Common Good Community Consultation: Meadowpark Pavilion, Bathgate

Since the Property is held as common good, the council has a legal obligation under Part 8 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to consult with the community on any proposals to dispose of or change the use of the Property. This includes any proposals to lease the Property.

Through that consultation, community bodies, and others, may make representations. This is to ensure that individuals, community councils and other community bodies have an opportunity to consider the proposal and how it might affect them.

West Lothian Council at its meeting on 21 February 2023 agreed a five-year General Services revenue budget strategy for the period 2023/24 to 2027/28. As part of that budget strategy, a range of savings measures were approved. One of the approved savings measures was a rationalisation of council-owned pavilions. Under that rationalisation exercise, the council is seeking to lease a number of its pavilions to community groups under "Full Repairing and Insuring Community Benefit" leases.

Bathgate Thistle Community Football Club (BTCFC) are the largest community sports club in Bathgate and one of the largest community clubs in West Lothian. The club has over five hundred members over twenty two teams, including boys and girls teams at a range of age groups. In November 2023, BTCFC were confirmed by the Scottish Football Association (SFA) as the national Best Community Football Club 2023.

The club is experiencing rapid growth in its membership and increased demand from the community for the activities it delivers, particularly in the growth area of girls' football. To help meet that demand and to enable the club to develop further, they wish to lease the Property from the council under the terms of a five year Full Repairing and Insuring Community Benefit lease. The club have held exploratory discussions with the SFA around potential funding opportunities to further improve the facilities at the Meadowpark Pavilion and would seek to take these forward if they were granted a lease of the Property.

The council's proposal

Council Executive at its meeting on 6 February 2024 noted that the Property is recognised by the council as common good property and agreed that officers should proceed with a statutory eight week community consultation on a proposal to lease the Property to BTCFC under the terms of a five year Full Repairing and Insuring Community Benefit lease. Under that lease, BTCFC would use the Property in conjunction with the adjacent grass pitches to deliver community-focused sporting activities. 

The law requires that any net proceeds from the disposal (including lease) of common good property must go to the appropriate Common Good Fund. Under the proposed Community Benefit lease, the market rent would be discounted or waived in full in lieu of the stated and measured non-financial community benefits delivered by BTCFC's as a result of their use of the Property.

How to make representations

Should you wish to make representations on the council's proposal to lease this common good property to BTCFC, then please email those representations to:

Rachel Donald (Property Modernisation and Community Empowerment Officer, West Lothian Council) at Rachel.Donald2@westlothian.gov.uk

or write to:

Rachel Donald,
Property Services,
West Lothian Council,
West Lothian Civic Centre,
Howden South Road,
Livingston,
EH54 6PW

by no later than 26 April 2024. Please note that all representations received will be published by the council.

After the consultation closes

This consultation will close on Friday 26 April 2024. Thereafter, council officers will provide a further report to Council Executive on 7 May 2024 on the outcome of the consultation, at which time a decision will be sought from Council Executive on the future use of the Property. That report will include all representations received and council officer's proposed responses to them.