Woodlands is a large, prosperous central area (ward) of Falkirk

Falkirk

Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....

, Stirlingshire

Stirlingshire

Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, which is mainly residential. Much of the ward is taken up by leafy streets where property prices are among the highest in Central Scotland (with several houses selling at over £800,000) and includes Lochgreen, Slamannan, Rosebank, Gartcows and Southern Pleasance areas (excluding property in Pleasance Gardens and Pleasance Court). Many of the Victorian and Edwardian houses were built by wealthy industrialists who had profited from Falkirk's economic prosperity during the industrial revolution, often without regard to expense.

The area is close to the town centre - the shopping centre and high street are not within Woodlands, however, as the limit of the ward area is the nearby Scout Hall - and incorporates the Dollar Park, gifted to the town by Falkirk-born billionaire Robert Dollar

Robert Dollar

Captain Robert Dollar was born in Falkirk, Scotland. The title "Captain" was honorary and he was called the “Grand Old Man of the Pacific". Both were bestowed after his entry into the shipping industry. Dollar became a lumber baron, shipping magnate, philanthropist; he was also a Freemason...

, who is recorded as the 80th richest man ever to live. Dollar Park is situated on Camelon Road, one of the busiest roads in Scotland. Both the Lord Lieutenant of Stirling and Falkirk

Lord Lieutenant of Stirling and Falkirk

This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Stirling and Falkirk. This office replaced the Lord Lieutenant of Stirlingshire in 1975.* Younger of Leckie had been Lord Lieutenant of Stirlingshire...

 and the Chief Executive of Falkirk Council live in Woodlands. The area is staunchly Conservative (an anomaly in staunchly Labour Falkirk), and three of the Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 candidates for the 2007 local elections were from Gartcows, two from the same street, Gartcows Crescent.

Local schools include Comely Park School

Comely Park School

Comely Park School is a primary school in Woodlands, Falkirk, Scotland. It was founded in 1879 as a replacement for the local Charity School. In its early days it was also known as "Cochrane's Academy" after its first headmaster...

, with high competition for places, founded in 1878, and Bantaskine Primary School, situated near the Bantaskine Estate. Secondary schools include St. Mungo's Roman Catholic High School. However, many families educate their children privately at Edinburgh public schools

Public School (UK)

A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...

 or at Dollar Academy

Dollar Academy

Dollar Academy was founded in 1818, which makes it the oldest co-educational day and boarding school in the world. The open campus occupies a site in the centre of the thriving town of Dollar in Central Scotland, less than 40 minutes drive from the two main Scottish cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh...

.

Falkirk Lawn Tennis Club, founded in 1891, is situated within the area, as is Adrian Bowling Club.

The local public house situated on High Station Road is the Woodside Inn.

Most of Woodlands is in the Parish of St. Andrew's West Church

St. Andrew's West

St. Andrew's West Parish Church is the largest church in Falkirk, Scotland, founded in 1843 and situated in the town centre on Upper Newmarket Street and known for its conservative evangelical preaching, aligning itself with the Forward Together group and the Evangelical Alliance...

, and some is also in the Parishes of Falkirk Old and St. Modan's

Falkirk Old Parish Church

Falkirk Old & St. Modan's Parish Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland in Falkirk, central Scotland. The medieval Old Parish Church is located in the centre of Falkirk, and may have been founded as early as the 7th century. The medieval church was largely rebuilt in the 19th century,...

, and Erskine Parish Church. Some also attend Roman Catholic church, St. Francis' Xaviers.

Economy

In the 2006 Scottish Index of Deprivation (compiled by the Scottish Executive

Scottish Executive

The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...

) a particular part of Woodlands was ranked 11th highest out of 6500 areas in Scotland in terms of income.

According to the 2001 Census, 35% of residents are of Social Class A/B (compared to 17% in Falkirk), with only 15% receiving benefits. 33% of residents hold a First or other professional degree (compared to 14% in Falkirk) and 42% of housing is detached (compared to 17% in Falkirk). 86% of housing is owner occupied (compared to 60% in Falkirk), while only 10% is council housing (compared to 33% in Falkirk).

Politics

The ward is one of only two Conservative-held wards in Falkirk Council, and has only ever been Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

. Indeed, in 1996, at a time when the Conservatives were at only 11% in national opinion polls, the Conservative Party increased their vote by 12% to 55% in Woodlands. In the 2003 elections, the Conservative Party received 49%, more than double the next best candidate, Labour. Nervertheless the Conservative majority in Woodlands has fallen from 36% in 1992 to 25% in 2003. Only Polmont

Polmont

Polmont is a village in the Falkirk council area of Central Scotland. It lies towards the east of the town of Falkirk, north of the Union Canal, which runs adjacent to the village....

 had a higher Conservative vote in Falkirk in 2003, with 65%, a majority of 45%.

Falkirk's two Conservatives controlled Falkirk as part of an SNP-led coalition until 2007, when the council was re-taken by Labour on a cut of cards as the SNP and Labour had won an equal number of seats.

However, in the 2007 local elections Woodlands was grouped with five other surrounding wards to form a larger Falkirk South

Falkirk Council election, 2007

Elections to Falkirk Council was held on the May 3, 2007 the same day as the Scottish Parliament general election. The election was the first one using 9 new wards created as a results of the Local Governance Act 2004, each ward will elect three or four councillors using the single transferable...

 ward, with several Councillors. This resulted in the election of four councillors: two Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

, one Scottish National Party

Scottish National Party

The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....

 (SNP) and one Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

. The extrapolated result for Woodlands alone is very likely to have been Conservative hold, with 500 more votes in 2007 than in 2003.