Community News

Welcome to West Lothian's online news service -

Community News.

You can use Community News to tell people in your local community and throughout West Lothian what is happening in your area and publicise your events and initiatives.  We have dedicated pages for your council ward so you will be able to find out what is happening locally.  If you have any news just email us.  We will also take pictures, although you must guarantee that you have permission from anyone who appears in the picture that it can be published online.  Use the ward box on this page to find out more about what's happening in your area.

Toddle set to go ahead on Sunday 

A sponsored toddle walk, which had to be cancelled due to high winds, is set to go ahead this Sunday, 18 May.

Dozens of mums and toddlers are expected to set off from Boghall Drop-in Centre to take part in the walk, to help raise funds for the Baby Reece McGuire Memorial Fund.

Organiser Laura Colman said was not too disappointed about the postponement. She said: "The delay gives us the opportunity to raise even more money."

West Lothian mum raises more than £400 for charity

A West Lothian mother-of-three who jumped out of an areoplane in aid of Childline has no intention of keeping her feet on the ground.

For Liz Ledgerwood is now hoping to do a wing walk.

Liz has already abseiled off West Lothian House and done a free-fall jump off the Forth Rail Bridge.

She described her jump as fantastic. "Once the door opens, you feel so peaceful and tranquil," she added. "I felt I was floating like a butterfly."

Liz raised more than £400 for the charity through her efforts.

Tournament honours first Scottish internationalist

A football tournament which honours the memory of the first Scottish internationalist to play for Liverpool FC takes place in West Lothian on Sunday, 18 May.

The George Allan memorial Football Festival honours the memory of George "Dod" Allan from Linlithgow Bridge, who was a star centre forward on both sides of the border in the 1890s.

Youngsters from Primary schools in Linlithgow, Bridgend and Winchburgh will parade their skills when the annual 7-a-side event kicks off at Linlithgow Rose F.C.'s Prestonfield ground.

Organised by the Lithca Lore group and first established in 1991, the annual event brings together Primary school footballers, both girls and boys, from local schools.

Play gets underway at 9am and admission is free.

Two heads are better than one at highland games

For the first time ever, a couple have been appointed joint chieftains of Bathgate and West Lothian Highland Games.

And it's believed that the joint appointment of Tom and Cathy Tierney, from Wester Inch, could also be a first in Scottish Highland Games history.

The dedicated couple have worked behind the scenes on the highland games for more than 30 years, and were awarded the accolade in recognition of their long standing service to the event.

Retired electronics engineer Tom said:" It's a genuine privilege to be asked to be the first ever joint chieftains of Bathgate and West Lothian Highland Games."

Cathy, a retired driving instructor, said: "Every chieftain we've had down the years has been excellent, and I'm thrilled to be part of that illustrious chain.

• Bathgate and West Lothian Highland Games takes place on 31 May, the last Saturday of the month, in Bathgate's Meadow Park

Small is beautiful at Whitburn

The Scottish Bonsai Association is holding its national exhibition at Whitburn Academy from 11.30am to 4pm on Sunday 18 May.

As well as displays of the best bonsai trees in the country, there will also be demonstrations and a variety of traders stands.

The entrance fee for the event, sponsored by West Lothian Council's Art Services department, is: adults £2, family ticket £3, OAP/under 16s free.

CLICK HERE to download a flyer for the event.

Day in at the races for OAPs

If you can't get to the horse racing, get the horse racing to come to you.

That's the philosophy of the members of the Dedridge Good Neighbourhood Wednesday lunch club at the Lanthorn community centre.

For they held their very own fund-raising donkey derby on Wednesday, 7 May.

We pictured the starting line-up. The winner won by a short head.

Mid Calder pupils are Euro stars

A group of P6 pupils from Mid Calder Primary School will be representing West Lothian at the national final of the Euroquiz on Monday, 12 May.

The final will take place in the Scottish Parliament at 1.30pm and will be broadcast live on Holyrood TV www.holyrood.tv (new window)

The Mid Calder pupils (in grey tops) and the runners-up from St Joseph's RC Primary School, Linlithgow, are pictured above being presented with their trophy for winning the local heats by Councillor Jim Walker, executive councillor for culture and leisure.

