Hopes rise that talks can smooth path plans at Linlithgow park

A row between tenant farmers and West Lothian Council over plans to create a new public path through grazing land beside a loch could end up in a lengthy and costly legal battle if it cannot be resolved, officials have warned.

Hopes have risen that a solution can be agreed on the future development at Lady Park in Linlithgow, after Countryside manager Andy Johnston told the latest meeting of the town’s Local Area Committee that a meeting between the council Trustees of Lady Park and the existing tenants of the largely grazing land beside the loch has been organised for next week.

At the June meeting of the committee, newly elected chair Councillor Sally Pattle (Scottish Liberal Democrats) had asked if a meeting could be ordered citing “a complete breakdown of communication”.

A dispute has been rumbling on since West Lothian Council awarded planning permission to its own NETS Land and Countryside teams to create a new path through the parkland next to the town centre to connect up to the round the loch walkway.

Councillor Sally Pattle, who had asked if a meeting could be ordered citing “a complete breakdown of communication".

The existing path on the shore edge is said to be disintegrating through erosion.

Tenants farmers use Lady Park for grazing and have claimed that the new path will eat into a substantial part of the field and also see them lose valuable shelter for livestock to graze.

The council faces a lengthy and potentially costly legal battle to pursue a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for the land it needs to build a new path, which would be almost nine feet wide and tarmacked.

Something which objectors described as “a motorway linking two B roads”.

Mr Johnston told the latest meeting of Linlithgow Area Committee: “We are now at the point of progressing the CPO but we are holding a meeting with the trustees and tenants next week in the hope of arriving at a solution.

“A meeting has been arranged for August 30 to discuss options to hopefully find a voluntary solution rather than go through the full process for compulsory purchase order.”

Councillor Pattle welcomed this news.

She said: “Fingers crossed, that’s brilliant. I’m pleased to hear that’s going to happen.”