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{{Use British English|date=May 2013}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2011}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country = Scotland
|official_name= Livingston
|gaelic_name= Baile Dhùn Lèibhe
|scots_name= Leivinstoun
|population = 56,269
|language = English, Scots
|population_ref = 2011 Census<ref name="scotlandscensus.gov.uk">{{cite web |url = http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/area.html#!| title = Area Profile Populations for Localities in Scotland |accessdate=24 January 2014}}</ref>
|os_grid_reference= NT054690
|map_type= Scotland
|latitude=55.8834
|longitude=-3.5157
|unitary_scotland= [[West Lothian]]
|lieutenancy_scotland= West Lothian
|constituency_westminster= [[Livingston (UK Parliament constituency)|Livingston]]
|constituency_scottish_parliament= [[Almond Valley (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Almond Valley]]
|edinburgh_distance= {{convert|13|mi|km|abbr=on}} [[Boxing the compass|ENE]]
|london_distance= {{convert|321|mi|km|abbr=on}} [[Boxing the compass|SSE]]
|post_town= LIVINGSTON
|postcode_district = EH53, EH54
|postcode_area= EH
|dial_code= 01506
|static_image= [[File:Almondvale Boulevard.JPG|240px]]
|static_image_caption= Almondvale Boulevard in Livingston
}}
'''Livingston''' ({{lang-sco|Leivinstoun}}, {{lang-gd|Baile Dhùn Lèibhe}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotslanguage.com/books/view/1/823/Names%20in%20Scots%20-%20Places%20in%20Scotland |title=Scots Language Centre: Scottish Place Names in Scots |publisher=Scotslanguage.com |date= |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref>), is the largest town in [[West Lothian]], Scotland. It is the fourth post-[[World War II]] [[New towns in the United Kingdom|new town]] to be built in Scotland, designated in 1962. It is about 15 miles (25&nbsp;km) west of [[Edinburgh]] and 30 miles (50&nbsp;km) east of [[Glasgow]], and is bordered by the towns of [[Broxburn, West Lothian|Broxburn]] to the northeast and [[Bathgate]] to the northwest.

It was built around a collection of small villages, [[Livingston Village]], [[Bellsquarry]] and Livingston Station (now part of Deans). It has a number of residential precincts or areas. These include [[Craigshill]], [[Howden, Livingston|Howden]], [[Ladywell, Livingston|Ladywell]], [[Knightsridge]], [[Deans, West Lothian|Deans]], [[Dedridge]], [[Murieston]], [[Almondvale]], [[Eliburn]], [[Kirkton]] and [[Adambrae]]. To the north of Craigshill lies the Houstoun Industrial Estate. The core locality of Livingston is defined by the [[General Register Office for Scotland]] (GRO) as including [[Uphall Station]] and [[Pumpherston]]. The wider urban settlement area also includes [[Mid Calder]] and [[East Calder]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files1/stats/04mid-year-estimates-localities-table4.pdf|title= GROS Website}}</ref> Other neighbouring villages include [[Kirknewton, West Lothian|Kirknewton]], [[Polbeth]] and [[West Calder]]. In 2001 the town had population of 50,826 according to the census. The 2011 census showed the population of Livingston had increased to 56,269.<ref name="scotlandscensus.gov.uk"/> Livingston is the second biggest settlement in the Lothians after Edinburgh. Until 1963 the area surrounding the ancient village of Livingston was open farm land and the ancient village is now called Livingston Village.

==History==

===Before 1962===
{{Main|Livingston Village}}

The area around Livingston was previously an important [[shale oil]] area, the world's first oil boom occurred in [[West Lothian]]. This was based on oil extracted from [[shale]], and by 1870 over 3 million tons of shale were being mined each year in the area around Livingston. Output declined with the discovery of liquid oil reserves around the world in the early 1900s, but shale mining only finally ceased in 1962. The "[[bing (mining)|bing]]s" that characterise oil shale mining in West Lothian have largely been flattened.

In 1898 Livingston had several houses, a [[Church of Scotland]] church, a United Free church and a school. Around 1 mile north of Livingston there was a [[Livingston railway station|railway station]] in a settlement called Livingston Station which is now part of [[Deans, West Lothian|Deans]].{{citation needed|date=December 2011}}

The old part of Livingston is now called [[Livingston Village]].

===New Town===
[[File:Deans - geograph.org.uk - 80137.jpg|thumb|left|275px|New Town architecture in [[Deans, West Lothian|Deans]]]]
Livingston was built as part of the [[New Towns Act 1946|New Towns Act of 1946]], in part to ease overcrowding in Glasgow. Livingston was the fourth new town of five. The others were [[East Kilbride]], [[Glenrothes]], [[Cumbernauld]] and [[Irvine, Ayrshire|Irvine]]. Livingston was designated as a [[New towns in the United Kingdom|New Town]] on 16 April 1962.<ref>{{LondonGazette|city=e|issue=18025|startpage=236|endpage=237|date=17 April 1962|accessdate=2007-10-30}}</ref> The first people moved into Livingston in April 1966.

Three villages (Livingston Village and [[Deans, West Lothian|Livingston Station]] in the old parish of Livingston and [[Bellsquarry]] in the parish of Mid Calder) and numerous farmsteads remain islands of old buildings within the new developments.

In 1984 Livingston gained its first railway station on the [[Shotts Line]] called [[Livingston South railway station|Livingston South]] which was followed by [[Livingston North railway station|Livingston North]] on the [[Edinburgh to Bathgate Line]] in 1986. These stations replaced the former [[Livingston railway station|Livingston]] and [[Newpark railway station|Newpark]] stations which had closed before the construction of the town.

In 1995 Livingston gained its professional football team, [[Livingston F.C.]] which was essentially the relocation of Meadowbank Thistle F.C. from Edinburgh.

===Livingston Development Corporation===
[[File:Livingston Development Corporation.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Logo of Livingston Development Corporation]]
In order to build, manage and promote Livingston a [[quango]] organisation was formed, the Livingston Development Corporation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Livingston Development Corporation|url=http://www.livingstonalive.co.uk/ldc.shtml|publisher=Livingston Alive|accessdate=29 December 2011}}</ref>

The corporation guided Livingston until its mandate expired on 22 March 1997<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/342/note/made |title=The New Town (Livingston) (Transfer of Property, Rights and Liabilities) Order 1997 |publisher=Legislation.gov.uk |date=22 March 1997 |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref> and the town was transferred to West Lothian Council. The last major construction operation carried out by the LDC was the [[Almondvale Stadium]], which was to become the home to the renamed Livingston F.C. A new purpose built campus for [[West Lothian College]] and other major developments have also taken place in Livingston over the last 10 years.

Construction in Livingston has continued under the management of West Lothian Council.

In 1979, an employee of the LDC claimed he was knocked unconscious after an alleged conflict with activities from a [[UFO]]. [[Robert Taylor incident|Robert Taylor]], who was in his sixties at this point in time, was working as a Forester for Livingston Development Corporation near Dechmont Law when the supposed incident took place. The incident was reported to the police, but nearly 40 years after taking place, the incident has never been resolved. It remains one of the UK's most notable claimed [[UFO]] sightings.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/23/db2303.xml Bob Taylor (Obituary)], The Telegraph 2007-03-23 (2008-04-06)</ref>

== Geography ==
Livingston is the 7th largest [[List of towns and cities in Scotland by population|settlement]] and the 3rd largest town in Scotland, it is also the 171st [[List of largest United Kingdom settlements by population|largest settlement]] in the United Kingdom. It lies 30 miles away from Glasgow and 15 miles from [[Edinburgh]].

