Monday June 15th 2026
West Lothian Council headquarters
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
A special meeting of West Lothian Council on Thursday will decide its blueprint for the future.
The new Local Development Plan shows that 9,850 new homes could be built by 2038.
Key questions surround healthcare in communities where getting a GP appointment is already an obstacle, and a ban on capital spending imposed by the Scottish Government in 2024.
Two areas, East Calder and Armadale face serious challenges with crumbling and outdated health centres. Others in Linlithgow and Livingston also face accommodation issues.
A recent meeting of the Economy, Community Empowerment and Wealth Building PDSP suggested that uncertainty remains because there is no sign that funding positions have changed on health.
The Provost, Councillor Cathy Muldoon said: “Everyone knows we need more GP practices. What work has been done with the NHS and the Scottish Government? We can build as many GP practices as we want, but it’s actually getting the medical expertise of GPs, nurses and other medical staff to fill them.”
Craig McCorriston, the head of planning, confirmed that the council can fund infrastructure through developer contributions but cannot fund the revenue costs of staffing.
Andrew Cotton, a senior planning officer, told the meeting: “We meet monthly with NHS Lothian to discuss requirements. As with education, any contribution only be on new development not yet consented; not on existing consents such as in areas like East Calder.”
He added that any additional shortfall in provision would have to be met through a combination of input from the council, NHS Lothian and the Scottish Government.
In her report to the committee Kate Hopper, the council’s Development Planning and Environment Manager, said: “At 16 of the 20 GP practices in West Lothian there is sufficient capacity to accommodate the anticipated growth in list size from current housing allocations.
“In two practices there is clearly a requirement for additional capacity (East Calder and Almond) while a further two practices (Linlithgow, Barbauchlaw) require further investigation of service delivery and infrastructure availability to explore whether additional capacity is required.”
The Local Development Plan has already been delayed by nine months because the Scottish Government demanded more information.
The report added: “The Evidence Report must be approved by Full Council before it is submitted to Scottish Ministers for the ‘Gate Check’ process.
“The assessment of the Evidence Report, known as the ‘Gate Check’, provides an independent evaluation of whether the planning authority has sufficient information to prepare an LDP and whether key matters have been considered and engagement and all consultation requirements have been met.
“The Gate Check will be carried out by a Reporter from the Planning & Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA). Once the Evidence Report is approved by the DPEA, the planning authority can prepare the proposed Draft Plan for formal consultation and engagement.”
West Lothian was one of 16 councils which had their original evidence documents returned with the demand for more information. It was conceded that the original briefings to councils were not clear in what evidence was wanted.
If Thursday’s meeting of the full council agrees to the new documents it will restart the process. The new Local Development Plan is expected to come into force in 2028.
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