Livingston, Scotland

Livingston
	Livingston
	Scottish Gaelic: Baile Dhùn Lèibhe
	Scots: Livingston ("Livvie")
	; ; Livingston shown within Scotland
Population	54,826 (2006); est. 61,000 2011
OS grid reference	NT054690
Council area	West Lothian
Lieutenancy area	West Lothian
Constituent country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LIVINGSTON
Postcode district	EH53, EH54
Dialling code	01506
Police	Lothian and Borders
Fire	Lothian and Borders
Ambulance	Scottish
European Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Livingston
Scottish Parliament	Livingston
	Lothians
	List of places: UK • Scotland

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Coordinates: 55°54′17″N 3°30′53″W / 55.90478°N 3.51468°W / 55.90478; -3.51468

Livingston is the fourth post-war new town to be built in Scotland, designated in 1962. It is located approximately 15 miles (25 km) west of Edinburgh and 30 miles (50 km) east of Glasgow, and is bordered by the towns of Broxburn to the northeast and Bathgate to the northwest.

Livingston is the largest town in the West Lothian area. It was built around a collection of small villages, Livingston Village, Bellsquarry and Livingston Station (now known as Deans). It contains a number of residential precincts or areas. These include Carmondean, Craigshill, Howden, Dedridge, Ladywell, Knightsridge, Murieston, Adambrae, Deans, Deer Park and Eliburn. Its neighbouring villages include Polbeth, West Calder, East Calder, Mid Calder, Uphall Station and Pumpherston. Livingston itself is the 7th largest town in Scotland, based on 2004 population estimates ^[1]. The 2001 census showed the town had a population of 50,826 (24,451 male and 26,375 female) and an urban agglomeration population (including Mid Calder and East Calder) of 59,511.

Livingston is also the second largest settlement in the Lothians after Edinburgh. Until 1963 the area surrounding the ancient village of Livingston was open farm land. The name was taken from this village which dates back to 12th Century when a Flemish entrepreneur called De Leving was granted land in the area. He built a fortified tower which is long since gone and the settlement that grew up around it became known as Levingstoun, Layingston ^[2] and eventually Livingston.

[edit] Livingston Development Corporation

Livingston was built as part of the New Towns Act of 1946 (amended 1959), in part to ease overcrowding in Glasgow. Livingston was the fourth new town of five. The others were East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Cumbernauld and Irvine.

In order to build, manage and promote Livingston a quango organisation was formed, the Livingston Development Corporation.

The corporation guided Livingston until the middle of the 1990s when its mandate expired and the town was transferred to West Lothian Council. The last major construction operation carried out by the LDC was the Almondvale Stadium, which was to become the home to the renamed Livingston FC. A new purpose built campus for West Lothian College and other major developments have also taken place in Livingston over the last 10 years.

Construction in Livingston has continued under the management of West Lothian Council.

[edit] Geography

Livingston is one of the largest settlements in Scotland. It lies 35 miles away from Glasgow and 15 miles from Edinburgh.

Destinations from LIVINGSTON

Bathgate
Falkirk

Linlithgow

Broxburn

Glasgow
Whitburn

	N
W		E
	S

Edinburgh
Midcalder

West Calder

The Borders

Kirknewton
East Calder

[edit] Employment

The area where Livingston now sits was historically dominated by oil shale mining, which is evident from the bings which still exist on the much of the surrounding landscape. The designation of Livingston in the 1960s attracted new light industries to the area, with high technology and pharmaceutical companies in particular moving into the town. Livingston formed a major hub in Scotland's Silicon Glen. Like most other areas this went into a slow decline with the closures of companies including Motorola and NEC. Several multi-national companies however still have factories in the town and BSkyB has its main call centre in Livingston and is the largest private sector employer in West Lothian. Other large employers include those in the retail sector and the National Health Service.

[edit] Town centre and shopping

Main article: Shopping in Livingston

The Centre (Almondvale was renamed on the 18th September 2008 to the "The Centre")

Livingston town centre sits on the southern edge of the Almond Valley. It is bounded by a ring road and has been purposely planned, distinguishing it from West Lothian's other town centres. Howden Park is located immediately north of the town centre.

Livingston is the sub-regional centre serving West Lothian. It features one of the largest indoor shopping and leisure complexes in Scotland, The Centre (formerly Almondvale Shopping Centre) and the Livingston Designer Outlet Centre (formerly McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Centre).

The Centre, was completed in its current guise on October 16 2008. The total development has around 155 shops and eating establishments. The Centre has a wintergarden, an outdoor restaurant area, and several famous shopping names. Major shops include ASDA Wal-mart Supercentre, Next, Topshop, M&S, River Island, Debenhams and more.

The designer outlet mall contains a VUE multiplex cinema , a gym, bars, restaurants and cafes as well as around 100 outlet stores.

Livingston town centre has an abundance of car parking. The south western edge of the town centre is dominated by retail parks. These contain a number of well known retailers and fast food outlets.

Livingston's town centre also contains a large number of offices, including the local authority's headquarters building, West Lothian House. Private sector offices are also concentrated at the eastern and western edges of the centre and along the Almondvale Boulevard. Other facilities in the centre include hotels, a swimming pool and local authority gym, restaurants, pubs and Club Earth. Almondvale Football Stadium and West Lothian College are located at the north western edge of the town centre.

Sculpture, Livingston Square

Neighbourhood Shopping Centres are located at stragic points around the town. The first of these to be built was The Mall at Craigshill. This was followed by the Carmondean Centre in Deans and groupings of shops in Ladywell and Murieston.