{{Geographic location
|title = '''Destinations from Livingston'''
|Northwest = '''[[Falkirk]]''' (28km), [[Bathgate]] (11km)
|North = [[Linlithgow]] (17km)
|Northeast = [[Broxburn, West Lothian|Broxburn]] (9km)
|West = '''[[Glasgow]]''' (58km), [[Airdrie, North Lanarkshire|Airdrie]] (36km)
|Centre = '''Livingston'''
|East = '''[[Edinburgh]]''' (25km)
|Southwest = [[West Calder]] (8km), '''[[Lanark]]''' (35km)
|South = '''[[The Borders]]'''
|Southeast = [[East Calder]] (4km)
}}

==Districts ==

The districts which make up Livingston include:
[[File:Fishery2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Eliburn Reservoir]]
*[[Craigshill]]
*[[Howden, Livingston|Howden]]
*[[Ladywell, Livingston|Ladywell]]
*[[Knightsridge]]
*[[Deans, West Lothian|Deans]]
*[[Dedridge]]
*[[Murieston]]
*[[Almondvale]]
*[[Eliburn]]
*[[Kirkton, Livingston|Kirkton]] (including [[Livingston Village]])
*[[Adambrae]]
*[[Bellsquarry]]

== Employment ==
[[File:Tesco Distribution Centre, Livingston, West Lothian.JPG|thumb|Tesco's Distribution Centre for Scotland and Northern Ireland between Livingston and [[Bathgate]]]]
The area where Livingston now sits was historically dominated by [[oil shale industry|oil shale mining]], which is evident from the [[Bing (mining)|bings]] which still exist on much of the surrounding landscape. The designation of Livingston in the 1960s attracted new light industries to the area, with high technology and pharmaceutical companies moving into the town. Livingston formed a major hub in Scotland's [[Silicon Glen]]. Like most other areas this went into a slow decline with the closures of companies including [[Motorola]] and [[NEC]]. Several multi-national companies still have factories in the town and [[BSkyB]] has its main call centre in Livingston and is the largest private sector employer in West Lothian. Other large employers include those in the retail sector and the [[NHS Scotland|National Health Service]].

== Town centre and shopping ==
{{Main|Shopping in Livingston}}
Livingston [[town centre]] sits on the southern edge of the Almond Valley. It is bounded by a ring road and has been purposely planned, distinguishing it from West Lothian's other town centres. Howden Park is located immediately north of the town centre.

Livingston is the sub-regional centre serving West Lothian. It features one of the largest indoor [[shopping malls|shopping]] and leisure complexes in Scotland, The Centre (formerly Almondvale Shopping Centre) and the [[Livingston Designer Outlet]] (formerly [[McArthurGlen]] Designer Outlet Centre).
[[File:Livingston, West Lothian.JPG|thumb|300px|Aerial view of the north west of the town.]]
The Centre was completed in its current guise on 16 October 2008. The total development has around 155 shops and eating establishments. The Centre has a winter garden, an outdoor restaurant area, and several famous shopping names. Major shops include [[Asda|Asda Wal-mart Supercentre]], [[Next (clothing)|Next]], [[Topshop]], [[Marks & Spencer|M&S]], [[River Island]], [[Debenhams]] and [[Primark]] plus more.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}.

The designer outlet mall contains a [[Vue Cinema|VUE multiplex cinema]], bars, restaurants and cafes as well as around 100 outlet stores.

Livingston town centre has an abundance of car parking. The south western edge of the town centre is dominated by [[retail parks]]. These contain a number of well known retailers such as [[Pets at Home]], [[Toys 'R' Us]], [[PC World (retailer)|PC World]] & [[Currys]] as well as fast food outlets like [[KFC]] and [[Frankie & Benny's]].

There is also a large [[B&Q]] in the south-west of the town centre as well as a large [[Morrisons]] supermarket. The [[Homebase]] store closed in July 2010 and [[Argos]] moved across the road. The former Homebase and Argos stores were converted into a large [[Sainsburys]] supermarket that opened in December 2010. Also in the town centre are food stores such as [[Aldi]] and [[Lidl]] which is located beside the [[Almondvale Stadium]].

Livingston's town centre also contains a large number of offices. Private sector offices are also concentrated at the eastern and western edges of the centre and along the Almondvale [[Boulevard]]. Other facilities in the centre include hotels, a swimming pool and local authority gym, restaurants, pubs and Club Earth. Almondvale Football Stadium and [[West Lothian College]] are located at the north western edge of the town centre.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}}.

The Livingston Civic Centre was completed in June 2009 and officially opened by First Minister [[Alex Salmond]] on 25 November 2009. The Civic Centre is located just north of The Centre on the bank of the river Almond. It is home to the divisional headquarters of [[Lothian and Borders Police]], as well as the sheriff and justice of the peace, [[West Lothian Council]], the [[Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service]], the [[Scottish Children's Reporter Administration]], [[Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service]] and the West Lothian Community Health and Care Partnership. The Livingston Civic Centre was completed on time and on budget. It is thought to be the first public sector partnership of its kind in the UK.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}}.

[[File:Livingston Sculpture.JPG|thumb|left|200px|Sculpture, Livingston Square]]
Neighbourhood Shopping Centres are located at strategic points around the town. The first of these to be built was The Mall at Craigshill. This was followed by the Carmondean Centre in Deans and groupings of shops in Ladywell and Murieston.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}}.

== Transport ==

=== Road ===
Livingston has excellent connections to the central Scotland road network. The M8 bounds Livingston in the north. The [[A899 road|A899]] dual carriageway spine road passes north south along Livingston's eastern edge and connects the [[M8 motorway (Scotland)|M8]] in the north to the [[A71 road|A71]] in the south and has the [[A89 road|A89]] to the west.

=== Buses ===
Livingston has a central bus terminal located on Almondvale Avenue between the two shopping centres in the town centre. This provides regular services to surrounding towns and villages. [[First Edinburgh]]<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.firstedinburgh.co.uk/|title= FirstGroup - UK Bus South East & Central Scotland<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref> are the main bus operator in Livingston, other operators include E&M Horsburgh,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.horsburghcoaches.com/|title= E&M Horsburgh Coaches, for contract and private hire<!-- Bot generated title -->}}</ref> [[Blue Bus of Shotts|Blue Bus]], SD Travel and [[Stagecoach Group|Stagecoach]]. Livingston has buses to [[Glasgow]], [[Edinburgh]], [[Edinburgh Royal Infirmary]], [[Lanark]], [[Fife]], [[Falkirk]] and most West Lothian towns and villages. There are 7 stances at the bus terminal.

===Walking / Cycling===
Livingston has an excellent '[http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/media/downloaddoc/1799514/1841742/1896959/dcpp_textpart1 core path network]' which is shared use, and available to pedestrians, and cyclists. It connects all of the main areas of the town with shopping, and work areas. It is for the most part 'off road', and uses an extensive network of under/over pass systems to keep pedestrians and cyclists away from motorised traffic.

=== Rail ===

[[File:Geograph-2673832-by-Richard-Webb.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Livingston North railway station|Livingston North]] after the completion of the [[Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link]].]]
Livingston has two railway stations; {{stnlnk|Livingston North}} and {{stnlnk|Livingston South}}. Livingston North is located adjacent to the Carmondean Shopping Centre between Eliburn and Deans and is on the [[North Clyde Line]] and with the completion of the [[Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link]], on 12 December 2010 Livingston North is now served by trains running to {{stnlnk|Glasgow Queen Street}} and {{stnlnk|Airdrie}}. Livingston South is located at the Murieston Shops and is on the [[Shotts Line]] and has trains running between {{stnlnk|Glasgow Central}} and {{stnlnk|Edinburgh Waverley}} via {{stnlnk|Shotts}}.

=== Airports ===
Livingston is {{Convert|6.9|mi|km|1}} west of [[Edinburgh Airport]] and {{Convert|35.5|mi|km|1}} miles east of [[Glasgow Airport]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.transportdirect.info/Web2/JourneyPlanning/FindStationResults.aspx?cacheparam=5 |title=Livingston, West Lothian Nearest station/airport(s) |publisher=Transportdirect.info |date= |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref> both of which have regular flights to British and international destinations.

==Media==
The local newspapers covering Livingston are the [[West Lothian Herald & Post]], which is a [[free newspaper]] published by [[The Scotsman]] and the West Lothian Courier. There was previously a Livingston Post newspaper which was stopped in the early 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livingstonalive.co.uk/papers.shtml |title=Livingston Alive, Livingston Newspapers |publisher=Livingstonalive.co.uk |date= |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref>

Livingston previously had its own Radio Station called [[River FM]] that was broadcast from the [[Almondvale Stadium]]. River FM broadcast from 1 September 2003 until it was shut down on 29 January 2007.<ref>{{cite news|author=John Plunkett |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jan/30/commercialradio.radio |title=River FM hands back license |publisher=Guardian |date= 30 January 2007|accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref> Current local radio includes the local [[BBC]] station BBC Radio station is [[BBC Radio Scotland]] and Local Commercial radio includes [[Capital Scotland]] and [[97.3 Forth One]]. Livingston also has a [[Hospital Radio]] station called Radio Grapevine which broadcasts to [[St John's Hospital, Livingston|St John's Hospital]].<ref>[http://www.radiograpevine.com/index.htm Radio Grapevine]</ref>

Livingston is covered by the [[BBC Scotland]] and [[Scottish Television|STV Central]] regions.