Has anyone seen our balloons?

That's the plea from staff at Livingston shop Bonmarche.

For a week after launching a clutch of balloons in aid of Sands (sudden and neonatal death society), they have yet to hear back if anyone has found one.

"We are giving two prizes," said store manager Jan Whyman,  "one for the person whose balloon travelled the furthest and one for the person who finds it."

Staff at the store have pledged to raise £1,000 for SANDS.
"We are well on our way to achieving this," added Jan, "so far we have set up a staff charity tuck shop, a spare change jar and several of the staff and customers have made greetings cards which we sell in our store."

Jan and her staff decided to raise the money for SANDS, after her area manager, Sean Casey, and his wife suffered such a loss.

"He has pledged to raise £40,000 and we aim to help him achieve his target," said Jan.

Alcohol sales ban sees drop in antisocial behaviour

Initial results of a pilot project in the Armadale area to ban alcohol sales to youngsters under 21 show a drop in antisocial behaviour.

"The initial results of the pilot project are most encouraging," said Council Leader Peter Johnston."The police have still to finalise the statistics, but the early indications reveal a significant drop in alcohol-related problems in the area.

The pilot project is due to run for six weeks. "No decisions have been taken yet, but we will be considering the possibility of extending the scheme based on the results of the success of the pilot project," added Councillor Johnston.

"I would like to thank licensees in the Armadale area for the way they co-operated with this partnership project.

"We do recognise this is only one tool we can use in tackling alcohol-related problems among young people. West Lothian Council is looking to develop a range of activities for young people, including free swimming on Friday afternoons."

Residents urged to cut out waste by composting

West Lothian residents were urged to help reduce waste during 'Compost Awareness Week' by composting more of their garden and kitchen waste.

Staff from Waste Aware were on hand at the Almondvale Shopping Centre on 6 and 7 May offering discounted compost bins.

Pictured with some of the bins available is Fiona McInally, a home waste advisor with Waste Aware.

• The home composting campaign offers bins from as little as £6, with different sizes to suit all households. Compost bins can be ordered at www.wasteawarescotland.org.uk (new window) or by calling 0845 077 0756

Water lot of fun on canal

West Lothian Safety Partnership launched its water safety for canals programme on Friday, 9 May, to help educate more young people about safety around canals.

The programme will run till 16 May.

Now in its third year, the Partnership includes British Waterways Scotland, West Lothian Education Department and Lothian and Borders Police.

Pupils from schools located near the canal are invited to attend a barge trip to experience the fun that can be had on the canal if you are careful and respectful.

Around 500 pupils and accompanying adults from primaries five and six have signed up to take part, including Broxburn, Kirkhill and Linlithgow primary schools.

Changes to blue bin collections

Textiles and food and drinks cartons can now be collected in the blue bin kerbside recycling collections.

Clean textiles can include any old clothes, sheets or towels but items like shoes, underwear, bags, belts, duvets, pillows or blankets should not be put in the blue bin.

• For more information on recycling in West Lothian, please call the recycling hotline on 01506 777810 or check www.wasteawarescotland.org.uk (new window)

Further events planned for ma rket

The Almondvale food, flower and craft market, which launched at the weekend, will run until Sunday, 18 May.

There is a variety of entertainment on offer. 

Further events planned include cheese and wine tasting, cake decorating, and jewellery and crafts workshops.

Plans to set up youth directory

Plans are afoot to set up a directory of youth activity in Broxburn, Uphall, Winchburgh, Dechmont and Ecclesmachan.

The directory will list all local activity from five-year-old up to under 16s.

"We want to hear from everyone, from sports groups, youth clubs, to drop-in groups, uniformed, non-uniformed and church groups," said Linda Owen, locality planner for the area.

• Anyone looking to be included in the directory should contact Linda at linda.owen@westlothian.gov.uk giving the name and meeting place of the group, details of activities and a contact address, phone number or e-mail.

Temporary closure of recycling centre

Deans community recycling centre in Deans Industrial Estate, Livingston, will be shut for an estimated two weeks from Saturday May 10 to allow demolition work to be carried out safely at the site.

