West Lothian could see another 12,500 homes built in the decade to 2038
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
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BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
First-time buyers removed from government housing scheme
Most first-time buyers have been dropped from a Scottish government scheme that helps people buy a home without having to fund its full cost, BBC Scotland News has Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE) scheme allows buyers to pay for 60% to 90% of a property's price, with the government buying the remaining of buyers have entered the property market this way since 2007 but there was a sharp drop last year, leading to some observers calling the scheme's price thresholds unrealistic.A government spokesperson said the scheme would now only focus on priority groups, such as social renters and people with disabilities, but experts called the move "short-sighted". In the past, the initiative had been mostly used by first-time buyers on lower incomes who lived in private rentals or with family. But the government's latest update has rendered first-time buyers ineligible, unless they fit into one of the priority mortgage advisers and buyers who have used the scheme in the past told the BBC first-time buyers were vital to the housing market and should also be a priority group. 'The government should be protecting first-time buyers' In recent years, campaigners have highlighted the growing number of Scots struggling with housing issues such as affordability, suitability and security of May last year, the Scottish government declared a national housing emergency, which set out aims to increase housing supply and tackle high mortgage rates and the rapidly increasing cost of renting have made it difficult for first-time buyers to enter the property to the charity Shelter Scotland, more than four in 10 adults are currently dealing with housing-related Moore from Edinburgh contacted Your Voice, Your BBC News last year because she had struggled to save enough funds to buy her first home as a private tenant of eight years. Although the 32-year-old copywriter had about £5,000 in savings, she had to borrow money from her family to cover a mortgage deposit and the extra funds to pay over the property's asking said: "I can happily pay the mortgage payments, but what I can't do is pull £30,000 out of nowhere - There's no way I'd be able to do this alone."Before she bought her flat, Lucy had considered using the OMSE scheme to split the property's cost with the Scottish the time, the scheme was aimed at first-time buyers and priority groups who could prove they couldn't afford to buy a home without was one of four initiatives the Scottish government has run in the past 20 years to make home ownership more accessible. A Scottish government spokesperson said the schemes had supported almost 52,000 households since 2007, with more than 80% of them being first-time buyers. The OMSE scheme doesn't allow the applicants to offer over a property's asking price if their bid exceeds the set thresholds. This is why Lucy gave up on using claims buyers in Edinburgh often have to compete with investors who can afford to make bids on properties which are far in excess of the asking price."What angers me, and I think it really shows how little support and protection first-time buyers get, is that a lot of the ads on property websites say 'perfect for a first-time buyer or as an investment'," Lucy said."Those two groups of people - that's not a fair fight. "The government should be protecting first-time buyers and giving them a cat in hell's chance of getting into this really hyper-competitive market." First-time buyers no longer a priority Although the government has advertised the OMSE scheme as a "low cost initiative for first-time buyers" for the past 18 years, the eligibility criteria changed in April first-time buyers that fit into one of the priority groups are currently eligible, leaving out those who live in private rentals or with family and obtained by BBC Scotland News shows that the majority of the scheme's past users did not belong to any of the priority year, 182 out of 210 successful OMSE purchases were made by first-time buyers. Priority group applicants were responsible for 6% of these sales in 2024, and 10% in latest evaluation of the scheme from 2021 also showed that 35% of buyers were private tenants, 32% lived with relatives and 24% came from social the government's decision to focus solely on priority groups, a spokesperson said: "Supporting social renters to make the transition to affordable home ownership will help free up social rented accommodation, which in turn could help families move out of temporary accommodation."They added that it was important to target limited government funding on buyers who would not be able to purchase at all without Ramsay, a Dundee-based mortgage broker, called this move short-sighted, adding that she didn't believe it would attract more social renters to the scheme."Many people won't look to move from affordable renting to having to worry about the cost of having your own home, to cover ongoing repairs, everything else that goes with that," she Ramsay believes first-time buyers on lower incomes should be a priority group because they usually buy at the most competitive lower end of the said: "It pushes the house price up because there could be five or six people looking at a property, and some of them may well have financial backing where they can pay over the asking price for that property. It's not a level playing field."These are the people that will keep our housing market moving. It really is a kick in their teeth."In response, the Scottish government said that it still supported first-time buyers by charging no tax on the first £175,000 of their new home, and through the NSSE allows buyers split the cost of a new-build property sold by councils or housing associations. However, there are currently only six local authorities in Scotland with eligible properties, according to the scheme's website. 'Almost impossible' to meet the price cap Martin and Anna Sutherland said they would not have been able to purchase their first home without the OMSE had spent six years privately renting, which left them with just enough money to afford a 5% mortgage deposit, something not many lenders accept, according to the the government paying for 20% of the property price through the OMSE scheme, they managed to secure a lower mortgage and bought a four-bedroom bungalow in Fife. However, Mr Sutherland emphasised it was "almost impossible" to find a property that would fit into the price thresholds set by the government."There wasn't one property available to us by using the (OMSE) LIFT scheme, except for this one," he bought their house for £174,000, which was just £1,000 short of the scheme's threshold for South Fife. According to Rightmove, an average price for a four-bedroom property in Fife is just over £343, though the property requires lots of renovations, Mr Sutherland said the whole family felt very lucky to secure their first home. The thresholds are based on the property size and location, with noticeable differences across Scotland's local Ramsay and other mortgage advisers have told BBC Scotland News the scheme's price caps were the government claimed the thresholds were being updated every year in line with inflation, they remained the same between August 2022 and the latest update in April 2025. In response, the government stated there were no changes in December 2023 and 2024 because the scheme had closed to new applications at the South Fife, where Martin and Anna bought their house in 2024, a four-bedroom property is now capped at £185, BBC News Scotland questioned the government about the thresholds, it said: "We accept that in certain small geographical areas there will be a limited number of properties for sale which fall within the OMSE thresholds at any one point in time."It added that the way the thresholds are calculated ensures that all areas across Scotland are able to benefit from a viable scheme with a reasonable number of properties to choose from. Last year, the scheme's users also only had four weeks to apply, with the government claiming the budget had been "fully utilized by all applications received at the time." We later found out that only a half of the dedicated £27m was actually spent. Responding to our findings, a Scottish government spokesperson said: "After all applications were assessed, approximately £13.5m of the initial budget remained."At the end of November the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice made the decision to redistribute the remaining £13.5m of Financial Transactions allocated to OMSE to Charitable Bonds." The government uses these bonds to provide loans to registered social landlords for the development of new affordable number of applicants to the scheme and its funding have steadily declined in the past five most money allocated to the scheme was £80m in 2019, which supported 1,145 sales. In 2024, only about 0.6% of all of Scotland's first-time buyers benefited from it and the budget was the lowest in a John Boyle, the director of research and strategy at estate agent Rettie & Co, said the shared equity schemes were more successful 10 years ago."That's because it did help more substantial numbers of people onto the housing ladder at a time when it was difficult for first-time buyers to access mortgage finance," he he believes the solution to Scotland's housing problem lies elsewhere."Unless we do something about the supply problem, we won't really do anything about the affordability problem," he said."That's where the bulk of the money should be going."
