Councillors have rejected plans to redevelop a former factory site in Livingston for housing.
Persimmon Homes had applied for planning permission to redevelop the site of the former Ethicon factory on Simpson Parkway in the heart of Livingston.
Agents for the house-builder said the plan would help ease the housing crisis in Livingston South, the ward which has the highest demands for council homes.
A quarter of the proposed 168 homes earmarked for the site would have been made available to those on the housing list.
Planning officers stressed that the site- in Kirkton,Livingston- was zoned as employment land and should be maintained as such.
Senior planning officer, Gillian Cyphus said in the report to the Development Management Committee (DMC): “The proposals relate to the redevelopment of a brownfield site within the Kirkton Campus employment area of Livingston for the construction of 122 houses, 46 flats and five small commercial units which provide the facility for local shops, and a unit set aside for community use.”
Mrs Cyphus said that the new Local Development Plan, expected to be adopted in 2028 could include a policy to convert employment land to housing land. Until a new LDP is decided the proposal contravenes the existing regulations.
The report added: “Until there is a change in allocation in LDP2, which has not yet been published, then the application is premature and the site cannot be considered in the right location.”
Agents for Persimmon said that if the application was accepted by the DMC now the homes could be built and available to those on the housing list by 2030.
The Ethicon plant which manufactured medical supplies for the American firm Johnson and Johnson, closed in 2019 and the site was cleared.
Property agent Colliers has been marketing the site since that time with no tangible interest coming forward.
The site is bounded by trees, and Persimmon said the plan included bungalows, flats and houses.
The report said: “The application is for housing on a brownfield site within the Kirkton Campus employment area of Livingston. Whilst it is technically possible to develop the site for housing, and the application has provided a design and layout which is acceptable, the principle of utilising the site for residential rather than employment uses is unacceptable.”
Ian Martin and Gregor Scotland from the developer addressed the committee and stressed that across West Lothian the majority of its homes sold to local people. The affordable homes would be made available to those on the housing waiting lists.
Persimmon agreed to make contributions to cover school development.
The local Livingston Village Community Council had voiced no objections to the planned housing but had raised concerns at the lack of bus services running through the Kirkton Campus site.
Councillor Willie Boyle told the meeting that he could not support the proposal
Chair of the DMC Councillor Harry Cartmill told the meeting: “I know the site well. I take on board what planners and other members have said and I would support the officers’ recommendation to refuse.”
No alternative position was put forward so the application was refused.
By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter
