Tree and Woodland Plans and Projects
In addition to responding to requests for service and general maintenance, the Tree and Woodland Team prepare tree and woodland management plans and undertake larger scale work on particular sites and areas.
To find out more about these please view below.
There a number of woods around Blaeberryhill Park and to the south of Croftmalloch School which provide shelter, a habitat for wildlife and seasonal interest to the park and local paths linking to the Whitburn Town Walk.
Recent Felling
In recent months most of the conifers and the fast-growing Poplar trees have been felled and some of the remaining woodland has been thinned out to allow the rest of the trees more room to grow. Some trees which we had hoped to be able to keep blew down during Storm Eowyn.
Restoration
We know that the area currently looks messy but work to restore the site and undertake some drainage work is due to start shortly.
After that the areas will be replanted with mainly slower growing, native trees such as oak, birch and alder.
Volunteers Needed!
We hope that members of the public will help with the tree planting and looking after the woods in future. 
If you, your family or any local groups would like to get involved please get in touch with your contact details by emailing trees&woodland@westlothian.gov.uk (opens new window)
All data is stored in accordance with West Lothian Council's data protection procedures.
Tree Planting Event
In the near future, there is a tree planting event on Thursday 13 March to add to the planting already undertaken by schools and volunteers around Blaeberryhill Park last year.
Please get in touch with Ecology&Biodiversity@westlothian.gov.uk (opens new window) for further information.
Whitburn Town Walk Greening Project
The restructuring of the woods in Blaeberryhill Park and the additional planting and other work will gradually contribute to the Whitburn Town Walk Greening Project as detailed in Biodiversity - Information and Updates
Background to Felling and Replanting
Concerns regarding condition of the woods on southern side of park
As many of you will be aware, there have been a number of issues in the woods to the south of Blaeberryhill Park over the past few years.
A drop-in session and meetings with Whitburn Community Council and representatives from the emergency services were held a number of years ago after which the Tree and Woodland Team worked up plans for the woods.
Approval for Felling and Thinning
After various proposals were considered, approval for felling and thinning of the woods was granted by Scottish Forestry.
Queries
If you have any queries about this work please email trees&woodland@westlothian.gov.uk (opens new window)
Livingston's trees and woods, along with its parks and paths linking these, and residential and business districts, were a key part of the design of the 'new town'. As these have grown up over the past 40-50 years it has become a town within a 'forest'.
When the Livingston Development Corporation was wound up in 1997 the woodland areas were handed over to West Lothian District Council and the Woodland Trust, with agreed terms under which they were to be managed.
Today West Lothian Council is responsible for the management approximately 427 hectares (305 football pitches) of woodland and tree-belts in and around Livingston, with an additional 418ha of open-ground within or adjacent to them. It is also responsible for 9,940 individual trees and a further 1,280 trees in small groups.
Woodland Trust Scotland also manages large areas of woodland and information on these can be found on their website - Woodland Trust Scotland (opens new window)
Many of the tree-belts around newer housing areas are managed on behalf of the local residents by private factors.
The attached map shows the council's woods and those owned by Woodland Trust Scotland - Livingston Woods (PDF, 4 MB)(opens new window)
10/10/24 - Information gathering for a Long-term Forest Plan for Livingston
A "scoping" exercise is underway to gather information for a plan to manage the council's trees and woods across Livingston, over the next 10-20 years.
People living and working in Livingston are being asked to let us know about any important features which we may have missed and issues which need to be considered.
Further information and how to respond is given in the Livingston WLC Woods and Trees Long-term Forest Plan section below.
Benefits from the Urban Forest
These green assets provide many benefits and services to the local community including:-
- an attractive landscape with changing colours through the seasons
- flooding reduction
- reduction of traffic noise and pollution along roads
- shelter
- wildlife habitats
- produce oxygen and absorb CO2
- improved health and well-being
These urban trees and woods will play an increasingly important part in the functioning of the town as we face the effects of climate change and a decline in biodiversity across Scotland.
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Other information can be viewed here - Treeco2nomics (opens new window)
20 Year Plan
A plan is being prepared to guide the management of all the woodland and individual trees owned and managed by West Lothian Council across Livingston.
This plan will include necessary felling and replanting and thinning of existing woods. It has to be approved by Scottish Forestry, as well as the council itself.
It will also include suggestions for planting new areas of woodland.
The report and maps below provide information on the woods and the issues being considered, along with initial, outline proposals.
A summary of the main aspects of the report are given here:-
Maps
Map 1 - Location
- Map 2 Livingston Woods - WLC Woodlands and Context (PDF, 4 MB)(opens new window)
- Map 3 Livingston Woods - Woodland Management Types (PDF, 4 MB)(opens new window)
- Map 4 Livingston Woods - Constraints & Opportunities (PDF, 4 MB)(opens new window)
- Map 5 Livingston Woods - Outline proposals (PDF, 4 MB)(opens new window)
The Long-term Forest Plan (LTFP) will describe the major woodland management operations planned over the next twenty-year management period and aims to deliver long-term environmental benefits through sustainable forestry and arboricultural practices. The LTFP process is grant assisted through the Scottish Rural Development Programme. As part of the approval process the applicant is required to carry out consultation to explore relevant issues and opportunities.