==Governance==
Livingston is considered a [[Scottish Labour|Labour]] [[Scottish National Party|SNP]] [[Marginal seat]] and is often used as an election battleground.<ref>[http://news.stv.tv/election-2010/174236-constituency-profile-livingston/ Constituency profile: Livingston]</ref> Another party in the town is Action to Save St John's Hospital which is a [[Single issue party]] whose main campaign is to protect [[St John's Hospital, Livingston|St John's Hospital]].<ref>[http://www.atssjh.org.uk/ Action to Save St John's Hospital]</ref>

===Local===
Livingston is the [[administrative centre]] of [[West Lothian]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/Council_and_government/WestLothianCivicCentre/ |title=West Lothian Civic Centre |publisher=Westlothian.gov.uk |date=17 October 2011 |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref> Within West Lothian, Livingston is covered by three multi-member wards each electing four councillors. They are Livingston North, Livingston South and East Livingston and East Calder wards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/Council_and_government/pol_elec_democracy/multi_member/ |title=West Lothian Multi Member Wards |publisher=Westlothian.gov.uk |date=13 October 2008 |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref> Both Livingston South<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/Council_and_government/pol_elec_democracy/multi_member/ |title=Livingston South Ward |publisher=Westlothian.gov.uk |date=|accessdate=26 December 2011}}</ref> and East Livingston and East Calder<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/Council_and_government/locality-mmw/EastLivingstonandEastCalder/ |title=East Livingston and East Lothian Ward |publisher=Westlothian.gov.uk |date=|accessdate=26 December 2011}}</ref> have two [[Scottish National Party|SNP]] and two [[Scottish Labour|Labour]] councillors. Livingston North ward has two [[Scottish National Party|SNP]], one [[Scottish Labour|Labour]] and one Action to Save St John's Hospital.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/Council_and_government/locality-mmw/LivingstonNorth/ |title=East Livingston North Ward |publisher=Westlothian.gov.uk |date=|accessdate=26 December 2011}}</ref> Many of the responsibilities of West Lothian Council were previously the responsibility of the Livingston Development Corporation.

===Scottish Parliament===
Livingston is in the [[Almond Valley (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Almond Valley constituency]] for the [[Scottish Parliament]], and the [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] is [[Angela Constance]]<ref>[http://www.angelaconstance.co.uk/ Angela Constance MSP]</ref> of the [[Scottish National Party]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msps/currentmsps/Angela-Constance-MSP.aspx |title=Scottish Parliament, Angela Constance MSP |publisher=BBC |date= |accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref> Livingston is also covered by the [[Lothian (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Lothian electoral region]] which gives the area seven additional MSPs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msps/con-almv.aspx|title=Scottish Parliament, Almond Valley |publisher=Scottish Parliament |date= |accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref>

[[West Lothian]] voted "Yes" by a margin of 79.6% to 20.4% in the [[Scottish devolution referendum, 1997]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/devolution/scotland/live/westlothian.shtml |title=1997 Devolution referendum West Lothian |publisher=BBC |date= |accessdate=28 December 2011}}</ref> Livingston was given a [[Livingston (Scottish Parliament constituency)|constituency the same name]] for the [[Scottish Parliament general election, 1999|1999 Scottish Parliament Election]]. The First MSP elected for Livingston was the [[Scottish Labour|Labour]] [[Bristow Muldoon]] who was re-elected for [[Scottish Parliament general election, 2003|2003 Scottish Parliament Election]] with a majority of 3,670.<ref>{{cite web|title=Scottish Parliament Election 2003|url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msps/24889.aspx|publisher=Scottish Parliament}}</ref> For the [[Scottish Parliament general election, 2007|2007 Scottish Parliament Election]] the [[Scottish Parliament Election|SNP]] took the seat with a majority of 870 and [[Angela Constance]].<ref name="BBC 2007 Election Livingston">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2007/scottish_parliament/html/380.stm|accessdate=29 December 2011|newspaper=BBC|date=4 May 2007|deadurl=yes}} {{Dead link|date=January 2012|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref> For the [[Scottish Parliament general election, 2011|2011 Scottish Parliament Election]] the seat was re-drawn and renamed [[Almond Valley (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Almond Valley]] and [[Angela Constance]] was again re-elected this time with a majority of 5,542.<ref>{{cite news|title=2011 Election Almond Valley, BBC|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/election2011/constituency/html/36071.stm|accessdate=29 December 2011|newspaper=BBC|date=11 May 2011}}</ref>

===House of Commons===
[[File:LivingstonGraph.png|thumb|right|216px|General election results since 1983]]

Livingston has its own constituency in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] ;[[Livingston (UK Parliament constituency)|Livingston]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/constituencies/livingston |title=Parliament.uk: Livingston Constituency |publisher=Findyourmp.parliament.uk |date= |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref> and is represented by the [[Scottish Labour Party|Labour]] Member of Parliament [[Graeme Morrice]].<ref>[http://www.graememorricemp.co.uk/ Graeme Morrice MP]</ref>

Livingston has only ever returned Labour MPs since the town was founded in 1962. When Livingston was founded in 1962 it was part of the [[West Lothian (UK Parliament constituency)|West Lothian constituency]] and represented by the Labour MP [[Tam Dalyell]].

For the [[United Kingdom General Election, 1983|1983 General Election]] Livingston gained its own constituency at [[Westminster]]. The first MP elected for Livingston was [[Robin Cook]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge83/i13.htm |title=UK General Election results June 1983 |publisher=Politicsresources.net |date=9 June 1983 |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref> and held the seat for six consecutive elections and holding many government positions most notably [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|Foreign Secretary]] between 1997 and 2001. In 2005 Robin Cook suddenly died of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4127676.stm |title=Obituary: Robin Cook |publisher=BBC News |date=6 August 2005 |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref> and a [[Livingston by-election, 2005|By-election]] was called<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4207176.stm |title=Date is set for Cook by-election |publisher=BBC News |date=2 September 2005 |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref> and won by the [[Scottish Labour|Labour]] [[Jim Devine]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4295764.stm |title=Labour holds Cook's Commons seat |publisher=BBC News |date=30 September 2005 |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref> Devine was deselected in 2009 after being caught up in the [[United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal|2009 expenses scandal]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Wednesday 17 June 2009 |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/scottish-mp-devastated-by-deselection-over-expenses-1.912738 |title=Scottish MP 'devastated' by deselection over expenses |publisher=Heraldscotland.com |date=17 June 2009 |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref> The current [[Member of Parliament]] for Livingston is [[Graeme Morrice]] of the Labour Party who has held the seat since the [[United Kingdom General Election, 2010|2010 General Election]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/graeme-morrice/35070 |title=UK Parliament Graeme Morrice |publisher=Parliament.uk |date=6 May 2010 |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/843.stm |title=BBC Election 2010: Livingston |publisher=BBC News |date= |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref>

{{Election box begin|title=[[United Kingdom general election, 2010]]: Livingston<ref>[http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/guide/seat-profiles/livingstone Livingston] UKPolling</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/843.stm | work=BBC News | title=BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Livingston}}</ref>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Labour Party (UK)
|candidate = Graeme Morrice
|votes = 23,215
|percentage = 48.5
|change = -2.6
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Scottish National Party
|candidate = Lis Bardell
|votes = 12,424
|percentage = 25.9
|change = +4.4
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
|candidate = Charles Dundas
|votes = 5,316
|percentage = 11.1
|change = -4.3
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Conservative Party (UK)
|candidate = Alison Adamson-Ross
|votes = 5,158
|percentage = 10.8
|change = +0.6
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = British National Party
|candidate = David Orr
|votes = 960
|percentage = 2.0
|change = -
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = United Kingdom Independence Party
|candidate = Alistair Forrest
|votes = 443
|percentage = 0.9
|change = -
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Scottish Socialist Party
|candidate = Ally Hendry
|votes = 242
|percentage = 0.5
|change = -1.3
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Independent (politician)
|candidate = Jim Slavin
|votes = 149
|percentage = 0.3
|change = -
}}
{{Election box majority|
|votes = 10,791
|percentage = 22.5
|change =
}}
{{Election box turnout|
|votes = 47,907
|percentage = 63.1
|change = +4.6
}}
{{Election box hold with party link|
|winner = Labour Party (UK)
|swing = -3.5
}}
{{Election box end}}

===European Parliament===
Livingston is part of the [[Scotland (European Parliament constituency)|Scotland European Parliament constituency]] and is represented by six MEPs, The nearest ones to Livingston are [[Alyn Smith]] ([[Scottish National Party|SNP]]),<ref>[http://www.alynsmith.eu Alyn Smith MEP]</ref> [[Struan Stevenson]] ([[Scottish Conservatives|Conservative]])<ref>[http://www.struanstevenson.com Struan Stevenson MEP]</ref> who are both based in [[Edinburgh]] and [[David Martin (Scottish politician)|David Martin]] ([[Scottish Labour|Labour]])<ref>[http://www.martinmep.com/ David Martin MEP]</ref> who is based in [[Roslin, Midlothian|Roslin]].

Livingston used to be part of the [[Lothians (European Parliament constituency)|Lothians European Parliament constituency]].

===Youth participation===

====West Lothian Youth Congress====
West Lothian has a formal structure for engaging with young people and including them in the decision making process. The West Lothian Youth congress is a constituted group of young people between the ages of 12 and 26. It includes two democratically elected representatives from each of West Lothian’s High schools as well as young people representing youth/ specific interest groups, community councils or local areas from across West Lothian. The Youth Congress meets on a Tuesday evening every 4 to 6 weeks in the Council chambers of the West Lothian civic centre between 7pm and 9pm. The Congress is a full community planning partner and played an integral role in developing West Lothian’s 2010 community plan. The Congress also elects West Lothian’s four Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament who are elected to represent West Lothian’s young people at a national level.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}}

====Scottish Youth Parliament====

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) is a body set up to represent Scotland’s young people. Its members are aged between 14 and 26 and are elected from Scottish parliamentary constituencies with each Member of the Scottish Parliament being shadowed by two Members of the Scottish Youth parliament. There are also representatives from several voluntary organisations.
West Lothian has four Scottish youth parliament seats as it comprises two Scottish parliamentary constituencies.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}}

West Lothian’s MSYPs are:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| Anna Mcphail
|-
|David Leitch (Convener of the Education and lifelong learning committee)
|-
|Derek Couper (Chair)
|-
|Koren Hamilton
|}

== Education ==

=== Primary schools ===
*Bankton Primary School
*Bellsquarry Primary School
*Carmondean Primary School
*Deans Primary School
*Dedridge Primary School
*Harrysmuir Primary School
*Knightsridge Primary School
*Letham Primary School
*Livingston Village Primary School
*Mid Calder Primary School
*Meldrum Primary School
*Peel Primary School
*Riverside Primary School
*Toronto Primary School
*Howden St. Andrews RC Primary School
*St John Ogilvie RC Primary School
*St. Ninian's RC Primary School
*Williamston Primary School

===Special schools===
*Ogilvie School Campus
*Beatlie School Campus
*Cedarbank School
*Autism resource classes at Dedridge Primary School

=== Secondary schools ===

*[[Inveralmond Community High School]]
*[[The James Young High School]]
*[[St. Margaret's RC Academy]]
*[[Deans Community High School]]
[[File:West Lothian College.JPG|thumb|right|200px|West Lothian College]]

=== Further education ===
*[[West Lothian College]] of Further Education

=== Libraries ===
Livingston has three public libraries:
* Almondbank Library, Craigshill
* Lanthorn Library, Dedridge
* Carmondean Library, Carmondean

==Health==
Livingston is part of the [[NHS Lothian]] region in [[NHS Scotland]]. Livingston previously had a psychiatric hospital with general hospital in the [[Dechmont]] area of the town called [[Bangour Village Hospital]], The hospital opened in 1904, and started closing in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lhsa.lib.ed.ac.uk/catalog/records/lhsab001/lhb40x.html |title=Bangour General Hospital |accessdate=1 April 2008 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20071109120800/http://www.lhsa.lib.ed.ac.uk/catalog/records/lhsab001/lhb40x.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 9 November 2007}}</ref> It closed completely in 2004 after the remaining services were transferred to St John's Hospital.

===St John's Hospital, Livingston===
{{Main|St John's Hospital, Livingston}}
Livingston has a large hospital called St John's Hospital in the Howden. The hospital has its own [[Accident and Emergency]] and has 550<ref name="RIERAD">{{cite web |url=http://www.rierad.scot.nhs.uk/stjohns.pdf |title=St John's Hospital Livingston |accessdate=1 April 2008}}</ref> beds and opened in 1989.

==Culture and recreation==

===Youth activities===
Livingston has its own [[Air Training Corps]] squadron, 2535 (Livingston) Squadron (located in [[Craigshill]]) and [[Army Cadet Force]] unit (based at [[Dedridge]]). The town also has [[Scouting in West Lothian|Cubs, Scouts]], [[Boys Brigade]], [[Girlguiding UK|Brownies and Guides]] units, and other organisations such as [[LGBT Youth Scotland]] and the Youth Action Project (WLYAP),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wlyap.org.uk |title=WLYAP |publisher=WLYAP |date= |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref> and Firefly Youth Theatre (formerly West Lothian Youth Theatre) also operate in the area.

The youth action project involves a music session and many gigs and is widely attended by many teenagers from the surrounding area.

A leisure swimming pool and a Multiplex cinema are located in the town centre.

The Livingston Skatepark opened in 1981, at a time when most commercial skateparks were closing and was one of the most important facilities in Britain during a critical period in the development of skateboarding. It is an example of a free, unsupervised facility which achieved international status. In 2004 it was visited by the stars of the television series ''[[Dirty Sanchez (TV series)|Dirty Sanchez]]'', who described it as "The Best Skatepark in the world, apart from the ones in Wales".{{citation needed|date=December 2011}}

[[File:LiviBigBowl.jpg|thumb|right|Livingston Skatepark Bowls]]

===Sports===
The town has a local [[cricket]] club, Livingston Cricket Club, a [[rugby union]] club, [[Livingston Rugby Football Club]], a professional [[football (soccer)|football]] club, [[Livingston F.C.]], and a [[Scottish Junior Football Association|junior]] football club, [[Livingston United F.C.|Livingston United]].

Livingston is also home to; two competitive swimming clubs, the Livingston & District Dolphins and the Aquanauts of Livingston; Livingston and West Lothian Hockey Club, which has several men's and women's teams and provides junior coaching; West Lothian Wolves Basketball Club, with men and women's teams at all age groups and two [[track and field]] athletics clubs Livingston & District AAC, and Lothian RC.

====Livingston FC====
Livingston F.C., known to locals as "''Livi''" or "''The Lions''", are the most notable sports team in the town. They were formed in 1995 on the relocation of [[Edinburgh|Edinburgh-based]] side [[Meadowbank Thistle F.C.|Meadowbank Thistle]]. They were Scottish Division Three champions in [[1995-96 in Scottish football|their first season]], and in [[2000-01 in Scottish football|2001]] reached the [[Scottish Premier League|SPL]]. They finished third in their first season in the top flight, qualifying for the [[UEFA Cup]]. In [[2003-04 in Scottish football|their ninth season of existence]] they won the CIS Cup, but were relegated two years later back to Division One.

In 1998-1999 Livingston were promoted to the [[Scottish First Division]], after they were crowned champions of the Second Division. They spent two seasons in the second tier of Scottish football and in the 2000-2001 season they were promoted to the [[Scottish Premier League]]. In their first season in the top flight after they finished in third position behind [[Celtic F.C.|Celtic]] and [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]]. The team also recorded a league victory over [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]] when a last-minute goal from [[Stuart Lovell]] secured a 2-1 victory. [[File:Almondvale Stadium.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Almondvale Stadium|Almondvale Stadium's]] East Stand - right section.]]
Livi kicked of the 2002-2003 season in the [[UEFA Cup]]. They got through to the second round of the competition after beating [[FC Vaduz]] of [[Liechtenstein]] in the first round on the away goals rule. The first leg finished 1-1 in Liechtenstein and the return leg finished in a goalless draw at the 'Vale. In the second round against [[Sturm Graz]] of Austria, they went out of the competition after an 8-6 aggregate loss, however recorded their first and only ever European victory in the return leg after a 4-3 win at the 'Vale.

The following season the club won the [[Scottish League Cup]]. They beat [[Hibernian F.C.|Hibs]] 2-0 in the final after knocking out Dundee in the semis. The goal scorers at [[Hampden Park]] were [[Derek Lilley]] and [[Jamie McAllister]], on 14 March 2004. Relegation to the [[Scottish First Division]] in 2006 came after the club entered administration in 2004 as well as other financial problems. In July 2009 the club were hours away from going out of business but were saved by administrators. The [[Scottish Football League]] relegated the club back to the [[Scottish Third Division]] on 5 August 2009 due to insolvency problems. The Lions managed to gain promotion to the [[Scottish Second Division]] the following year, and returned to the First Division after back to back league championships, on 6 August 2011. They currently compete in the [[Scottish First Division|First Division]].

====Livingston Cricket Club====
Livingston also has a popular cricket club known as the Kingfishers which fields teams for juniors and seniors and has fielded professional paid players in games over the years. The club plays in the [[East of Scotland Cricket Association]] and is based in Murieston.

Livingston Cricket Club was founded in 1981 by Dr Salem Patel and Doug Druce, playing its first match in August of that year in Armadale. Against Atlas Steelworks we were so bad that despite getting a second innings we still couldn’t manage more than 30. From that inauspicious start the club joined the East League for the 1982 season, winning Grade D and promotion despite, or perhaps because of, home matches played at Deans High School on some very dodgy wickets that often resulted in low scoring games.
In 1983 the club came second to Kirkcaldy’s 2nd XI in Grade C which was enough to win election to Division 4 following league reconstruction. Home games that season were played at Bankton Mains in Murieston. The changing facilities were a wooden Wimpey hut which was eventually flame-grilled by local vandals at the second attempt.
With no changing facilities for 1984 all matches had to be played away from home while renovations took place at Bangour Hospital sports field to enable cricket to be played there for the first time since the 1950s.

The club remained at Bangour from 1985 to the end of the 1998 season. Despite the occasional incursion from wandering patients (often difficult to distinguish from the players), Bangour was a smallish ground in a lovely setting with the pavilion situated on top of banking which ran almost half half-way round the ground. The colourful display of rhododendrons in June was often matched by the language of the players retrieving balls from the many sixes hit into the dense undergrowth!

By 1985 the increasing number of players enabled the club to start a 2nd XI which joined Grade D of the East League. Meanwhile, despite coming close on a couple of occasions, the 1st XI remained in Division 4 until winning the league in 1992. It was often said we had the strongest team on paper in the league during this period but unfortunately having to play on grass was our downfall. In contrast our stay in Division 3 in 1993 was the briefest possible with the league programme being negotiated with an unbeaten record.

In 1994 sponsorship by the Livingston Development Corporation enabled the club to successfully negotiate the big step up to Division 2 where half of the clubs employed paid professional players. West Indian Mark Harper became the club’s first paid player and regularly set new batting records throughout the season.
The creation of the National leagues in 1996 and the subsequent re-organisation of feeder leagues saw Livingston become a Division 1 club due to reconstruction of the East League. In 1999 we finished third, our highest league position to date. This coincided with a move back into Livingston to a large new ground in the Murieston area. Temporary pavilion facilities and the recent run of wet summers added to the fact that the ground is over 500&nbsp;ft above sea level mean that Dresselrigg has yet to realise its full potential. Being almost in the foothills of the Pentlands, rainfall is heavier and the growing season considerably shorter than most of the other grounds in the Central Belt which causes major problems in getting the ground ready for play in April.

From May 2002 to August 2004 a concerted effort was made to source funding and construct a permanent pavilion. The Gerry Toms Pavilion was officially opened on 22 August 2004.

==Religion==

===Christianity===
Uniquely in Scotland, Livingston was from its formation designated an "Ecumenical Parish" in a joint initiative by the [[Church of Scotland]], [[Scottish Episcopal Church]], [[Methodist Church in Great Britain]] and the Congregational Union of Scotland (which subsequently united with the [[United Reformed Church]]). The Ecumenical Parish has six places of worship.

Apart from the Ecumenical Parish, Livingston Old Parish is a congregation solely within the Church of Scotland. There are also churches of other denominations, notably the Catholic Church, the Baptist Church (who have two congregations in Dedridge and Ladywell), Jehovah's Witnesses (who have two congregations: Livingston Deans and Livingston Dedridge) and the Free Church.

In Livingston there are three [[Catholic Church]]es. Saint Peters, in Carmondean, Saint Andrews in [[Craigshill]], and St Philips in [[Dedridge]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archdiocese-edinburgh.com/parishes_list2.htm#Livingston|title=Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh}}</ref>

===Other religions===
There is a mosque in the [[Craigshill]] area of the town called Livingston Mosque and Community Centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mosques.muslimsinbritain.org/show-mosque.php?id=1037 |title=UK Mosque searcher Livingston |publisher=Mosques.muslimsinbritain.org |date= |accessdate=25 December 2011}}</ref>

==Notable people from Livingston==
*[[Paul Dickov]] former [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] player, now manager of [[Doncaster Rovers F.C.|Doncaster Rovers]]
*[[Gary Wales]] former [[Heart of Midlothian F.C.|Hearts]] player, and [[Kilmarnock F.C.|Kilmarnock]].
*[[Scott Arfield]] footballer for [[Huddersfield Town Football Club|Huddersfield Town]].
*[[Robin Cook]] [[Member of Parliament|MP]] for Livingston died in 2005.
*[[Mark Burchill]] footballer, Educated in Livingston.
*[[Danny Wilson (footballer born 1991)|Danny Wilson]] former [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]] player, now with [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]]
*[[Jimmy Scoular]] former [[Portsmouth FC]] and [[Newcastle Utd]] football player and [[Cardiff City]] manager.
*[[Tommy Walker (footballer born 1915)|Tommy Walker]] former [[Heart of Midlothian F.C.|Hearts]] and [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] player and the most successful [[Heart of Midlothian F.C.|Hearts]] manager.
*[[David Robertson (footballer born 1986)|David Robertson]] footballer, [[Dundee Utd]].
*[[Ian Colquhoun (Scottish author)|Ian Colquhoun]] Author, born and educated in Livingston.
*[[Craig Benson (swimmer)|Craig Benson]] Olympic swimmer and World junior men's breaststroke champion, born and educated in Livingston.
*[[Elise Christie]] short track skater, competed at [[2010 Winter Olympics]] and [[2014 Winter Olympics]].
*[[Peter Wright (darts player)|Peter Wright]] darts player.
*[[Paul di Resta]] DTM driver and Formula One Driver from 2010 to 2013.

==Town twinnings==
Livingston and West Lothian are [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
* {{Flagicon|US}} [[Grapevine, Texas]], United States,
* {{Flagicon|DE}} [[Hochsauerlandkreis]], Germany.

== References ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

=== Primary sources ===
*Wills, E (1996) ''Livingston: the Making of a Scottish New Town''
*Cowling, D (1997) ''An Essay for Today: the Scottish New Towns 1947-1997''
http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/media/downloaddoc/1799479/Applying_for_a_House/Housingapplication2011

== External links ==
*[http://www.westlothian.com West Lothian Business Portal]
*[http://www.livingstoni.co.uk Livingstoni Community site for Livingston]
*[http://www.the-livingston-eye.co.uk Livingston Information Site]
*[http://www.westlothianarchaeology.org.uk West Lothian Archaeological Trust]

{{Areas of Livingston, West Lothian}}

[[Category:Livingston, Scotland| Livingston]]
[[Category:Towns in West Lothian]]
[[Category:New towns in Scotland]]
[[Category:1960s establishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Large burghs]]
[[Category:Post towns in the EH postcode area]]

Revision as of 15:14, 12 September 2014

Livingston
Almondvale Boulevard in Livingston
Population56,269 2011 Census[1]
LanguageEnglish, Scots
OS grid referenceNT054690
• Edinburgh13 mi (21 km) ENE
• London321 mi (517 km) SSE
Council area
Lieutenancy area
  • West Lothian
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLIVINGSTON
Postcode districtEH53, EH54
Dialling code01506
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland

Livingston (Scots: Leivinstoun, Scottish Gaelic: Baile Dhùn Lèibhe[2]), is the largest town in West Lothian, Scotland. It is the fourth post-World War II new town to be built in Scotland, designated in 1962. It is about 15 miles (25 km) west of Edinburgh and 30 miles (50 km) east of Glasgow, and is bordered by the towns of Broxburn to the northeast and Bathgate to the northwest.

It was built around a collection of small villages, Livingston Village, Bellsquarry and Livingston Station (now part of Deans). It has a number of residential precincts or areas. These include Craigshill, Howden, Ladywell, Knightsridge, Deans, Dedridge, Murieston, Almondvale, Eliburn, Kirkton and Adambrae. To the north of Craigshill lies the Houstoun Industrial Estate. The core locality of Livingston is defined by the General Register Office for Scotland (GRO) as including Uphall Station and Pumpherston. The wider urban settlement area also includes Mid Calder and East Calder.[3] Other neighbouring villages include Kirknewton, Polbeth and West Calder. In 2001 the town had population of 50,826 according to the census. The 2011 census showed the population of Livingston had increased to 56,269.[1] Livingston is the second biggest settlement in the Lothians after Edinburgh. Until 1963 the area surrounding the ancient village of Livingston was open farm land and the ancient village is now called Livingston Village.

History

Before 1962

The area around Livingston was previously an important shale oil area, the world's first oil boom occurred in West Lothian. This was based on oil extracted from shale, and by 1870 over 3 million tons of shale were being mined each year in the area around Livingston. Output declined with the discovery of liquid oil reserves around the world in the early 1900s, but shale mining only finally ceased in 1962. The "bings" that characterise oil shale mining in West Lothian have largely been flattened.

In 1898 Livingston had several houses, a Church of Scotland church, a United Free church and a school. Around 1 mile north of Livingston there was a railway station in a settlement called Livingston Station which is now part of Deans.[citation needed]

The old part of Livingston is now called Livingston Village.

New Town

New Town architecture in Deans

Livingston was built as part of the New Towns Act of 1946, in part to ease overcrowding in Glasgow. Livingston was the fourth new town of five. The others were East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Cumbernauld and Irvine. Livingston was designated as a New Town on 16 April 1962.[4] The first people moved into Livingston in April 1966.

Three villages (Livingston Village and Livingston Station in the old parish of Livingston and Bellsquarry in the parish of Mid Calder) and numerous farmsteads remain islands of old buildings within the new developments.

In 1984 Livingston gained its first railway station on the Shotts Line called Livingston South which was followed by Livingston North on the Edinburgh to Bathgate Line in 1986. These stations replaced the former Livingston and Newpark stations which had closed before the construction of the town.

In 1995 Livingston gained its professional football team, Livingston F.C. which was essentially the relocation of Meadowbank Thistle F.C. from Edinburgh.

Livingston Development Corporation

Logo of Livingston Development Corporation

In order to build, manage and promote Livingston a quango organisation was formed, the Livingston Development Corporation.[5]

The corporation guided Livingston until its mandate expired on 22 March 1997[6] and the town was transferred to West Lothian Council. The last major construction operation carried out by the LDC was the Almondvale Stadium, which was to become the home to the renamed Livingston F.C. A new purpose built campus for West Lothian College and other major developments have also taken place in Livingston over the last 10 years.

Construction in Livingston has continued under the management of West Lothian Council.

In 1979, an employee of the LDC claimed he was knocked unconscious after an alleged conflict with activities from a UFO. Robert Taylor, who was in his sixties at this point in time, was working as a Forester for Livingston Development Corporation near Dechmont Law when the supposed incident took place. The incident was reported to the police, but nearly 40 years after taking place, the incident has never been resolved. It remains one of the UK's most notable claimed UFO sightings.[7]

Geography

Livingston is the 7th largest settlement and the 3rd largest town in Scotland, it is also the 171st largest settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies 30 miles away from Glasgow and 15 miles from Edinburgh.

Districts

The districts which make up Livingston include:

Eliburn Reservoir

Employment

Tesco's Distribution Centre for Scotland and Northern Ireland between Livingston and Bathgate

The area where Livingston now sits was historically dominated by oil shale mining, which is evident from the bings which still exist on much of the surrounding landscape. The designation of Livingston in the 1960s attracted new light industries to the area, with high technology and pharmaceutical companies moving into the town. Livingston formed a major hub in Scotland's Silicon Glen. Like most other areas this went into a slow decline with the closures of companies including Motorola and NEC. Several multi-national companies still have factories in the town and BSkyB has its main call centre in Livingston and is the largest private sector employer in West Lothian. Other large employers include those in the retail sector and the National Health Service.

Town centre and shopping

Livingston town centre sits on the southern edge of the Almond Valley. It is bounded by a ring road and has been purposely planned, distinguishing it from West Lothian's other town centres. Howden Park is located immediately north of the town centre.

Livingston is the sub-regional centre serving West Lothian. It features one of the largest indoor shopping and leisure complexes in Scotland, The Centre (formerly Almondvale Shopping Centre) and the Livingston Designer Outlet (formerly McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Centre).

Aerial view of the north west of the town.

The Centre was completed in its current guise on 16 October 2008. The total development has around 155 shops and eating establishments. The Centre has a winter garden, an outdoor restaurant area, and several famous shopping names. Major shops include Asda Wal-mart Supercentre, Next, Topshop, M&S, River Island, Debenhams and Primark plus more.[citation needed].

The designer outlet mall contains a VUE multiplex cinema, bars, restaurants and cafes as well as around 100 outlet stores.

Livingston town centre has an abundance of car parking. The south western edge of the town centre is dominated by retail parks. These contain a number of well known retailers such as Pets at Home, Toys 'R' Us, PC World & Currys as well as fast food outlets like KFC and Frankie & Benny's.

There is also a large B&Q in the south-west of the town centre as well as a large Morrisons supermarket. The Homebase store closed in July 2010 and Argos moved across the road. The former Homebase and Argos stores were converted into a large Sainsburys supermarket that opened in December 2010. Also in the town centre are food stores such as Aldi and Lidl which is located beside the Almondvale Stadium.

Livingston's town centre also contains a large number of offices. Private sector offices are also concentrated at the eastern and western edges of the centre and along the Almondvale Boulevard. Other facilities in the centre include hotels, a swimming pool and local authority gym, restaurants, pubs and Club Earth. Almondvale Football Stadium and West Lothian College are located at the north western edge of the town centre.[citation needed].

The Livingston Civic Centre was completed in June 2009 and officially opened by First Minister Alex Salmond on 25 November 2009. The Civic Centre is located just north of The Centre on the bank of the river Almond. It is home to the divisional headquarters of Lothian and Borders Police, as well as the sheriff and justice of the peace, West Lothian Council, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration, Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service and the West Lothian Community Health and Care Partnership. The Livingston Civic Centre was completed on time and on budget. It is thought to be the first public sector partnership of its kind in the UK.[citation needed].

Sculpture, Livingston Square

Neighbourhood Shopping Centres are located at strategic points around the town. The first of these to be built was The Mall at Craigshill. This was followed by the Carmondean Centre in Deans and groupings of shops in Ladywell and Murieston.[citation needed].

Transport

Road

Livingston has excellent connections to the central Scotland road network. The M8 bounds Livingston in the north. The A899 dual carriageway spine road passes north south along Livingston's eastern edge and connects the M8 in the north to the A71 in the south and has the A89 to the west.

Buses

Livingston has a central bus terminal located on Almondvale Avenue between the two shopping centres in the town centre. This provides regular services to surrounding towns and villages. First Edinburgh[8] are the main bus operator in Livingston, other operators include E&M Horsburgh,[9] Blue Bus, SD Travel and Stagecoach. Livingston has buses to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Lanark, Fife, Falkirk and most West Lothian towns and villages. There are 7 stances at the bus terminal.

Walking / Cycling

Livingston has an excellent 'core path network' which is shared use, and available to pedestrians, and cyclists. It connects all of the main areas of the town with shopping, and work areas. It is for the most part 'off road', and uses an extensive network of under/over pass systems to keep pedestrians and cyclists away from motorised traffic.

Rail

Livingston North after the completion of the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link.

Livingston has two railway stations; Livingston North and Livingston South. Livingston North is located adjacent to the Carmondean Shopping Centre between Eliburn and Deans and is on the North Clyde Line and with the completion of the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link, on 12 December 2010 Livingston North is now served by trains running to Glasgow Queen Street and Airdrie. Livingston South is located at the Murieston Shops and is on the Shotts Line and has trains running between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley via Shotts.

Airports

Livingston is 6.9 miles (11.1 km) west of Edinburgh Airport and 35.5 miles (57.1 km) miles east of Glasgow Airport[10] both of which have regular flights to British and international destinations.

