West Lothian could see another 12,500 homes built in the decade to 2038.
And communities have told planners that a more diverse choice of homes – including more bungalows- are needed to meet the needs of an ageing population.
A full meeting of West Lothian council agreed to approve the first stage of a new Local Development Plan as a blueprint for the future look of communities.
National planning demands call for West Lothian to have another 9.850 homes by 2038, but planners raised that to more than 12,000 having accepted community calls for greater diversity of house styles, including more bungalows as well as more smaller homes to allow downsizing among a growing elderly population.
There has also been a call for more affordable housing.
This initial stage known as the Evidence Report now goes to the Scottish Government for approval. It sets out where development should take place and what is needed to accompany that development.
Councillors gave cautious welcome to the proposals but aired concerns about health care provision and transport infrastructure, both of which dominate the conversation on existing housing development proposals.
Earlier worries that they would not have enough time to work through the hefty document’s 1,000 plus pages were allayed.
Linlithgow Lib Dem Sally Pattle had, at a recent meeting, warned that developers “would be watching us like hawks” as she stressed the need for councillors to “get things right” in the plan.
She told the meeting: “ After being slightly alarmed a couple weeks ago I’m pleased to say I have had some really good discussions with officers and I really wanted to say extend my thanks for the time that they have provided me with in the last couple of weeks so that I understood the process and am a lot clearer about what is going happen going forward.
“I am now reassured that we have to get this evidence report in I understand the tightness of the timescales we are up against I also have been reassured that we just at the beginning of this process.
“As long as we all keep working together, we’ll be able to get there with the best outcome for West Lothian so thank you very much.”
Proposing a motion accepting the paper council leader Lawrence Fitzpatrick said; “We are taking a big step forward; it has required a significant amount of work by council officers. I’m glad to note there has been massive interaction between officers and councillors with regard to queries. I move that we accept the recommendation which includes the corrections to be included.”
Planning officers stressed that the Evidence gathering had consulted communities on their hopes and expectations for the future.
The final Local Development Plan which has to be in place for 2028 should reflect those community demands.
A West Lothian Council spokesperson said: “We would like to thank everyone who engaged in the process that has enabled planning officers to prepare this evidence report. It is important to stress this is an early point in the process of creating a new Local Development Plan for West Lothian.
“Completion of this gate check process will then allow planning officers to prepare the first draft of the new local development plan for West Lothian. This process will once again require extensive engagement with key stakeholders and local communities and the council will once again be calling on members of the public to participate. Details of how you can get involved will be shared in due course.”
The latest information on LDP2 can be accessed via the West Lothian Council website: https://www.westlothian.gov.uk/ldp2-updates
By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter
