed a large range of retail outlets. Westhill contains a small Shopping Centre, which contains a wide range of shops. Many supermarkets have opened in Westhill, including Tesco, Costco, Aldi, The Cooperative and Marks and Spencer. There are two fuelling stations in Westhill, one owned by Tesco and one serviced by BP.

Food

Westhill hosts a wide range of food outlets and restaurants. The Holiday Inn provides two themed restaurants, namely an Italian (Luigi's) and a Lounge. There is also a Premier Inn in Westhill and situated next to it is The Shepherd's Rest, which serves pub-style food. The Broadstraik Inn is a traditional pub which also serves meals, and there is a cafe, called Circles, situated at the Westhill Shopping Centre. Yan is a Chinese/Thai restaurant located very close to the Police Station, in a small retail outlet, and Lasan, an Indian restaurant, is located near to Aldi. There is also the Green Pastures Café located within Westhill Community Church.

Westhill also contains many takeaways, including Subway, two Chinese takeaways, one Indian takeaway, an Italian Delicatessen, a Turkish takeaway and the Lows Chip shop.

Hospitality

Westhill contains two main hotels; the Holiday Inn (Aberdeen West) and the Premier Inn. Westhill contains 2 B&B's located on the Old Skene Road, and Kilnhall Guest House.

Sport

Westhill caters for a wide variety of sporting activities. Westhill Golf Course provides 18 holes throughout the golfing calendar; Lawsondale Playing Fields provide pitches for Football, Rugby, Hockey matches amongst other sport; Two Tennis courts; An outdoor Bowls Centre. The Ashdale Hall provides sporting opportunities for all age groups. A swimming pool is located just beside the Academy and provides tuition in swimming for all ages, sessions for family and serious swimming and a party service for birthdays.

Youth

Westhill contains many youth orientated groups, which include: the Scout hut on Old Skene Road; the Boy's Brigade (held every week in Westhill Academy), the Air Training Corps squadron on Brodiach Road; Script, Screen to Stage (established approximately 2005), an acting and filming group that normally takes place at Westdyke Leisure Centre; And Youth clubs and other activities at the community centre, situated within the Academy.

Westhill also contains Lawsondale Playing Fields, and every Saturday of the school calendar many school football matches are played there. The Ashdale Hall is used for indoor sporting events such as Bowling and many types of martial arts. Westhill Golf Course also caters for the youthful population; Every Monday evening is usually set aside specifically for under 16's to book times.

Emergency Services

Westhill is served by Police Scotland. Westhill contains a small Police Station, owned by Grampian Police.

The Headquarters of the Aberdeen Mountain Rescue are located just behind the BP service station.

Westhill also contains the Skene Medical Practice, run by the NHS.

Education

Westhill has three primary schools; Crombie Primary, Elrick Primary and Westhill Primary.

Westhill also has a secondary school, Westhill Academy. The academy services Westhill, Skene and pupils in the surrounding area. It was opened in 1979, and since then many improvements and extensions have been made to increase the capacity of the Academy. Currently the number of pupils is roughly 1000, however this figure is expected to rise. In 2010 the school came 27th in the league tables for all independent schools in Scotland.

All the schools in Westhill are run by Aberdeenshire Council

Road

The A944 runs straight through Westhill, and this connects Westhill with Kingswells and Aberdeen to the east, and as far as Mossat to the west. The B9119 branches off from the A944 just before Westhill and this route continues on towards Echt, eventually connecting to the A93.

Bus

Westhill is served by Stagecoach Bluebird. Stagecoach run two daily bus services (X17 and X18) and a night-bird service (N17).

The X17 connects Westhill to Aberdeen via Queens Road and runs every 12 minutes Monday to Saturday and every 20 minutes on Sundays.

Service X18 connects Westhill and Elrick with Aberdeen via Kingswells and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday with no service running on Sundays.

Service N17 is the night version of the X17, operating via Queens Road to Aberdeen every hour from 0020 to 0415.

There is a much less frequent service provided by Bains Coaches which passes through Westhill. The route 777 connects Oldmeldrum to Westhill and through to Aberdeen, however this service only passes through Westhill 3 times Monday to Friday.

Religion

Westhill has several active church congregations. Trinity Church is an ecumenical project involving the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Roman Catholic Church. In addition, evangelical services are also held by the Westhill Baptist Church located at the Westdyke Leisure Centre.