Media

The local newspapers covering Livingston are the West Lothian Herald & Post, which is a free newspaper published by The Scotsman and the West Lothian Courier. There was previously a Livingston Post newspaper which was stopped in the early 1990s.[11]

Livingston previously had its own Radio Station called River FM that was broadcast from the Almondvale Stadium. River FM broadcast from 1 September 2003 until it was shut down on 29 January 2007.[12] Current local radio includes the local BBC station BBC Radio station is BBC Radio Scotland and Local Commercial radio includes Capital Scotland and 97.3 Forth One. Livingston also has a Hospital Radio station called Radio Grapevine which broadcasts to St John's Hospital.[13]

Livingston is covered by the BBC Scotland and STV Central regions.

Governance

Livingston is considered a Labour SNP Marginal seat and is often used as an election battleground.[14] Another party in the town is Action to Save St John's Hospital which is a Single issue party whose main campaign is to protect St John's Hospital.[15]

Local

Livingston is the administrative centre of West Lothian.[16] Within West Lothian, Livingston is covered by three multi-member wards each electing four councillors. They are Livingston North, Livingston South and East Livingston and East Calder wards.[17] Both Livingston South[18] and East Livingston and East Calder[19] have two SNP and two Labour councillors. Livingston North ward has two SNP, one Labour and one Action to Save St John's Hospital.[20] Many of the responsibilities of West Lothian Council were previously the responsibility of the Livingston Development Corporation.

Scottish Parliament

Livingston is in the Almond Valley constituency for the Scottish Parliament, and the Member of the Scottish Parliament is Angela Constance[21] of the Scottish National Party.[22] Livingston is also covered by the Lothian electoral region which gives the area seven additional MSPs.[23]

West Lothian voted "Yes" by a margin of 79.6% to 20.4% in the Scottish devolution referendum, 1997.[24] Livingston was given a constituency the same name for the 1999 Scottish Parliament Election. The First MSP elected for Livingston was the Labour Bristow Muldoon who was re-elected for 2003 Scottish Parliament Election with a majority of 3,670.[25] For the 2007 Scottish Parliament Election the SNP took the seat with a majority of 870 and Angela Constance.[26] For the 2011 Scottish Parliament Election the seat was re-drawn and renamed Almond Valley and Angela Constance was again re-elected this time with a majority of 5,542.[27]

House of Commons

General election results since 1983

Livingston has its own constituency in the House of Commons ;Livingston,[28] and is represented by the Labour Member of Parliament Graeme Morrice.[29]

Livingston has only ever returned Labour MPs since the town was founded in 1962. When Livingston was founded in 1962 it was part of the West Lothian constituency and represented by the Labour MP Tam Dalyell.

For the 1983 General Election Livingston gained its own constituency at Westminster. The first MP elected for Livingston was Robin Cook[30] and held the seat for six consecutive elections and holding many government positions most notably Foreign Secretary between 1997 and 2001. In 2005 Robin Cook suddenly died of a heart attack[31] and a By-election was called[32] and won by the Labour Jim Devine.[33] Devine was deselected in 2009 after being caught up in the 2009 expenses scandal.[34] The current Member of Parliament for Livingston is Graeme Morrice of the Labour Party who has held the seat since the 2010 General Election.[35][36]

United Kingdom general election, 2010: Livingston[37][38]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Graeme Morrice 23,215 48.5 −2.6
SNP Lis Bardell 12,424 25.9 +4.4
Liberal Democrats Charles Dundas 5,316 11.1 −4.3
Conservative Alison Adamson-Ross 5,158 10.8 +0.6
BNP David Orr 960 2.0
UKIP Alistair Forrest 443 0.9
Scottish Socialist Ally Hendry 242 0.5 −1.3
Independent Jim Slavin 149 0.3
Majority 10,791 22.5
Turnout 47,907 63.1 +4.6
Labour hold Swing -3.5

European Parliament

Livingston is part of the Scotland European Parliament constituency and is represented by six MEPs, The nearest ones to Livingston are Alyn Smith (SNP),[39] Struan Stevenson (Conservative)[40] who are both based in Edinburgh and David Martin (Labour)[41] who is based in Roslin.

Livingston used to be part of the Lothians European Parliament constituency.

Youth participation

West Lothian Youth Congress

West Lothian has a formal structure for engaging with young people and including them in the decision making process. The West Lothian Youth congress is a constituted group of young people between the ages of 12 and 26. It includes two democratically elected representatives from each of West Lothian’s High schools as well as young people representing youth/ specific interest groups, community councils or local areas from across West Lothian. The Youth Congress meets on a Tuesday evening every 4 to 6 weeks in the Council chambers of the West Lothian civic centre between 7pm and 9pm. The Congress is a full community planning partner and played an integral role in developing West Lothian’s 2010 community plan. The Congress also elects West Lothian’s four Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament who are elected to represent West Lothian’s young people at a national level.[citation needed]

Scottish Youth Parliament

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) is a body set up to represent Scotland’s young people. Its members are aged between 14 and 26 and are elected from Scottish parliamentary constituencies with each Member of the Scottish Parliament being shadowed by two Members of the Scottish Youth parliament. There are also representatives from several voluntary organisations. West Lothian has four Scottish youth parliament seats as it comprises two Scottish parliamentary constituencies.[citation needed]

West Lothian’s MSYPs are:

Anna Mcphail
David Leitch (Convener of the Education and lifelong learning committee)
Derek Couper (Chair)
Koren Hamilton

Education

Primary schools

  • Bankton Primary School
  • Bellsquarry Primary School
  • Carmondean Primary School
  • Deans Primary School
  • Dedridge Primary School
  • Harrysmuir Primary School
  • Knightsridge Primary School
  • Letham Primary School
  • Livingston Village Primary School
  • Mid Calder Primary School
  • Meldrum Primary School
  • Peel Primary School
  • Riverside Primary School
  • Toronto Primary School
  • Howden St. Andrews RC Primary School
  • St John Ogilvie RC Primary School
  • St. Ninian's RC Primary School
  • Williamston Primary School

Special schools

  • Ogilvie School Campus
  • Beatlie School Campus
  • Cedarbank School
  • Autism resource classes at Dedridge Primary School

Secondary schools

West Lothian College

Further education

Libraries

Livingston has three public libraries:

  • Almondbank Library, Craigshill
  • Lanthorn Library, Dedridge
  • Carmondean Library, Carmondean

Health

Livingston is part of the NHS Lothian region in NHS Scotland. Livingston previously had a psychiatric hospital with general hospital in the Dechmont area of the town called Bangour Village Hospital, The hospital opened in 1904, and started closing in the 1990s.[42] It closed completely in 2004 after the remaining services were transferred to St John's Hospital.

St John's Hospital, Livingston

Livingston has a large hospital called St John's Hospital in the Howden. The hospital has its own Accident and Emergency and has 550[43] beds and opened in 1989.

Culture and recreation

Youth activities

Livingston has its own Air Training Corps squadron, 2535 (Livingston) Squadron (located in Craigshill) and Army Cadet Force unit (based at Dedridge). The town also has Cubs, Scouts, Boys Brigade, Brownies and Guides units, and other organisations such as LGBT Youth Scotland and the Youth Action Project (WLYAP),[44] and Firefly Youth Theatre (formerly West Lothian Youth Theatre) also operate in the area.

The youth action project involves a music session and many gigs and is widely attended by many teenagers from the surrounding area.

A leisure swimming pool and a Multiplex cinema are located in the town centre.

The Livingston Skatepark opened in 1981, at a time when most commercial skateparks were closing and was one of the most important facilities in Britain during a critical period in the development of skateboarding. It is an example of a free, unsupervised facility which achieved international status. In 2004 it was visited by the stars of the television series Dirty Sanchez, who described it as "The Best Skatepark in the world, apart from the ones in Wales".[citation needed]

Livingston Skatepark Bowls

Sports

The town has a local cricket club, Livingston Cricket Club, a rugby union club, Livingston Rugby Football Club, a professional football club, Livingston F.C., and a junior football club, Livingston United.

Livingston is also home to; two competitive swimming clubs, the Livingston & District Dolphins and the Aquanauts of Livingston; Livingston and West Lothian Hockey Club, which has several men's and women's teams and provides junior coaching; West Lothian Wolves Basketball Club, with men and women's teams at all age groups and two track and field athletics clubs Livingston & District AAC, and Lothian RC.

Livingston FC

Livingston F.C., known to locals as "Livi" or "The Lions", are the most notable sports team in the town. They were formed in 1995 on the relocation of Edinburgh-based side Meadowbank Thistle. They were Scottish Division Three champions in their first season, and in 2001 reached the SPL. They finished third in their first season in the top flight, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. In their ninth season of existence they won the CIS Cup, but were relegated two years later back to Division One.

