Council says 'no' to plans for split-level Livingston centre cafe and bar

Plans to open a cafe/bar in Livingston’s Bankton Centre have been rejected after an appeal to West Lothian Council’s Local Review Body.

The restaurant would have been at the Bankton Centre in Murieston

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Ashgar Ali wanted to build a split-level building containing a restaurant/bar and cafe with hot food take away and balcony on a tree covered embankment on the eastern edge of the Bankton Centre local centre in Murieston.

A timber staircase was proposed on the embankment and the existing car parking would have been extended into existing landscaping.

Planning officers commented: “Whilst the local centre is identified in the adopted local development plan for a variety of uses including restaurants etc. the proposals extend from the car park at the local centre down the embankment to the Murieston Water footpath.

“The intention is to provide access to the building from both the upper level local centre and the lower level footpath.”

Planners recommended refusal because the proposals contravened rules about tree loss and over development.

But on appeal to the LRB, agents for Mr Ali questioned the “rigid interpretation” of planning rules and suggested a failure to consider the bigger picture.

They added that the replacement tree planting that would accompany the development would compensate for the loss of existing trees on the site which were described as being self seeded and in poor condition.

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After a site visit Councillor David Tait spoke up in favour of the plans. He agreed that the planners call to protect the existing trees was not very strong given their poor condition, and the assurance of replacement planting with mature trees.

“It would be a very good use of the site. It could be a very interesting building. It would be a way to open up access to the woods – though I don’t know the area that well.”

However councillor Willie Boyle described the plan as opportunist for the Bankton area which is a collection of fairly small shop units including a small Co-op. Councillor Boyle said the problem was seen elsewhere in Livingston in that it had no real town centre to accommodate development proposals such as Mr Ali’s.

“This would be an inappropriate site for such an opportunistic development.” he added.

Councillor Pauline Clark said: “As much as I agree [with Councillor Tait] that the design of the building looks really interesting, I really think that it will be too busy. It’s too big a building for the space that’s there. It’s an over-use of that area. Parking would be a nightmare. It’s a shame that it couldn’t be built in another location.”

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Councillor Tait suggested that the proposed building would largely serve a night-time economy whereas the existing shops were more for daytime economy so he doubted there would be parking problems.

Committee chair Councillor George Paul suggested the planners’ refusal be upheld for the relevant planning reason governing the tree preservation orders and design of the buildings. This was backed up by Councillor Boyle.

An amendment from Councillor Tait in favour of the development found no backing from fellow members.

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