Promise West Lothian 'tourist tax' cash 'will go back into the industry'
Tourist venues and holiday businesses in West Lothian will be asked for their views on a visitor levy which could bring in £1m a year.
Council officers promised the cash generated by any 'tourist tax' has to be ploughed back into the industry, and a trade-led forum will have oversight.
It comes as the county is growing as a visitor venue with a 16% increase in overnight stays last year.
Some councillors last week urged a swift introduction of a levy, describing it as a 'no brainer' and easy earner.
There are concerns about the impact on local businesses however and council officers remain keen to pursue a softly-softly approach.
Jim Henderson the council's Business Development Manager said discussions were at an early stage, and promised to return to councillors with initial results.
The depute leader of the council said it was important 'for the views of the business community' to be heard before decisions are made .
Last year In West Lothian there were 506,600 overnight visitors, with 298,400 staying in fee-paying accommodation and 208,200 staying with friends or relatives. This was a 16% increase on 2023 levels.
The local country parks continue to be a popular attraction, with the total estimated 2023/24 visitor numbers of 1,553,950 at three of them; Almondell & Calderwood, Beecraigs, and Polkemmet, showing an increase of 15% compared to 2022/23.
The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill enables councils to apply a levy on overnight stays .
A report to West Lothian's Executive outlined potential income based on the fee-paying visitors who stayed in the county last year. The most expensive accommodation, with an average spend of £100 per person per night would generate £1,342, 800 at a 5% levy. The lowest proposed levy of 2% would generate more than £500,000 in the most expensive accommodation.
The legislation states that net proceeds generated will be ring-fenced and must be spent on facilities and services for or used by visitors for leisure or business purposes.
How tight that ring-fencing is could likely be challenged by councils, but any future debate will probably depend on whether councils consider tourist numbers a benefit or blight.
In a report to the last meeting of the Council Executive before the summer recess, Stewart Ness, the Tourism and Town Centre Manager said: 'Whilst Visitor Levy is historically considered in areas of 'over-tourism', such as Edinburgh, it may be inappropriate to argue that this applies across West Lothian where some areas might benefit from an increase in visitors.
'There could be a risk that West Lothian is 'left behind' by neighbouring local authority areas that do use the ring-fenced funds raised through the introduction of a Visitor Levy to invest in tourism in their areas."
Mr Ness added: 'Local authorities are encouraged to conduct early engagement before entering the consultation phase .
'Although not statutory, this engagement phase is considered by the guidance to be best practice. Learning from other local authorities' areas who have undergone the process is available and this could be used to guide the process in West Lothian.
'By engaging with the tourism businesses in this collaborative fashion, it will increase understanding for the scheme amongst those who will be responsible for collecting the levy.'
A council spokesperson stressed this week: 'It is important to clarify that no decision has been made on the introduction of a levy in West Lothian.
'The purpose of the consultation phase is to gather the opinions of stakeholders, including local businesses and tourism providers.
'The outcome of that consultation will be brought back to Council Executive for further consideration.'
Councillor Susan Manion, the depute leader of the council who is Executive councillor for Economy Community Empowerment and Wealth Building said: 'I think it is very important that the views of the local business community and other stakeholders are heard and that councillors are able to take an informed decision based on feedback. 'Other areas in Scotland will have a visitor levy in the not too distant future and given the income that will be generated in these areas, I think it is sensible to explore how a visitor levy could impact, and benefit West Lothian and local residents.'
Another requirement for any council setting up a levy is to establish a forum of representatives from local businesses and the community which will discuss and advise the council on matters related to the levy.
The types of accommodation included within scope of the legislation are: hotels, guest houses, bed and breakfast accommodation, camping sites and caravan parks.
Visit Scotland has created guidance for councils and an indicative timeline for the development of a levy is thought to be two to two and a half years.
The City of Edinburgh Council last month agreed to implement a 5% levy for Summer 2026. Other local authorities are considering a rate of between 2% and 4%.
