As happens in Barrow, you often meet people in pubs. One evening I chatted to Alison Spooner and discovered that she just loves living on the Willow Road Estate. A few weeks later I went round to her Ridge Way home to find out why. I felt many Barrow Voice readers would be interested in hearing her reasons for living on an estate on the north western edge of the village, which many don’t know well at all.

One of the main reasons Alison is so enthusiastic is that she finds the estate friendly but not cliquey. The estate has a higher density than the older estates dotted around the village, with three storey buildings built in close proximity to each other, many with small gardens at the back. This could lead to friction if neighbours were inconsiderate and socialised loudly late into the evenings but according to Alison this rarely happens. People are considerate and the estate is a quiet one. The residents take pride in its appearance and keep the estate, and their own properties, well maintained – especially the front doors! It seems having a brightly coloured front door is definitely on trend here.

Another reason why she feels Willow Road is a success is that there is a wide variety of architectural styles so it’s visually more interesting than seeing rows of mock Georgian or Tudor gabled efforts. And it’s green. The houses usually just have suggestions of front gardens but they are planted with bushes and flowers and of course there’s the green oasis of the central ‘village’ green. This focal point is covered with a wide expanse of grass, has a lovely row of trees and is used for community events such as jubilee parties. The estate’s own children’s park is within walking distance of everyone as is Cotes Road, Nottingham Road and all the countryside beyond.

And like the architectural styles the occupants vary too. They range from older people choosing to retire here, the many young families and everyone in between. During lockdown this close proximity to neighbours meant that a lot of help was shared amongst the residents as they ran errands for each other, walked each other’s dogs and formed close friendships such as that between Alison and her neighbour Charlie.

But why, in 2008, did Alison choose to move to a new build here? As she was brought up in Barrow, and had lived in several different village properties, why did she choose to move from centrally placed Avon Road to this estate on the edge? One of the main reasons was the layout of the house itself. Being three storeys, as well as having three double bedrooms, it had two living rooms on different floors and with two teenage sons at the time, her daughter was away at university, she felt it would give herself and her sons their own space. Secondly, Alison is not a keen DIYourselfer so wanted a no-problems, walk-in-ready house, and as a working person with little spare time the small enclosed garden was perfect. She could drive so didn’t worry about feeling out of things and finally, as a clincher, the first new builds to go on sale were good value especially as the developers, Morris Homes, paid all removal costs. Alison had to deal with a few hiccups in the sale of her former home but was so keen to get this particular house she visited the site office daily, got to know the staff and even did the washing up!

So, no regrets. I did check to see if Alison had any complaints and although she said that for herself, she hadn’t, the promised bus service that never materialised was a disappointment to others. The bus stops are in place: the busses never arrive. Fortunately, for a good number on this estate, their housing dreams have.

Gaynor Barton