West Lothian
| |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 West Lothian shown withinScotland | |
| Coordinates:55°55′N3°30′W / 55.917°N 3.500°W /55.917; -3.500 | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Unitary authority | 1 April 1996 |
| Administrative HQ | West Lothian Civic Centre |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council |
| • Body | West Lothian Council |
| • Control | No overall control |
| • MPs | 2 MPs |
| • MSPs | 2 MSPs |
| Area | |
• Total | 165 sq mi (428 km2) |
| • Rank | 20th |
| Population (2024)[2] | |
• Total | 186,440 |
| • Rank | 10th |
| • Density | 1,130/sq mi (436/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-WLN |
| GSS code | S12000040 |
| Website | westlothian |
West Lothian (Scots:Wast Lowden;Scottish Gaelic:Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) theCity of Edinburgh council area,Scottish Borders,South Lanarkshire,North Lanarkshire andFalkirk. The modern council area was formed in 1975 when thehistoric county of West Lothian, also known as Linlithgowshire, was reshaped substantially as part of local government reforms; some areas that had formerly been part ofMidlothian were added to a new West LothianDistrict within theRegion ofLothian, whilst some areas in the north-west were transferred to the Falkirk District and areas in the north-east were transferred to theCity of Edinburgh District. In 1996 West Lothian became a unitary authority area, using the same name and territory as in 1975.
West Lothian lies on the southern shore of theFirth of Forth and is predominantly rural, though there were extensive coal, iron, and shale oil mining operations in the 19th and 20th centuries which created distinctive red-spoil heaps (locally known as "bings") throughout the council area. The old county town was theroyal burgh ofLinlithgow, but the largest town (and the second-largest town in the Lothian region after Edinburgh) is nowLivingston, whereWest Lothian Council has been based since 2009 having previously used facilities across three sites. Other large towns in the county includeBathgate (a town with medieval origins that developed extensively during the industrial revolution) and the historic mining settlements ofArmadale,Fauldhouse,Whitburn,West Calder,Uphall, andBroxburn.
In 1975, as a result of theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the boundaries of West Lothian were adjusted: the 1973 Act abolished the traditional counties and burghs, instead creating a system ofRegions andDistricts. West Lothian was made a district ofLothian Region but lost the burgh of Bo'ness and the district of Bo'ness to Falkirk District ofCentral Region, and the burgh of Queensferry and the district ofKirkliston plus part ofWinchburgh to theEdinburgh district of Lothian Region. It gainedEast Calder andWest Calder districts from Midlothian. The two-tier system was abolished by theLocal Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, and the district of West Lothian was made into aunitary council area namedWest Lothian Council.
West Lothian Council is thelocal authority for the West Lothian area and has 33 elected members.Councillors are generally elected every five years, with the next election falling in Spring 2027.
The current council composition is:
| Party | Councillors | |
| Scottish National Party | 15 | |
| Labour | 11 | |
| Conservative | 4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 1 | |
| Independent | 2 |
Following the abolition of West Lothian County Council in 1975, the new West Lothian District Council chose to use the former Burgh Chambers ofBathgate Town Council (built in 1966) as its headquarters, extending the building in 1976 and renaming it Lindsay House.[3][4] The district council retained thecounty buildings inLinlithgow as additional office space.[5] In November 2009, the newunitary authority, West Lothian Council, centralised its services at the newWest Lothian Civic Centre inLivingston.[6]
West Lothian is represented in theScottish Parliament by two constituency members and seven regional members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).[7]
In theParliament of the United Kingdom West Lothian is represented by two members of Parliament.Labour PartyMember of Parliament (MP)Gregor Poynton represents theLivingston constituency.[8]Kirsteen Sullivan represents theBathgate and Linlithgow (UK Parliament constituency)[8] Until 2024, the area included theLinlithgow and East Falkirk (UK Parliament constituency).
TheWest Lothian question, referring to whether Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish MPs should be allowed to vote on English laws, is so named because it was supposedly first raised byTam Dalyell while he was MP for West Lothian.[9][10]
The creation of the modern council area in 1975 drastically altered West Lothian's boundaries. Significant towns not included in the modern county are the coastal burghs ofBo'ness andQueensferry and the town ofKirkliston. Large parts of the southern urban area of Livingston which were historically withinMidlothian were, however, transferred to West Lothian.