Residents can continue to use the other recycling centres at: Oakbank in Livingston; Burnhead Industrial Estate, Whitburn; East Mains Street, Blackburn; Greendykes Industrial Estate, Broxburn; and Braehead Road in Linlithgow as normal.

All centres are open from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday.

West Lothian rugby team keep unbeaten record

A West Lothian rugby team has kept up its proud record of never being beaten abroad.

Linlithgow Peelers recorded two wins and a draw in the over 35s tournament in Rovigo (Italy) on Saturday, 3 May.

The Tournament involved 23 (15-a-side) teams in total - 21 from Italy, one from France, plus the Peelers.  It was played on three pitches at Rovigo, including one of the most famous rugby pitches in Italy - the main stand pitch at Rovigo.

Afterwards, the 23 teams and supporters were entertained by the mayor of Rovigo and the host club for an evening of food, drink and song - with the Peelers excelling in the latter two categories!  Renditions of 'Flower of Scotland, 'Scotland the Brave' and 'Killiecrankie' went down a treat with the assembled masses.

Footpath to close for 31 weeks

A footpath leading to Livingston North Railway station will close for 31 weeks to allow the construction of a new platform.

The footpath runs from Haymarket Crescent to Deans North Road .

The northwest section of the southern car park at the station will also close for the same period - from Monday, 28 April, to 1 December.

An alternative route will be signposted.

Phone home to help West Lothian Toy Appeal

A group of five pupils at Toronto Primary School came up with an appeal that had a nice ring to it.

For after learning that old mobiles could be recycled to raise money, they decided to encourage fellow pupils to hand in redundant phones belonging to friends or family.

Calling themselves the 'Dodgy Ringtones' the group handed over a total of 42 mobiles to Councillor Andrew Miller, Executive member for Education, and Jeff Warren of West Lothian Council's admin team.

The proceeds will go to the West Lothian Toy Appeal.

Both Councillor Miller and Jeff Warren were former pupils at Toronto and, as well as expressing their delight at the pupils' initiative, enjoyed a slice of nostalgia.

Public urged to watch out for fake banknotes

Police are urging the West Lothian public to be on their guard after a number of fake Royal Bank of Scotland £10 & £20 notes were found in shop takings in Bathgate.

The £10 note serial numbers start with D/13and end with the numbers 469.

A Police spokesman said: "While these incidents have only been reported to date as having happened in Bathgate, shopkeepers throughout West Lothian should be alert to these notes being tendered and where possible the use of counterfeit currency detector machines or pens should be considered as best practice."

Eilidh can't keep her feet on the ground

A young Livingston woman just can't keep her feet on the ground.

For Eilidh McMahon abseiled down the Forth Rail Bridge on Sunday, 27 April.

And it was the third time Eilidh has abseiled down a building.

She carried out the abseil to help raise funds for Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland.

Now Eilidh, of Meadowbank, Ladywell, plans to go a bit higher for her next venture.

"I want to do a parachute jump for cancer research," she said, "recently a family friend died from cancer and it means a lot to me to do the jump."

Council headquarters to be sold for more than £4 million

West Lothian Council is set to sell off its headquarters in Livingston to Land Securities, owners of the adjacent Almondvale shopping centre.

The sale was agreed by the Council Executive.

The building, on Almondvale Boulevard, was previously also the former headquarters of Livingston Development Corporation.

Council staff will move out to the new Civic Centre at Livingston next year.

Land Securities are set to pay £4.26 million plus inflation until the date of sale.

They will also pay £200,000 to the council as a contribution to improvements to the Civic Square, which will become the main pedestrian route between the Civic Centre and the Almondvale shopping centre.

Work set to start on new council housing

Work is set to start shortly on the first of 700 new council houses in West Lothian.

A new £28 million housing investment programme for the next 12 months has been approved by West Lothian Council.

The ambitious spending programme includes:

• £7.5 million building 240 council houses for rent
• £3 million on environmental improvements
• £1.9 million on repairs and improvements to garages
• £9.8 million on housing stock improvements

"This is a detailed and extensive new housing capital programme which will benefit our tenants across West Lothian over the next year," said Council Leader Peter Johnston.

