Thread: Helensburgh Upper Churchill

Hi everyone, am new to the site and am just wondering if anyone has any info/experience of living on upper Churchill? We applied for Colgrain, but have been told upper churchill is the only place available at the mo. I have done some googling and am now quite worried about moving there as all the stuff I read went on about trouble in the are, admitidly these pages were a couple of years old. Any help would be appreciated

Also how can I access the patchpedia part of the site, says am not allowed access??

Where abouts? I grew up, and my family still live, in Helensburgh. We rented some of the quarters last Christmas and have to say they weren't the best. We used to live in them when I was wee, We used to rent them all the time years ago for relatives to stay but they have gone really down hill. I don't think there are alot of Navy houses up that way as I know alot were sold off a few years back. Sorry this is prob not what you are wanting to hear; might just have been bad luck with the one we rented.

The housing woman said, Hardy hill, Kent drive & Kent court are the available streets. Been for a drive round and it all looks, from the outside, very run down, but obviously might be better inside. What was the one like you rented?
Thanks for replying

My mum and dad rented it for relatives to stay and and were a bit embarrassed when they saw it (only a few hours before relative arrived) Just needed a lick of paint and just felt very basic, no light shades or anything like that. Not what you want for short term but all stuff that is fixable if you were living there.
Hardy Hill was my first house ...30 years ago now!
Do you know Helensburgh?

I do yeah, we stay in the Glasgow area so go to the Burgh a good bit. Just different actually moving there iykwim.

We lived in Upper Churchill about 10 years ago. The 3-bed 3-storey houses on Kent had just been refurbished then. And to this day that has been the best quarter I have ever lived in. We originally were told to go for Colgrain (then it was SR only), we went & had a look at the house we were allocated and it was tiny, our oppo who lived there did not realise there were any 2-beds on Colgrain and thats what we had been allocated. I was in tears as we would not have been able to fit hardly any of our furniture in the house. We went up to the housing office in Churchill Square (you could then) & asked if there was anything else available & were offered one of the newly refurbished ones on Kent.

The trouble when we were there was on the southern end of the estate nearer the school, the DHE sold of some of those quarters to the local authority in the 90's. We never had any trouble where we were, probably too much of a walk up the hill!

Originally Posted by Joanne

My mum and dad rented it for relatives to stay and and were a bit embarrassed when they saw it (only a few hours before relative arrived) Just needed a lick of paint and just felt very basic, no light shades or anything like that. Not what you want for short term but all stuff that is fixable if you were living there.

The standard of welfare houses are generally quite poor in comparison to houses occupied on a full time basis, so don't let Joanne's experience worry you too much.

It wasn't a Welfare house, was a house that the navy keep for you to rent to for relatives visiting which we have previously rented in various locations and have all been top notch. Like i say we may just have been unlucky.

Originally Posted by Joanne

It wasn't a Welfare house, was a house that the navy keep for you to rent to for relatives visiting which we have previously rented in various locations and have all been top notch. Like i say we may just have been unlucky.

That's generally accepted as being known as a welfare house. In Army speak at any rate. I doubt it's too much different between the three services.

Originally Posted by Joanne

It wasn't a Welfare house, was a house that the navy keep for you to rent to for relatives visiting which we have previously rented in various locations and have all been top notch. Like i say we may just have been unlucky.

Yup in the army terminology thats a Welfare or Contact house.

The ones at our place are absolutley hanging - one of the families is living in the biggest after marching out of their quarter and finding out that their flights had been changed to their next posting (joined up thinking at its best), and seem to have spent the entire time cleaning it!

Ooh look. Scubes and I are synchronised!!

Originally Posted by bodger

Ooh look. Scubes and I are synchronised!!

God help us all, lol!

Thanks everyone, been helpful in helping us decide.

Time for a glass of vino collapso me thinks!

My Dad was in the Navy for 22 years and I have never heard them called that. We have rented these plenty of times before and have always been immaculate. My point was just that Churchill seems have been a bit neglected of late!

I haven't either Joanne & the sign outside them does say short term accommodation, so I'm not sure lol.

Also how do I access the Patchpedia bit of the site, does anyone know?? Thanks

When do you move? Hope I am wrong and the long term is nicer for you!

Originally Posted by Joanne

My Dad was in the Navy for 22 years and I have never heard them called that. We have rented these plenty of times before and have always been immaculate. My point was just that Churchill seems have been a bit neglected of late!

Time does change things. 22 years is a long time ago; in fact, 2 weeks is a relatively long time these days.

SFA which is available for long term let is not ordinarily (depending on whether or not the CO is locally in charge of quartering and in the UK he's not) used for short term 'quick buck' rental. The three services now use the same allocation system so it's not going to be any different between all three.

Was in for 22 years, not 22 years ago. He is still involved with the navy and like I said we still rent these. Also my hubby is also in the navy and we have looked into renting the accommodation where we now live for visiting family and I have never heard them called this.