Lothian Council: Last News

Schools across West Lothian will close next week as teachers strike.

Council planners will not stand in the way of plans to change the name of a Linlithgow pub over racism fears.

West Lothian over-60s gathered at the Almond Valley Heritage Centre to celebrate the 60th birthday of Livingston.

Leader of West Lothian Council, Councillor Lawrence Fitzpatrick, saw for himself how West Lothian Housing Partnership is transforming communities.

The delivery of a public art project for Winchburgh has taken a step forward.

West Lothian Council has asked the Boundary Commission to redraw Westminster constituencies to respect historic links in West Lothian towns.

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Sign up to the weekly West Lothian Courier newsletter for the latest West Lothian news and sport.West Lothian Council say are prepared should the schools have to remain closed.Nicola Sturgeon announced at the start of the month that schools would stay closed until at least February 1.She said: “I know that remote learning presents significant challenges for teachers, schools, parents and young people.“We will work to support children and parents throughout this.”The Scottish Government closed schools after the Christmas holiday period because of fears of the new variant of Covid-19.Children in the rest of the United Kingdom are also learning from home until the middle of February as the third wave of the virus spreads.Ms Sturgeon is now due

Ogilvie School Campus in November, can lead to the school closing for a period of time.

Sign up to the weekly West Lothian Courier newsletter for the latest West Lothian news and sport.Local politicians and West Lothian Council say they understand how difficult another lockdown is but urge people to stay safe and stick to the rules.Nicola Sturgeon announced on Sunday (January 4) that Scotland would enter into a full lockdown this week.The First Minister said schools would be closed until February at the earliest and it is again a legal requirement for the public not to leave their homes for anything other than essential purposes.Residents in West Lothian are asked to stay at home and help stop virus transmission to help win the battle against Covid-19.Leader of West Lothian Council Lawrence Fitzpatrick said: “We are hugely

Sign up to the weekly West Lothian Courier newsletter for the latest West Lothian news and sport.West Lothian Council say they have not cut back on salt for gritting the roads.The winter weather has left some parts of the county badly affected by ice and snow.The council responded to rumours about funding cuts and assured The Courier that this is not the case.They again reminded residents that treating primary roads remains their main concern.A WLC council spokesman said: “Conditions have been challenging and our winter service has been deployed day and night.“Our crews have been working flat out, throughout this period of winter weather.“We have the highest resilience of salt of all the Scottish councils.

Sign up to the weekly West Lothian Courier newsletter for the latest West Lothian news and sport.West Lothian Council have told people they must comply with the latest restrictions issued by the Scottish Government.Nicola Sturgeon announced at the weekend that Scotland would enter into Level Four from Boxing Day and scrapped the previously agreed five-day relaxation of the rules.The First Minister confirmed that the school holidays are now to be extended in January.She said “firm preventative action” was required immediately due to the emergence of a faster spreading strain of the coronavirus.Leader of West Lothian Council, Councillor Lawrence Fitzpatrick, says he understands how saddening it is for people to learn that they will not see

Sign up to the weekly West Lothian Courier newsletter for the latest West Lothian news and sport.Children in West Lothian have been told they can only celebrate Halloween at home this year.The Scottish Government urged families and children to avoid guising to minimise the risk of spreading Covid-19.Executive councillor for services for the community George Paul said: “Halloween, like many events will be different this year but can still be enjoyed.“I would encourage members of the public to continue to follow the latest local guidelines from the Scottish Government, helping to keep themselves and everyone around them safe.”Instead, families are urged to have a safe Halloween at home with party games, fancy dress and storytelling.Deputy

Sign up to the weekly West Lothian Courier newsletter for the latest West Lothian news and sport.Work is gathering pace on a new primary school in West Lothian.The new state-of-the art school in Calderwood, East Calder will provide non-denominational primary education for up to 462 primary and 128 nursery pupils when complete in 2022.The steel framework is already in place after the start of construction was delayed until June 2020 due to the covid-19 outbreak.The new £14.3 million school is required to cope with increasing demand in the growing Calderwood Core Development Area, which is expected to see 2400 new homes completed in the area as well as associated infrastructure improvements.Executive councillor for education David Dodds said:

Rules on disclosures say that if the number is less than five cases at any specific school then the number remains confidential.West Lothian Council say that there are fewer than five in each school.A council spokesperson said: “In each of the schools affected to date there has been an extremely small number of confirmed cases but we cannot confirm any more details due to pupil confidentiality.”West Lothian Council’s head of education, James Cameron, added: “We have worked with NHS Lothian’s Health Protection team and parents and the wider school community have been provided with information and reassurance throughout.“We fully understand that parents and pupils may be concerned.“We will continue to respond to advice from NHS Lothian and

Sign up to the weekly West Lothian Courier newsletter for the latest West Lothian news and sport.West Lothian Council has backed tentative Holyrood plans for legislation on a public right to food but  has warned that more needs to be done to bring the food industry on board for it to work.There are also concerns that any new laws will overlap with work already underway to improve the access to food by the most vulnerable in society.The Scottish Government  has asked local councils for their views on parliamentary consultation on the proposed Right to Food (Scotland) Bill, which is in early stages.West Lothian’s anti-poverty manager Elaine Nisbet told a meeting of the council’s executive that access to nutritious food was a significant and

Livingston last year and turned it into a garden area for their four children.They didn’t think they would need planning ­permission as similar plots had been bought by other homeowners. The couple erected a fence and landscaped the garden and began enjoying extra sunshine at the rear of the property.

Plans are in place to deliver blended learning to West Lothian pupils, if required.The Education Executive were informed of the council’s plans to ensure that all pupils receive 50% of in-school learning as part of a blended learning approach, in case pupils are not able to return full-time.The Depute First Minister announced on Tuesday, June 23, the aim of re-opening all Scottish schools to all pupils on a full-time basis from Wednesday, August 12, subject to scientific and health advice.Arrangements required for safely re-opening schools will be shared once specific Scottish Government guidance has been received.The final blended learning plan will be submitted to Education Scotland following consultation with parents, trade unions and

West Lothian Civic Centre normally sees dozens of people married by the council’s registrar at civil ceremonies in the building.That was until the lockdown in March which prompted a delay to many couples’ big days.From a few thousand people a day using the building it has been down to a handful since then.And for a "significant number" the lockdown has meant a delay to their big day.

Queues of traffic surrounded West Lothian’s recycling centres as they re-opened on Monday.

West Lothian Conservatives conceded that the national row over No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings is “certainly damaging” to the party but the Tory group leader on the council  this week rejected the calls for Cummings to resign.