Largest settlements by population:
| Settlement | Population (2020)[11] |
|---|---|
| Livingston | 56,840 |
| Bathgate | 23,600 |
| Broxburn | 15,970 |
| Linlithgow | 12,840 |
| Armadale | 12,720 |
| Whitburn | 11,490 |
| East Calder | 6,430 |
| Blackburn | 5,730 |
| Fauldhouse | 4,900 |
| Winchburgh | 3,840 |
| Ethnic Group | 2001[12] | 2011[12][13] | 2022[14] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| White: Total | 156,581 | 98.66% | 170,850 | 97.56% | 171,816 | 94.78% |
| White:Scottish | 144,533 | 91.07% | 153,815 | 87.84% | 147,073 | 81.13% |
| White:Other British | 9,281 | 5.85% | 10,204 | 5.83% | 12,959 | 7.15% |
| White:Irish | 1,169 | 0.74% | 1,209 | 0.69% | 1,290 | 0.71% |
| White:Gypsy/Traveller[note 1] | – | – | 79 | – | 70 | – |
| White:Polish[note 1] | – | – | 3,273 | 1.87% | 5,568 | 3.07% |
| White:Other | 1,598 | 1.01% | 2,270 | 1.30% | 4,853 | 2.68% |
| Asian,Asian Scottish orAsian British: Total | 1,345 | 0.85% | 2,941 | 1.68% | 5,056 | 2.79% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British:Indian | 184 | 0.12% | 641 | 0.37% | 1,315 | 0.73% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British:Pakistani | 795 | 0.50% | 1,420 | 0.81% | 2,338 | 1.29% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British:Bangladeshi | 10 | – | 11 | – | 45 | – |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British:Chinese | 248 | 0.16% | 498 | 0.28% | 810 | 0.45% |
| Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British:Asian Other | 108 | 0.07% | 371 | 0.21% | 548 | 0.30% |
| Black,Black Scottish orBlack British[note 2] | 26 | – | – | – | – | – |
| African: Total | 65 | – | 457 | 0.26% | 1,439 | 0.79% |
| African:African,African Scottish orAfrican British | – | – | 445 | 0.25% | 165 | 0.09% |
| African:Other African | – | – | 12 | – | 1,274 | 0.70% |
| Caribbean orBlack: Total | – | – | 118 | 0.07% | 163 | 0.09% |
| Caribbean | 47 | – | 50 | – | 68 | – |
| Black | – | – | 50 | – | 15 | – |
| Caribbean or Black:Other | – | – | 18 | – | 80 | – |
| Mixed or multiple ethnic groups: Total | 338 | 0.21% | 534 | 0.30% | 1,912 | 1.05% |
| Other: Total | 312 | 02.0% | 218 | 0.12% | 888 | 0.49% |
| Other:Arab[note 1] | – | – | 104 | 0.06% | 329 | 0.18% |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | – | – | 114 | 0.07% | 559 | 0.31% |
| Total: | 158,714 | 100.00% | 175,118 | 100.00% | 181,278 | 100.00% |
The 2022 Scottish Census reported that out of 175,963 residents aged three and over, 61,440 (34.9%) considered themselves able to speak or read theScots language.[15]
The 2022 Scottish Census reported that out of 175,966 residents aged three and over, 1,439 (0.8%) considered themselves able to speak or readGaelic.[16]
Cairnpapple Hill is a scheduled ancient monument and hill with a dominating position in central lowland Scotland with extensive views.
Torphichen Preceptory is a 12th-century church in the village ofTorphichen. It comprises the remains of thepreceptory (headquarters) of theKnights Hospitaller of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in Scotland.
Historic houses in West Lothian includeLinlithgow Palace, a ruined palace that was one of the principal residences of the monarchs ofScotland in the 15th and 16th centuries and is the birthplace ofMary, Queen of Scots. It is now a visitor attraction in the care ofHistoric Environment Scotland.[17]
TheHouse of the Binns is an early 17th century historic house and estate nearPhilpstoun.[18] The house is the historic home of the Binn family whose owners includedSir Thomas Dalyell aScottishRoyalistgeneral in theWars of the Three Kingdoms, andSir Tam Dalyell, a member of theHouse of Commons from 1962 to 2005.[18]
Hopetoun House is a large country house and estate near South Queensferry that was built between 1699 and 1701, and was designed bySir William Bruce. The house was then hugely extended from 1721 byWilliam Adam until his death in 1748, being one of his most notable projects. The interior was completed by his sonsJohn Adam andRobert Adam.[19]Midhope Castle is a 16th-centurytower house on the Hopetoun estate that was used as a location in theOutlander TV series onStarz as the main character, Jamie Fraser's family home called Lallybroch (Broch Tuarach).[20][21]
There are a variety of castles and other historic fortifications in West Lothian, including medieval mottes, tower houses and Renaissance laird's houses, as well as relatively modern castellated mansions.[22] Examples includeCairns Castle,Duntarvie Castle,Midhope Castle andStaneyhill Tower.[22]
There are several publiccountry parks in West Lothian, includingBeecraigsCountry Park (a 370 hectare park between Bathgate and Linlithgow with forests, a visitor centre and a loch),Polkemmet Country Park (a 68 hectare park near Whitburn with woodlands, river walks and outdoor facilities), andAlmondell and Calderwood Country Park along the Almond river valley near Mid Calder.[23][24][25]
Blawhorn Moss is a raised bog located near Blackridge that has been anational nature reserve since 1980 and is the largest and least disturbed raised bog in the Lothians.[26]
Public healthcare in West Lothian is administered byNHS Lothian withinNHS Scotland.