Highland, Glasgow, Argyll and Bute, and Aberdeen are all now in the formal consultation stage. Other councils such as East Lothian, Stirling, Dumfries & Galloway, and others have been given approval for 'early engagement' work.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Goodwin eyes European return with 'big rebuild'
Manager Jim Goodwin aims to lessen Dundee United's reliance on loans as he embarks on another "big rebuild" at the six new signings so far, only Isaac Pappoe is on a temporary deal, with the midfielder arriving from Ferencvaros in last season, United had six players on loan as they finished fourth in the Scottish Premiership, including top scorer Sam Dalby and goalkeeper Jack may yet try to tempt back Luca Stephenson and Emmanuel Adegboyega, who were also regulars last term, since he is far from finished in the transfer market."It seems to be one big rebuild after another," he told BBC Sport Scotland."I feel it's the way it's been for probably the last five or six years of my managerial career."It would be nice to go into next summer and only need three or four players. But that doesn't ever seem to happen."We relied heavily on the loan market last year, which is something that we're trying to change a little bit."We've signed a number of players on permanent contracts already. But we've got a job on our hands to put a squad together that's going to make us as competitive as possible in the league first and foremost."But also we want to compete in all the other competitions and we have the Europa Conference qualifier, that first competitive game at the end of this month." Having enjoyed an impressive return to the top flight last season, Goodwin is out to emulate that success."Our points return in the opening 11 fixtures was really good," he reflected. "I think since August last year we never dropped out of that top half."The objective changes as the season goes along but the fact we finished fourth, everybody, from a Dundee United perspective, would want us to be at least in that top six and competing for those European places."We're not stupid. We understand how difficult that's going to be, especially when you see the kind of investment that's been made in some of the other clubs."
South Wales Argus
an hour ago
- South Wales Argus
MPs back plans for ministers to ease pub last orders without Parliament debate
Under existing rules, Parliament must sign off on plans to ease licensing restrictions at a national level and extend last orders beyond the usual 11pm. But the Licensing Hours Extensions Bill, which has cleared the Commons at third reading, would let ministers effectively bypass a parliamentary debate. MPs could still 'pray against' the Government's decision-making, if they would like a debate or vote. Matt Turmaine said the move would allow ministers to process orders 'without using up valuable parliamentary time'. The Watford MP, speaking in place of Labour MP for Wrexham Andrew Ranger who tabled the Bill, said the move was 'about cutting red tape, red tape that produces unnecessary and time-consuming bureaucracy for the hospitality industry and local authorities for the simple matter of wanting to be able to open earlier or stay open later when occasions of special importance emerge, as they surely do'. Mr Turmaine, a Labour MP, said the Bill would make a 'very simple alteration' to the Licensing Act 2003. 'It is also extremely welcome that there has been broad support and consensus across the House regarding this,' he added. 'Whether that says something about parliamentarians and pints, I could not possibly say.' Mr Turmaine said the existing process, known as the affirmative procedure, 'is problematic when an order needs to be made at short notice'. The Home Office successfully used this procedure last month, when MPs agreed without opposition to let pubs and bars temporarily sell alcohol until 1am, if England or Wales – or both – reach the Uefa Women's Euros semi-finals or finals. Lionesses Ella Toone (left) and Alessia Russo (Bradley Collyer/PA) Both teams begin their Championship campaign on Saturday when the Lionesses face France and Wales will play the Netherlands. The semi-finals take place on July 22 and 23, with the final on July 27. Mr Turmaine had earlier told MPs: 'The negative procedure has the benefit of allowing licensing extensions to be made in the rare event that they are needed during parliamentary recess or at short notice.' He said: 'Special occasions such as World Cups, European Championships and royal weddings are times that live long in the memory of us all, even if we are enjoying the hospitality so enabled. 'And it is only right that our pubs and hospitality venues are given the opportunity to be a part of that experience when they do occur.' Home Office minister Seema Malhotra described a 'high degree of consensus' across the House, and added: 'I'm pleased to say that the Government fully supports it.' Mr Ranger's Bill was one of five to clear the Commons on Friday, alongside the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill which would pave the way for a ban on imports of puppies and kittens under six months old, dogs and cats which are more than 42 days pregnant, and dogs and cats which have been mutilated. The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill would add llamas and alpacas to the list of farm animals which, if attacked by a dog in England and Wales, would see pet owners fined. It would also extend dog attack protections beyond agricultural land to roads and paths, where animals might be herded. Voters in Scotland and Wales edged closer to being able to apply for a proxy or postal vote online for devolved elections, bringing them in line with English electors, after MPs agreed to back the Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill. The Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill also cleared the Commons, which would see liability caps in the licences granted by the Civil Aviation Authority for spaceflight. They each face scrutiny in the Lords on later dates.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Gerard Taylor obituary
