Local government across Scotland was reorganised in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which replaced the counties and burghs with a two-tier structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. West Lothian became a district within the Lothian region. Under that system, the authority was named West Lothian District Council. West Lothian district took its name from the historic county of West Lothian, which had covered a similar but not identical area.[3]
West Lothian Council
Local government was reorganised again in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, which abolished the regions and districts created in 1975 and established 32 single-tier council areas across Scotland, one being West Lothian.
Political control
The council has been under no overall control since 2007, with a Labour leader since 2012.
The first election to West Lothian District Council was held in 1974, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 16 May 1975. A shadow authority was again elected in 1995 ahead of the reforms which came into force on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1975 has been as follows:[4]
The council is based at the West Lothian Civic Centre in Livingston. The building was built in 2009 at a cost of £50 million to serve as a police headquarters and courthouse as well as offices for the council.[13] Prior to 2009 the council's offices had been divided between various buildings, including:
County Buildings in Linlithgow, which had been built in 1935 as the headquarters for the old West Lothian County Council.[14]
Lindsay House on South Bridge Street, Bathgate, built in 1966 as the Burgh Chambers for the old Bathgate Town Council.[15]
West Lothian House on Almondvale Boulevard in Livingston, which had been built in 1981 as Sidlaw House and had been the headquarters of the Livingston Development Corporation.[16]
Lindsay House and West Lothian House were both demolished shortly after the new Civic Centre opened in 2009.[17][18]
The council is responsible for the co-ordination of the planning and provision of public services in West Lothian. It works closely with other public bodies such as police, fire and health, through its community planning partnership.
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