West Lothian swimming pools to be demolished and sites sold for redevelopment

Councillors agree to bulldoze two of three pools which closed in August in cost-cutting operation

Two of the three swimming pools in West Lothian which closed in August are set to be demolished.

The Bubbles pool in Livingston will be sold and the site redeveloped as a filling station and drive-through restaurant, while the cleared site of the Broxburn’s Xcite pool will be sold for redevelopment. The fate of a third pool in Armadale has yet to be finalised.

At a meeting of West Lothian Council’s Executive, depute leader of the SNP group Councillor Robert De Bold said the administration had failed the communities affected and called on the council to “instead carry out intensive community engagement, including working pro-actively with local groups to support their quest to retain these public facilities for public use.”

West Lothian council closed the three swimming pools in August as part of a cost-cutting operation - the Livingstn one will be demolished to make way for a filing station and drive-through restaurant.

He said: “In Broxburn a very committed group was set up quickly – however this group received absolutely no meaningful support at all from West Lothian Council.”

Depute council leader Labour’s Kirsteen Sullivan reminded Councilor De Bold that the SNP group had supported the closure programme earlier in the year, recognising that had the measures not been taken the entire West Lothian Leisure business including many more pools would have collapsed. “It is in the report, it is in the minutes. It is a matter of public record. Let’s not [forget] what happened in this chamber a few months ago.”

The pools closed in August as part of a cost cutting programme set out by West Lothian Leisure. The closure followed a sustained campaign by swimming clubs and individuals- regular users of the venues.

All three were marked for closure because of a combination of user numbers and running costs for the buildings.

Property officers recommended the sale of the Livingston site to a development firm. A report to the Executive said: “Multiple commercial offers were received but there were no offers from community groups and no offers received of any kind that would see the property operate as a swimming pool going forward. No community asset transfer applications were received.

“The highest offer received at the closing date was for £850,000 and it was submitted by West Coast Estates Limited (WCEL). WCEL proposes to clear the site and develop it to provide a new petrol filling station (to include an ancillary grocery convenience store), jet wash and electric vehicle charging facilities, plus a drive-thru restaurant. WCEL is private/commercial and any development would be subject to planning consent.”

There has been no commercial interest in the Broxburn site. The report to the Executive said: “The former swimming pool at East Main Street, Broxburn was openly marketed for sale for a period of eight weeks between mid-August and early October 2023. No offers of any kind were received at the closing date, either from commercial developers or from community groups.

The report added: “ In order to be seen to have fully exhausted the market, a second closing date was set. Again, no offers of any kind were received at that second closing date, either from commercial developers or from community groups. No community asset transfer applications have been received for this property.”

The Executive accepted the officer’s recommendation to clear the site and market its as a potential town centre development opportunity.

The Executive heard that Common Good procedures dictated a 12 week consultation on the proposals for the future of the Armadale pool. Results will then be reported back to the Executive.

Armadale’s Independent councillor Councillor Stuart Borrowman said: “ I would like a commitment that Armadale won’t suffer further disinvestment. The loss of the swimming pool has been felt sore in the town and in the surrounding communities and I’d like to think that any net gain for the town is not experienced as a net loss.”

A spokesperson for the council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “When the council sells unused properties, proceeds from the sale help to fund future investment in infrastructure projects such as schools, parks, roads and care services for vulnerable people.

Leader of West Lothian Council Lawrence Fitzpatrick, said: “I am devastated that we are in this position whereby we are having to look at selling former swimming pool sites. We are all extremely saddened that West Lothian Leisure were unable to continue with their operation. It is the case that no stone was left unturned to look at alternative options.

“We can’t allow empty buildings to sit and deteriorate and finding alternative uses for these sites is a necessary step. All the income raised through the sale of unused sites will go towards funding other services in future.”