Linlithgow Civic Trust

Planning

Member of Linlithgow Planning Forum

Linlithgow Planning Forum is a sub-committee of Linlithgow & Linlithgow Bridge Community Council. It is made up of representatives of the following community groups:

  • Linlithgow & Linlithgow Bridge Community Council
  • Linlithgow Burgh Trust (incorporating Linlithgow Civic Trust and Burgh Beautiful Linlithgow)
  • Linlithgow Community Magazine (the Black Bitch)
  • Linlithgow Community Development Trust

and Councillor Sally Pattle, an ex-officio member of the Community Council. The objectives of the Planning Forum are:

  • To co-ordinate Linlithgow’s input to West Lothian Council’s Local Development Plan expected in 2026.
  • To be aware of, review, discuss and publicise planning matters related to Linlithgow and its immediate surroundings.
  • To ensure that the weekly planning lists published online by the Council are monitored so that contentious planning applications are not missed and can be addressed.
  • To try and achieve a consensus view in response to contentious planning applications in Linlithgow and its immediate surroundings.

These objectives do not prevent individuals or member organisations from holding and putting forward alternative or contradictory representations but they do so in the knowledge of the opinions of other organisations in the town. The Planning Forum meets monthly in the EH49 Hub and a report of the meeting is included in the Planning Report which is presented to each meeting of the Community Council.

Currently high on the Planning Forum’s agenda are the sale by West Lothian Council and future development of parts of the Vennel area which includes the single-storey units, EH49 Hub (the former library) and the car park; the future of St Michael’s Hospital site; and the proposed housing development at Wilcoxholm Farm.

Local Place Plan

Linlithgow Local Place Plan 2024 – 2034 was published in October 2023 in accordance with the requirements of the Town & Country Planning (Local Place Plans) (Scotland) Regulations which came into force on 22 January 2022 with the objective of “giving people the opportunity to engage meaningfully and have a positive influence in the future planning of development in their areas”. Reflecting input from a broad range of individuals, groups and organisations, representing interests as diverse as younger and older people, churches, farmers, parents and health professionals, it was prepared by Linlithgow Planning Forum.

It incorporates changes made to previous versions of the plan, formerly titled ‘Plan for the Future’, in response to comments made during well-publicised processes of public engagement in November 2015 and January 2022, including more specific consultation on the future of the Vennel area and wider surveys conducted by St Michael’s Parish Church and the Linlithgow Community Development Trust.

In the spirit of the above-mentioned regulations, the Planning Forum considers that the Linlithgow Place Plan 2024 – 2034 can be regarded as a representative view of a wide section of the community of Linlithgow. The 50-plus page document has been submitted to and registered by West Lothian Council which is now obliged to seriously consider the plan’s proposals when preparing its next Local Development Plan for West Lothian.

Planning Policy Documents

Linlithgow Civic Trust has been concerned about the lack of attention given to biodiversity and the natural environment by housebuilders and therefore, in April 2021, drew up a policy document on which LCT assesses future housing developments in Linlithgow.

If you plan to open a shop in the High Street, or if you already own or run a business from a shop in the High Street and are thinking about changing the shopfront and/or signage, Linlithgow Civic Trust – with assistance from West Lothian Council – has published a brief advisory leaflet. For additional information, see West Lothian Council’s Planning Guidance document: Shopfronts and Advertisements in Conservation Areas published in September 2024.

These documents are available for viewing or download:

Planning Matters

The Trust’s Planning Spokesperson contributes articles about planning matters to the Burgh Trust’s newsletter The Lowdown. These have highlighted inappropriate signage without planning consent in the High Street on a Public House, now corrected, and also a fancy goods shop, where resolution appears to be in progress; discussed material considerations for replacement windows and roof slates in the Conservation Areas; outlined the Trust’s objection to a proposal for new housing on former timberyard site due to lack of any affordable homes. Most recently, the first public consultation on the application for a residential development of more than 200 houses to the south of the Union Canal at Wilcoxholm Farm on Edinburgh Road was announced.

Contact

You can contact Mike Dunning, Planning Spokesperson, on matters related to planning in Linlithgow by sending an email to lct.planning@lbt.scot.

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