[edit] Transport

[edit] Road

Livingston has excellent connections to the central Scotland road network. The M8 bounds Livingston in the north. A899 dual carriageway spine road passes north south along Livingston's eastern edge and connects the M8 in the north to the A71 in the South and has the A89 to the west.

[edit] Buses

Livingston has a central bus terminal located on Almondvale Avenue between the two shopping centres in the town centre. This provides regular services to surrounding towns and villages. First Edinburgh^[3] are the main bus operator in Livingston, other operators include E&M Horsburgh^[4], Passenger Travel, Blue Bus, Davidsons Buses^[5], SD Travel, Prentice Westwood^[6], Stagecoach and Nordi Travel. Livingston has buses to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Airport, Ocean Terminal, Oban, Lanark, Fife and Falkirk . There are 7 stances at the bus terminal.

[edit] Rail

Livingston has two railway stations; Livingston North and Livingston South. Livingston North is located adjacent to the Carmondean Shopping Centre between Eliburn and Deans and is on the Edinburgh to Bathgate Line. Livingston South is located at the Murieston Shops and is on the Shotts Line. On completion of the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link, Livingston North will be served by trains running to Glasgow Queen Street and Airdrie.

[edit] Airports

Livingston is 15 km west of Edinburgh Airport which has regular flights to UK and international destinations.

[edit] Ferry

Livingston is in relative close proximity to the port of Rosyth in Fife. This runs three sailings a week to and from Zeebrugge in Belgium.

[edit] Education

[edit] Primary schools

Bankton Primary School
Bellsquarry Primary School
Carmondean Primary School
Deans Primary School
Dedridge Primary School
Harrysmuir Primary School
Knightsridge Primary School
Letham Primary School
Livingston Village Primary School
Meldrum Primary School
Peel Primary School
Riverside Primary School
Toronto Primary School
Howden St. Andrews RC Primary School
St John Ogilvie RC Primary School
St. Ninian's RC Primary School
Williamston Primary School

[edit] Special schools

Ogilvie School Campus
Beatlie School Campus
Cedarbank School
Autism resource classes at Dedridge Primary School

[edit] Secondary schools

West Lothian College

[edit] Further Education

West Lothian College of Further Education

The Institute for System Level Integration is situated in the Alba Centre, near the heart of the town. The institute offers postgraduate studies in Microelectronics and awards a joint degree from four leading Scottish Universities: University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, Heriot-Watt University and the University of Strathclyde.

[edit] Libraries

Livingston has 3 public libraries:

Almondbank Library, Craigshill
Lanthorn Library, Dedridge
Carmondean Library, Deans

[edit] Youth activities

Livingston has its own Air Training Corps squadron, 2535 (Livingston) Squadron (located in Craigshill) and Army Cadet Force unit (based at Dedridge). The town also has Cubs, Scouts, Boys Brigade, Brownies and Guides units. As well as a LGBT a Youth Action Project (WLYAP) and a Youth Theatre.

The youth action project involves a music session and many gigs and is widely attended by many teenagers from the surrounding area.

A skateboard park is also provided adjacent to the town centre. A leisure swimming pool and a Multiplex cinema are located in the town centre.

The Livingston Skatepark opened in 1981, at a time when most commercial skateparks were closing and was one of the most important facilities in Britain during a critical period in the development of skateboarding. It is an example of a free, unsupervised facility which achieved international status. In 2004 it was visited by the stars of the television series Dirty Sanchez, who described it as "The Best Skatepark in the world, apart from the ones in Wales"

Livingston Skatepark Bowls

[edit] Sports

The town has a local rugby union club, Livingston Rugby Football Club, a professional football club, Livingston F.C., and a junior football club, Livingston United.

Livingston is also home to; two competitive swimming clubs, the Livingston & District Dolphins and the Aquanauts of Livingston; Livingston and West Lothian Hockey Club, which has several men's and women's teams and provides junior coaching; and Livingston & District AAC, a track and field athletics club.

Livingston FC are the most notable sports team in the town. They were formed in 1995 on the relocation of Edinburgh-based side Meadowbank Thistle, who had relocated to a new stadium in the town. They were Scottish Division Three champions in their first season, and in 2001 reached the SPL. They finished third in their first season in the top flight, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. In their ninth season of existence they won the SFL Cup, but were relegated two years later back to Division One.

The West Calder Model Flying club meets regularly and host open days, national competitions and club training events.

Livingston also has a popular cricket club which holds teams for juniors and seniors and has seen some professionals play for them over the years.

[edit] Churches

Uniquely in Scotland, Livingston has been designated an "Ecumenical Parish" in a joint initiative by the Church of Scotland, Scottish Episcopal Church, Methodist Church in Great Britain and the United Reformed Church. The Ecumenical Parish has six places of worship.

Apart from the Ecumenical Parish, Livingston Old Parish Church is a congregation solely within the Church of Scotland. There are also churches of other denominations, notably the Catholic Church and also the Baptist Church (who have two congregations in Dedridge and Ladywell).

[edit] References

^ GROS Website [1]
^ NLS Website [2]
^ FirstGroup - UK Bus South East & Central Scotland
^ E&M Horsburgh Coaches, for contract and private hire
^ Davidson Buses
^ Prentice Westwood Ltd

[edit] Primary sources

Wills, E (1996) Livingston: the Making of a Scottish New Town
Cowling, D (1997) An Essay for Today: the Scottish New Towns 1947-1997

[edit] External links

[edit] Further reading

[edit] New Towns

[0] GROS Website [1]

[1] NLS Website [2]

[2] FirstGroup - UK Bus South East & Central Scotland

[3] E&M Horsburgh Coaches, for contract and private hire

[4] Davidson Buses

[5] Prentice Westwood Ltd

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