Edinburgh Reporter
8 hours ago
- Edinburgh Reporter
Councillors reject holiday cabins for second time
Plans to create a holiday site on the fringe of the Pentland Hills have been thrown out for a second time this year Lucy Crombie lodged an application to build 20 wooden holiday lodges on a site known as the Paddocks. The area of open countryside borders Leyden Road, a narrow, winding rural road bounded by open farmland and woodlands which climbs from Kirknewton up to the main A70 road which skirts the Pentland Hills regional park. The same application was rejected by the Development Management Committee in January last year and an appeal later dismissed by the Local Review Body. One objector called for the council to refuse to decide on the latest filing of the proposals saying they had not changed since the council rejected the same plans last year. And a lawyer suggested the proposal may have come back 'to wear down' resistance. Planning officers said the applicant had now supplied supplementary reports which validated councillors hearing the plans again. The latest application attracted 22 objections including one from the local community council and a neighbour Juliet Bentley who lives in the B- listed Ormiston Castle immediately adjacent to the site. Ewan MacLeod of legal firm Shepherd and Wedderburn, acting as agents for Ms Bentley told councillors: 'Both we and our client are surprised that the application has been made to the council. It is identical in all material respects to [the previous] application. 'The application has clearly been submitted within the 5-year window and there has been no change in the development plan or in any other material consideration. The council must therefore consider whether to exercise its discretion to refuse to determine the application.' In its written objection the firm said, ' [the] applicant's failure to address the well-founded planning issues raised by local residents and the council's reasons for refusal, we submit that it would be irrational for the council to determine the application.' Mr MacLeod said that if the application was refused ' the applicant can appeal to Scottish ministers and an unelected Scottish Government official can then take a decision which may overturn the democratic will of this committee… If you decline to determine the application the applicant has no appeal.' He said such a decision would also save the council the expenses of defending its decision at an appeal. An agent for the applicant denied planner's criticism of the proposals being 'too urban' in appearance, saying that the cabins on the site occupied less than a third of the area. Suggestions that the site would be too visible on the landscape were also questioned. He added that his client was prepared to explore road widening and passing spaces outlined in concerns highlighted by the planners. Planners outlined their objections stating: 'The proposals for the holiday chalets at this location would create a sense of urbanisation within a countryside setting. The Roads Officer would require works to be undertaken in order to improve road safety, including access works, road widening works at five points on the public road and application of a speed limit, to support the proposals. 'Mitigation measures can potentially address road safety concerns (although it is unclear if this will require agreement with third party landowners in respect of road widening works)' Councillor Damian Doran-Timson asked planning officers what had changed in the plans since they were rejected by the LRB in August last year. Planning officer Gillian Cyphus said there had been a lack of information when the proposals had gone to the review body; the slight change now was that drainage reports had been made available. That was why planners had recommended the proposals come before councillors for determination, with the recommendation for refusal. Councillor Pauline Clark said: 'I think we should be encouraging tourists to come here. However, I do think access is a big problem. I think the lack of being able to walk to the train station is a problem. I don't know if paths are something that could be sorted. It's major stumbling block She defended the planning appeal procedures of the Scottish Government as democratic. Councillor Doran-Timson agreed with her objections: He said ' We need to do more for tourism and economic development has been a failure, but I think the amount of non-conformities we have with the application, not just the paths there's a number of different issues that have me going toward officers' recommendations.' He added: 'Unlike Councillor Clark I share Mr MacLeods concerns about the Scottish Reporter overturns in recent years in West Lothian.' Councillor Pauline Stafford said she had concerns about families with children walking the main road to Kirknewton. 'The nature of the site would encourage people to drive to and from it,' she added. Councillor Willie Boyle said: 'My concern is that this looks like a caravan holiday park rather than holiday cabins you see in rural areas.I think the design is wrong. Councillor Doran Timson's motion to refuse planning permission was backed by Willie Boyle. By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Edinburgh Reporter
8 hours ago
- Edinburgh Reporter
West Lothian could see another 12,500 homes built in the decade to 2038
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: By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
