Livingston Centre asks you round for a blether

To celebrate half a century since it opened, The Centre in Livingston has many celebrations planned.

One of these is a way of encouraging people simply to stop and have a chat with each other. The Blether Bench is next to Primark in the Centre. It has a QR code on it to take you to information about the 50th anniversary celebrations, but really wants people to sit and chat about the evolution of the Centre over the years.

The management also plan to hold a time capsule ceremony and an event on 30 May with Go Radio presenter, Gina McKie who will be giving away 50 gift cards worth in total £2,000.

Pupils in P7 have been asked to contribute artwork, books and letters to the time capsule, and management have contributed a staff phonebook and shopping centre map which will be buried in the centre.

Patrick Robbertze, Centre Director at The Centre, Livingston, said: “This year is a very exciting time for The Centre, Livingston as we celebrate 50 years of being at the heart of the community and also branch into the leisure sector with the opening of Hollywood Bowl, which is a great way to mark our special milestone. 

“We have lots of exciting plans to celebrate the occasion, including our time capsule ceremony with local primary schools, the launch of our ‘blether bench’ to encourage people to share their memories with us and our Gift Card giveaway event, which will give us the opportunity to thank our visitors for being part of our incredible journey over the past five decades.”

Simon Eatough, Director at LCP UK, part of M Core and Asset Manager of The Centre, Livingston, said: “Celebrating 50 years in the community is such a major milestone for us, especially as it ties in perfectly with our move into the leisure sector with the opening of Hollywood Bowl.

“Our aim is to focus on attracting more global brands through continued investment, with major announcements coming soon.”

The shopping centre, which has a wide mix of over 150 stores and restaurants spanning over 1m sq. ft and welcomes 15.4m visitors a year, has seen many changes over the past five decades, dating back to the opening of Woolco in 1976, when it was known as Almondvale Shopping Centre. 

These include a refurbishment project in 1988 and two extensions, one in 1995 and the other in 2008, when the M&S flagship store opened and the shopping centre was rebranded as The Centre, Livingston.Since acquiring the shopping centre in 2024, the owners, LCP UK, part of M Core, one of Europe’s leading privately owned commercial property development and management companies, has continued to make ongoing improvements, including the investment of £5m in new flooring, lighting and energy-efficient roofing