240 properties will be built in the first phase, with work underway to identify sites for the remaining 460 houses.

Local premises are 'Best bar None'

A total of 13 licensed premises in West Lothian were honoured for high standards of safety at a ceremony in West Lothian Council Chambers .

The Best Bar None scheme allows the licensed trade to work in partnership with Lothian and Borders Police, Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service, and West Lothian Council to make their premises safer, and reduce alcohol-related crime and irresponsible drinking.

Chief Superintendent Chris Griffiths, of Lothian and Borders Police, said: "The Best Bar None scheme helps reduce crime, and the fear of crime, in and around licensed premises through the promotion of best practise."

Chair of West Lothian Licensing Board, Councillor John Cochrane said: "The scheme has my full support. All the premises taking part have demonstrated they care about their customers' safety and  security on a night out.

"They have all shown a strong commitment to making West Lothian a safer place."

The premises who received awards were:

• Gold Award: Club Earth, Livingston (pictured above)
• Silver Award: Almond Bank (Wetherspoons); The Volunteer Arms, Uphall; Platform 3, Linlithgow
• Bronze Award: The Four Marys, Linlithgow; Star and Garter Hotel, Linlithgow; Black Bitch Tavern, Linlithgow; Da Vincis, Livingston; Deer Park Golf and Country Club, Livingston; The Firs Restaurant and Bar, Polbeth; The Club, Broxburn; The Duddingston Arms, Newton; James Young, Bathgate.

Pupils get on their bikes to school

Pupils at Harrysmuir Primary School, Ladywell, have been getting on their bikes to school.

Cycling Scotland has launched a campaign to raise awareness of West Lothian's cycle friendly initiatives.

They're hoping to encourage even more families in the area to get on their bikes and cycle to school.

Street teams on bikes will also be out and about around the area's schools, giving parents and children information on local cycle routes and tips for safe cycling and encouraging families to cycle to school.

Cycling Scotland Chief Executive Erl Wilkie said: "With over 52 schools in West Lothian providing cycle training and a number of schools in the area fitting new secure bike sheds, now is a great time to think about letting your kids cycle to school."

Country's biggest dance festival set for West Lothian

West Lothian is the venue for a three-day dance festival in August.

The Urban Rising Dance Festival 2008 is billed as Scotland's biggest ever electronic music event.

The genres of dance covered include Drum & Bass, House, Hard Dance, Trance and Old Skool.

The festival will run from 15 to 17 August.

Work continues apace on railway line

The Bathgate railway line will close for 16 days in July and 10 days in October, as work continues apace to upgrade the line for the new link to Airdrie.

Once open, in 2010, the new line will provide a 45-minute journey time between West Lothian and Glasgow.

Four trains an hour will run on the line

Work on the new Bathgate station is due to start in spring next year. There will be 395 car parking spaces at the new station.

Busy gala season this summer

A busy programme of gala events has been organised across West Lothian again this summer.

Confirmed dates for your diary include:

• 31 May - Bathgate and West Lothian Highland games; Pumpherston gala.
• 7 June - Bathgate Procession; Livingston village gala; Mid Calder gala; Parkhead gala.
• 14 June - Blackburn Children's gala day; East Calder and Wilkieston gala; Ecclesmachan and Threemiletown gala; Fauldhouse gala; Grand Harburn Festival; Harthill, Eastfield and Greenrigg gala; Torphichen gala; Uphall Station gala.
• 17 June - Linlithgow Marches.
• 21 June - Armadale gala; Broxburn gala; Deans gala; Kirknewton gala; Linlithgow and Linlithgow Bridge gala; Loganlea and District gala; Stoneyburn and Bents gala; Harrysmuir fun day (to be confirmed).
• 28 June - Polbeth children's gala; Whitburn gala; Winchburgh gala. 29 June - Blackridge, Westrigg and Westcraigs gala.
• 5 July - Seafield and district gala.
• 9 August - Boghall activity day.
• 17 August - Linlithgow Union Canal Society fun day.