Current Operations March 2025
Recently some of the old beech which were in decline and many of the conifers from the woods around the driving range and down the side of the first fairway on the golf course have been felled. This is to make gaps in the woodland into which new trees can be planted, to ensure there is a succession of trees for future generations while still retaining some of the old trees.
For further information on the plans for all the woodland areas please see the woodland management section below.
The timber taken from the woods is being sold in order to off-set some of the costs of the whole operation. Some fallen deadwood has been left in the woods and some of the declining trees have been made into "monoliths" (standing dead trees) to provide homes for fungi and bugs, on which birds and small mammals can then feed.
At present the felled gaps in the woodland look a mess. Over the next few months they will be tidied up and temporary repairs made to the paths.
Trees which blew down over paths during Storm Eowyn have been cleared but work within the woodland areas continues.
Replanting
The felled areas will be replanted with species such as Oak, Silver birch and Scots pine along with a variety of other species. It is hoped that this next generation of trees will be well established and possibly even reach semi-maturity before the remaining old trees succumb to old age or are blown down.
Volunteers Needed!
We hope that members of the Friends of Polkemmet and public will help with the tree planting and looking after the woods in future.
If you, your family or any local groups would like to get involved please get in touch with your contact details by emailing trees&woodland@westlothian.gov.uk (opens new window).
All data is stored in accordance with West Lothian Council's data protection procedures.
Polkemmet Country Park Trees and Woodland
The country park lies to the west of Whitburn and provides much enjoyed outdoor greenspace for leisure activities, including woodland walks, for people in the west of the district and much further afield, with easy access from the M8. The park extends to 68hectares, including 33hectares of accessible woodland with waymarked paths and further woodland belts and individual trees on its 9-hole golf course.
Further information on the country park and its attractions can be found on Polkemmet Country Park.
History of the Woods and Trees
Much of the woodland along the banks of the River Almond are designated as "Long-Established Woodland of Plantation Origin". It is likely that the large, old beech trees either side of the river and also along the old field boundaries were planted in the latter part of the 1700s and are now over 200 years old. From the 1750s, as agricultural improvements were made across Scotland, extensive tree planting was also carried out to create shelterbelts, boundary features and "policy" woods around newly created estates like Polkemmet.
The rest of the park includes woodland and individual trees planted well over 100 years ago. These have been infilled with more recent plantations of mainly fast-growing spruce and larch, probably as part of the development of the country park in the 1980s.
The long-time owners of Polkemmet Estate, the Baillies are known to have an interest in plant collecting and the estate has a varied selection of tree species, including the beautiful Cedar of Lebanon, near to where the old Polkemmet mansion house once stood.
Woodland Management Plan
In 2016 Green Action Trust (GAT) secured a grant for the preparation of a woodland management plan for the woods at Polkemmet CP with Woods In and Around Towns (WIAT) grant from Scottish Forestry.
This included thinning of the woods, removal of the invasive Rhododendron ponticum,tree safety surveys and remedial work and upgrading several of the paths.
Over the past few years more trees have fallen down in gales, particularly a large number of the conifers in exposed areas on the western side of the park. Many of the 200year old beech are gradually succumbing to disease and dropping limbs or falling down, such as the recent large tree which fell across the river. This has led to a revision of the thinning and felling proposals to create more gaps in which to establish the next generation of trees, as described below.
Within the woods patches of young trees have grown up naturally from seed. These saplings are mainly beech, sycamore and ash which can withstand the shade of the remaining tree canopies above. Unfortunately, these thin-barked species are a favourite for grey squirrels. They cause a great deal of damage by stripping the bark off the branches, such that they are never likely to grow into healthy, long-lived trees.
The aim is to supplement naturally regenerated saplings by planting species like oak, silver birch and Scots pine which are less attractive to grey squirrels. These species are "light demanders", requiring much more sunlight to grow into healthy trees, and so larger gaps need to be felled to allow more light into the woods.
It is important to keep the wooded "feel" of the park and in this first phase of work the aim is to fell approximately one third of the woodland in groups across the park, keeping mature trees along the paths. The opened areas will be replanted. Patches of the young beech and sycamore will also be retained, as will young ash trees to see if any escape severe squirrel damage and the ravages of Ash Dieback Disease.
The intention is also to add to the collection of interesting individual trees to enhance the Polkemmet Arboretum.
In 2023 a drop-in session and a "walk and talk" for the public were held at the country park along with an information stand and questionnaires left at the visitor centre to describe woodland management proposals above and others such as, the removal of invasive Rhododendron ponticum. This was followed by a revised application to Scottish Forestry for a revised Felling permission to create larger gaps in the woodland.
It is hoped that many of the remaining trees can be retained for at least another 50years or more by which time the next generation is at least semi-mature. At this point other groups of mature trees can be felled and replanted.
Other Plans for the Park
Running in parallel with the tree and woodland plans, the Ranger Service have been developing proposals and have submitted a bid for funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the 'Polkemmet Country Park Heritage Project'
