Bill and his wife have lived at Rowan Village for over nine years and love being surrounded by a community of people. When the Covid-19 pandemic started Bill was forced to shield and everything changed.

Bill found it really tough not seeing his family and friends. Luckily he had a passion that could help: photography. Bill discovered photography later in life but it soon became a favourite hobby.

When the New Homes and Growth Team began work at Lime Tree Court they hoped Bill could capture the site transformation and create a photo montage of the once derelict site.

“The team knew I was a keen photographer and asked if I was interested in photographing the site progress. Living over the road and loving photography I jumped at the chance. Things were a little slow to begin with, but once the demolition of the old site started, that’s when things got interesting! Towards the end of the build, I took over 350 photos! I was even there when the builders handed over the keys.”

It was only when Bill retired, he able to take his love for photography seriously. With a little extra money and a lot of extra time, Bill bought a camera and began taking photographs.

“I love photography because it helps me to get out of the house. It’s one of the reasons I jumped at the chance to help the team out. Being able to get out of the house once a week, especially during Covid-19, really gave me something to look forward to.”

“Over the years photography has taken me to so many different places like Tatton Park, car shows and even civil war re-enactments. I just love to make memories and document them. My photos have even been featured in newspapers and marketing campaigns too!”

“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, I would put on a slide show of my photographs in the village lounge whenever we’d been on holiday or to anywhere interesting. I’ll be sharing the Lime Tree Court photographs as a presentation for Staffs Housing later this month and hope to share them with fellow residents very soon too."