The main hospital for West Lothian isSt John's Hospital in Livingston. The hospital has a dedicatedAccident and Emergency department with 550 beds and opened in 1989.[27][28] St Johns is ateaching hospital for theUniversity of Edinburgh Medical School.[29] Other public hospitals includeTippethill House Hospital acommunity hospital inArmadale andSt Michael's Hospital, acommunity hospital inLinlithgow.[30][31]
West Lothian previously had a psychiatric hospital with general hospital in theDechmont area calledBangour Village Hospital.[32] The hospital opened in 1904 and eventually had beds for 55 officers and 2571 other ranks.[32] The hospital started closing in the 1990s and closed completely in 2004 after the remaining services were transferred to St John's Hospital.[32][33]
TheLinburn Centre is a health centre for blinded war veterans atWilkieston.[34] The centre is located within the estate of Linburn House, a country house which was demolished in 1955.[35]
TheMuseum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry was created in 1990, to preserve the history of the shale industry in West Lothian and beyond.[36] It is sited on a former mill at Millfield, near Livingston and is attached to the Almond Valley Heritage Centre, a large farm and play area.[37]
In Bathgate, the Bennie Museum is a museum of local history and heritage that is run by volunteers under the management of a charitable trust. It opened in 1989 and is housed used in two former derelict cottages donated by the Bennie family to the local community in 1980.[38][39][40]
The Linlithgow Museum is a volunteer-run local history museum inLinlithgow.[41][42] The museum is housed in the Linlithgow Partnership Centre, along with the West Lothian Family History Society and library.[43]
Military Museum Scotland is amilitary history museum inWilkieston that covers Scottish military history from theFirst World War to the present day.[44][45]
TheMuseum of Scottish Railways is a railway museum located within the station yard ofBo'ness at theBo'ness and Kinneil Railway.[46][47]
Five Sisters Zoo is a privately ownedzoo located inPolbeth,West Calder opened in 2005. The zoo has grown into one of West Lothian's top visitor attractions and was awarded ‘Best Family Day Out’ at the 2024 Scottish Entertainment and Hospitality Awards.[48]
West Lothian has a diverse economy and as of 2020 had approximately 4,500 businesses providing almost 72,000 jobs in the area.[49] In 2014, West Lothian Council reported that the five largest employment sectors in the council area werehealthcare,construction,retail,manufacturing, and business administration and supportservices.[50] While historically, mining and shale oil production were key employers in the region, as of 2014 they only accounted for 0.7% of persons employed in West Lothian.[50] The ten largest private employers in West Lothian areSky UK,Tesco,Mitsubishi Electric,IQVIA (formerly Quintiles/Q2 Solutions),Asda,Morrisons,Johnson & Johnson,Schuh,Jabil andShin-Etsu Europe.[50] The two largest public sector employers in the county are West Lothian Council andNHS Scotland.[50]
TheStarlaw distillery is aScotch whisky grain distillery atBathgate that is owned by French drinks groupLa Martiniquaise. The distillery opened in 2010 and can produce 25 million litres annually and has 29 ageing warehouses (cellars) across 75 hectares at the distillery to allow for the maturation of over 600,000 barrels.[51][52]Glenmorangie, the whisky distillers have offices and a bottling facility in Livingston that was opened in 2011.[53]
West Lothian has several shopping centres, the largest of which are located in Livingston, including'The Centre' (comprising more than 1,000,000 square foot of retail space) andLivingston Designer Outlet (the largest outletmall in Scotland).[54][49] The combined retail spaces of central Livingston form the largest indoor shopping location in Scotland and the 10th largest in the UK.[49]
There are several large scalewind farms in West Lothian, predominantly in the south-west of the county, used to produceelectricity across the region, includingPates Hill wind farm, Harburnhead wind farm, and Black Law wind farm.[55][56]
The maintrunk roads in West Lothian are:[57][58]
Other principalA roads in West Lothian include theA71 road (which passes through the south of the county connecting settlements including Livingston, Polbeth, West Calder and Breich), theA899 andA705 in Livingston, and theA801 road which runs from east of Polmont to Whitburn.