Britain has never been entirely clear about how to understand what it is that designers do. Are they offering a service, or is design a form of cultural self-expression? Gerard Taylor, who has died aged 70, always believed that it can be both. The Scot learned this early on in his career, when in 1981 the great Italian designer Ettore Sottsass invited him to join his Memphis collective, not long after Taylor had graduated from the Royal College of Art in London. A kind of anti-Bloomsbury group based in Milan, Memphis turned the conventional idea of good taste upside down with a series of deliberately transgressive collections of furniture, glassware and domestic electronics, using cheap materials such as plastic laminate and a vibrant colour palette. The self-initiated work that Taylor did for Memphis, as well as under his own name in those days, such as his sculptural ceramics or, later, with Daniel Weil, the Quasimodo chair, which looked like the physical realisation of a cafe chair in a Cubist painting, are in museum collections now, or sought after at auction. But Taylor also enjoyed working for clients, designing beautifully crafted shops for the Esprit brand that had little in common with the conventions of mass-market fashion at the time. He would later be responsible for the architecture of half a dozen of Habitat's most interesting stores when it was run by Vittorio Radice. When Radice moved to Selfridges, Taylor worked there too, and later for the Irish fashion designer Orla Kiely. Taylor's sketchbooks, overflowing with pencil drawings and analytical watercolours, reflect the commitment that he put into all his work whether they were personal projects or not. 'I believe that a designer should never work for their client, they have to work for themselves,' he told one interviewer. 'They have to serve their client, they have to be rigorous and professional, [but] your vision has to go way beyond what the client is asking for. You always have to be pushing yourself to do what you think is interesting.' Taylor's longest-lasting client was Orangebox, an innovative manufacturer of office furniture that began as a start up in the Glamorgan village of Hengoed. In the 20 years that Taylor was the creative director, helping to shape its products, Orangebox grew into a worldwide business, employing 400 people, and successful enough to be acquired by the American giant Steelcase. 'We weren't selling chairs, we were selling stories,' Taylor said. At the time of his death Taylor was working on an exhibition at the Modern Institute gallery in Glasgow, planned for next year. According to Taylor's brother-in-law, the artist and author Edmund de Waal, it will include both early furniture designs and more recent sculptural work that explores the relationship between colour and space. Born in Bellshill, a former mining town in Glasgow's Lanarkshire hinterland, Gerard was one of six children of Mary and Michael Taylor, a buyer for the industrial manufacturer Honeywell who in latter years bought a sub-post office. After St Saviour's secondary school in Glasgow, Gerard considered studying art at Glasgow School of Art, but instead chose product design, where, following graduation, one of his tutors encouraged him to apply to the RCA for a master's. He spent his summers working on set designs at the BBC, including for the Two Ronnies, and used some of his earnings to go to New York to see the painter Agnes Martin installing a museum show of her work. When he graduated in 1981, design in London had momentarily become neither service nor art, but big business. Based on the profits that they made rebranding state-owned industries such as British Airways and British Telecom as they were prepared for privatisation, design consultancies were being floated on the stock market. It was not a version of design that appealed to Taylor. He was determined to work for Sottsass, Memphis's founder, and the designer of beautiful machines for Olivetti, the Apple of its day. Taylor, who described himself as a 'ballsy Scotsman', had heard Sottsass speak in London while at college, and met him again in his final year. After showing him his portfolio of sophisticated drawings, and projects that ranged from a stage set for Timon of Athens to a hi-fi system, Sottsass invited Taylor to Milan to work in Sottsass Associati, the new design studio he was setting up. Taylor became a partner for five years (1982-87), then set up a studio in London with Weil, a fellow RCA graduate. Their partnership was dissolved in 1992 and Taylor subsequently practised on his own. Having begun his career early enough to take part in Memphis, Taylor worked long enough to see the practice of design utterly transformed by the digital explosion. Four decades ago it was still possible for a designer to shape technology, as well as convey how it worked. 'Usually [the product] comes in bland boxes that are a hopelessly inadequate reflection of the marvels which they contain,' Taylor then wrote. Smartphones have since taken over so many everyday functions that entire categories of object are redundant. Those that are left are not easily influenced by an independent designer. Taylor focused instead on furniture design, on which it was still possible to have an impact, in particular at Orangebox, which he joined in 2002. 'Human dynamics are the same. That is the beauty of furniture – a chair from 1920 is essentially the same as a chair of today,' he said. 'The chair is consistent and the table is consistent but what is not consistent is the dynamic of the context around them, what happens at the table, all the paranoias and ideas of the people sitting at the table, that's what changed unbelievably dramatically in ways we never thought of.' When it comes to technology, Taylor believed that if designers can't shape it, they should try to humanise it: 'The role of design has to be the creation of more engaging, softer, kinder and more humane work environments as a counterpoint to the continuously accelerating demands of technology and its increasing control of our workplace. We have to use design to help balance the tsunami of ever-shortening tech cycles of change and obsolescence.' Taylor was married twice. His first marriage, to Sue Minter, an interior designer, ended in divorce. In 2023 he married Clare Chandler, a psychologist and coach, and she survives him. Gerard Taylor, designer, born 3 March 1955; died 20 June 2025