Severalrailway routes run through West Lothian. These include:
West Lothian has a number of former, disused and defunct railway lines, principally branch lines that originated in connection with oil, mineral and shale mining activities in the 19th century but were later closed as traffic diminished and industrial operations ceased.[59]
Many of the railways in West Lothian use significantviaducts to cross rivers, ravines and other difficult terrain.[59] One prominent example is theAlmond Valley Viaduct built by railway engineerJohn Miller to carry theGlasgow–Edinburgh via Falkirk line and completed in 1842.[59][60] The viaduct is 1.5 miles long with 36 masonry arches, is Category A listed and features as the logo of West Lothian Council.[60][61]
West Lothian has no airport or airfields in current operation.[62] The county has a few historic airfields, now defunct, including a temporary airfield that once existed in Bathgate.[63] While the village ofKirknewtown is inside West Lothian, the nearbyRAF Kirknewton airfield lies inside the boundary of Edinburgh.[64] The nearest airport in operation to West Lothian isEdinburgh Airport.
West Lothian has 11secondary schools, 12 special schools, 67 primary schools, and 60 nurseries.[65][66][67] While West Lothian has no university, further and adult education facilities are provided atWest Lothian College based in Livingston.[68] The college has sports facilities, a library, a training restaurant for hospitality students, and a salon/spa.[68] The college provides educational services to over 8,000 students a year and has 350 staff.[69]
Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) has a campus in Livingston at Oatridge, nearEcclesmachan providing courses on subjects such asagriculture,veterinary medicine,conservation,horticulture, andlandscaping.[70] TheScottish Institute of Theatre, Dance, Film and Television has its main educational campus in Livingston.[71]
West Lothian has 14 publiclibraries.[72] A local and regional history library which includes items on the history of West Lothian andLinlithgowshire is located inLinlithgow.[72]
West Lothian has 12football teams playing across a variety of leagues (tiers) in theScottish football league system. In theSPFL,Livingston who relocated to Livingston in 1995 to theAlmondvale Stadium, represent the county.[73][74]Linlithgow Rose andBroxburn Athletic currently compete in theLowland Football League. Meanwhile, previousSJFA league clubs now play across theEast of Scotland Football League. These clubs include;Armadale Thistle,Bathgate Thistle,Blackburn United,Fauldhouse United,Livingston United,Pumpherston Juniors,Stoneyburn,West Calder United andWhitburn Juniors.
The West Lothian Sports Council represents a variety of sports clubs and organisations in West Lothian.[75] Other sports teams in West Lothian includeLinlithgow RFC, aScottish Rugby Union club who play inEast Regional League Division One, Livingston RFC, and theEdinburgh Monarchs, a ScottishSpeedway team, based inArmadale who compete in theSGB Championship.[76] Cricket is played at a local level at sites such asBoghall Cricket Club Ground in Linlithgow.
Swimming facilities are located across West Lothian in most of the towns and Swim West Lothian is an organisation, operating in partnership with West Lothian Council andScottish Swimming that organises local swimming clubs, training and swimming galas.[77]
Notable residents of West Lothian include monarchs and political figures includingMary Queen of Scots (born at Linlithgow Palace),King James the Fifth (born at Linlithgow Palace),Robin Cook (theMember of Parliament forLivingston from 1983 to 2005),Alex Salmond (from Linlithgow, the former First Minister of Scotland), andSir Tom Dalyell (theMember of Parliament forLinlithgow from 1962 to 2005).
West Lothian sports personalities includeDario Franchitti (from Whitburn, four-time Indy Car series champion, and three-time winner of theIndianapolis 500),Paul di Resta (from Uphall, DTM race driver for Mercedes-Benz, and the cousin of Dario Franchitti), andPeter 'Snakebite' Wright (born in Livingston, PDC World darts champion).
Actors, musicians and entertainers includeSusan Boyle (from Blackburn, a singer who achieved fame on the TV seriesBritain's Got Talent),[78][79]Lewis Capaldi (a singer/songwriter from Whitburn and Bathgate),Ian Colquhoun (from Livingston, author and actor),Leon Jackson (from Whitburn, winner ofThe X Factor in 2007) andDavid Tennant (from Bathgate, actor)
Figures from industry and academia includeJohn Fleming (from Bathgate, a naturalist, zoologist and geologist),Sir Charles Wyville Thomson (from Linlithgow, a natural historian and marine zoologist), andJames Young Simpson (an obstetrician and significant figure in the history of medicine).
Media related toWest Lothian at Wikimedia CommonsLocal government areas ofScotland, in use 1975 to 1996 | ||
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