In 1998-1999 Livingston were promoted to the Scottish First Division, after they were crowned champions of the Second Division. They spent two seasons in the second tier of Scottish football and in the 2000-2001 season they were promoted to the Scottish Premier League. In their first season in the top flight after they finished in third position behind Celtic and Rangers. The team also recorded a league victory over Rangers when a last-minute goal from Stuart Lovell secured a 2-1 victory.

Almondvale Stadium's East Stand - right section.

Livi kicked of the 2002-2003 season in the UEFA Cup. They got through to the second round of the competition after beating FC Vaduz of Liechtenstein in the first round on the away goals rule. The first leg finished 1-1 in Liechtenstein and the return leg finished in a goalless draw at the 'Vale. In the second round against Sturm Graz of Austria, they went out of the competition after an 8-6 aggregate loss, however recorded their first and only ever European victory in the return leg after a 4-3 win at the 'Vale.

The following season the club won the Scottish League Cup. They beat Hibs 2-0 in the final after knocking out Dundee in the semis. The goal scorers at Hampden Park were Derek Lilley and Jamie McAllister, on 14 March 2004. Relegation to the Scottish First Division in 2006 came after the club entered administration in 2004 as well as other financial problems. In July 2009 the club were hours away from going out of business but were saved by administrators. The Scottish Football League relegated the club back to the Scottish Third Division on 5 August 2009 due to insolvency problems. The Lions managed to gain promotion to the Scottish Second Division the following year, and returned to the First Division after back to back league championships, on 6 August 2011. They currently compete in the First Division.

Livingston Cricket Club

Livingston also has a popular cricket club known as the Kingfishers which fields teams for juniors and seniors and has fielded professional paid players in games over the years. The club plays in the East of Scotland Cricket Association and is based in Murieston.

Livingston Cricket Club was founded in 1981 by Dr Salem Patel and Doug Druce, playing its first match in August of that year in Armadale. Against Atlas Steelworks we were so bad that despite getting a second innings we still couldn’t manage more than 30. From that inauspicious start the club joined the East League for the 1982 season, winning Grade D and promotion despite, or perhaps because of, home matches played at Deans High School on some very dodgy wickets that often resulted in low scoring games.

In 1983 the club came second to Kirkcaldy’s 2nd XI in Grade C which was enough to win election to Division 4 following league reconstruction. Home games that season were played at Bankton Mains in Murieston. The changing facilities were a wooden Wimpey hut which was eventually flame-grilled by local vandals at the second attempt.

With no changing facilities for 1984 all matches had to be played away from home while renovations took place at Bangour Hospital sports field to enable cricket to be played there for the first time since the 1950s.

The club remained at Bangour from 1985 to the end of the 1998 season. Despite the occasional incursion from wandering patients (often difficult to distinguish from the players), Bangour was a smallish ground in a lovely setting with the pavilion situated on top of banking which ran almost half half-way round the ground. The colourful display of rhododendrons in June was often matched by the language of the players retrieving balls from the many sixes hit into the dense undergrowth!

By 1985 the increasing number of players enabled the club to start a 2nd XI which joined Grade D of the East League. Meanwhile, despite coming close on a couple of occasions, the 1st XI remained in Division 4 until winning the league in 1992. It was often said we had the strongest team on paper in the league during this period but unfortunately having to play on grass was our downfall. In contrast our stay in Division 3 in 1993 was the briefest possible with the league programme being negotiated with an unbeaten record.

In 1994 sponsorship by the Livingston Development Corporation enabled the club to successfully negotiate the big step up to Division 2 where half of the clubs employed paid professional players. West Indian Mark Harper became the club’s first paid player and regularly set new batting records throughout the season. The creation of the National leagues in 1996 and the subsequent re-organisation of feeder leagues saw Livingston become a Division 1 club due to reconstruction of the East League. In 1999 we finished third, our highest league position to date. This coincided with a move back into Livingston to a large new ground in the Murieston area. Temporary pavilion facilities and the recent run of wet summers added to the fact that the ground is over 500 ft above sea level mean that Dresselrigg has yet to realise its full potential. Being almost in the foothills of the Pentlands, rainfall is heavier and the growing season considerably shorter than most of the other grounds in the Central Belt which causes major problems in getting the ground ready for play in April.

From May 2002 to August 2004 a concerted effort was made to source funding and construct a permanent pavilion. The Gerry Toms Pavilion was officially opened on 22 August 2004.

Religion

Christianity

Uniquely in Scotland, Livingston was from its formation designated an "Ecumenical Parish" in a joint initiative by the Church of Scotland, Scottish Episcopal Church, Methodist Church in Great Britain and the Congregational Union of Scotland (which subsequently united with the United Reformed Church). The Ecumenical Parish has six places of worship.

Apart from the Ecumenical Parish, Livingston Old Parish is a congregation solely within the Church of Scotland. There are also churches of other denominations, notably the Catholic Church, the Baptist Church (who have two congregations in Dedridge and Ladywell), Jehovah's Witnesses (who have two congregations: Livingston Deans and Livingston Dedridge) and the Free Church.

In Livingston there are three Catholic Churches. Saint Peters, in Carmondean, Saint Andrews in Craigshill, and St Philips in Dedridge.[45]

Other religions

There is a mosque in the Craigshill area of the town called Livingston Mosque and Community Centre.[46]

Notable people from Livingston

Town twinnings

Livingston and West Lothian are twinned with:

References

  1. ^ a b "Area Profile Populations for Localities in Scotland". Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  2. ^ "Scots Language Centre: Scottish Place Names in Scots". Scotslanguage.com. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  3. ^ "GROS Website" (PDF).
  4. ^ "No. 18025". The Edinburgh Gazette. 17 April 1962.
  5. ^ "Livingston Development Corporation". Livingston Alive. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  6. ^ "The New Town (Livingston) (Transfer of Property, Rights and Liabilities) Order 1997". Legislation.gov.uk. 22 March 1997. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  7. ^ Bob Taylor (Obituary), The Telegraph 2007-03-23 (2008-04-06)
  8. ^ "FirstGroup - UK Bus South East & Central Scotland".
  9. ^ "E&M Horsburgh Coaches, for contract and private hire".
  10. ^ "Livingston, West Lothian Nearest station/airport(s)". Transportdirect.info. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  11. ^ "Livingston Alive, Livingston Newspapers". Livingstonalive.co.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  12. ^ John Plunkett (30 January 2007). "River FM hands back license". Guardian. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  13. ^ Radio Grapevine
  14. ^ Constituency profile: Livingston
  15. ^ Action to Save St John's Hospital
  16. ^ "West Lothian Civic Centre". Westlothian.gov.uk. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  17. ^ "West Lothian Multi Member Wards". Westlothian.gov.uk. 13 October 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  18. ^ "Livingston South Ward". Westlothian.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  19. ^ "East Livingston and East Lothian Ward". Westlothian.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  20. ^ "East Livingston North Ward". Westlothian.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  21. ^ Angela Constance MSP
  22. ^ "Scottish Parliament, Angela Constance MSP". BBC. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  23. ^ "Scottish Parliament, Almond Valley". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  24. ^ "1997 Devolution referendum West Lothian". BBC. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  25. ^ "Scottish Parliament Election 2003". Scottish Parliament.
  26. ^ BBC. 4 May 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2007/scottish_parliament/html/380.stm. Retrieved 29 December 2011. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) [dead link]
  27. ^ "2011 Election Almond Valley, BBC". BBC. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  28. ^ "Parliament.uk: Livingston Constituency". Findyourmp.parliament.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  29. ^ Graeme Morrice MP
  30. ^ "UK General Election results June 1983". Politicsresources.net. 9 June 1983. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  31. ^ "Obituary: Robin Cook". BBC News. 6 August 2005. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  32. ^ "Date is set for Cook by-election". BBC News. 2 September 2005. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  33. ^ "Labour holds Cook's Commons seat". BBC News. 30 September 2005. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  34. ^ Wednesday 17 June 2009 (17 June 2009). "Scottish MP 'devastated' by deselection over expenses". Heraldscotland.com. Retrieved 25 December 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  35. ^ "UK Parliament Graeme Morrice". Parliament.uk. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  36. ^ "BBC Election 2010: Livingston". BBC News. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  37. ^ Livingston UKPolling
  38. ^ "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Livingston". BBC News.
  39. ^ Alyn Smith MEP
  40. ^ Struan Stevenson MEP
  41. ^ David Martin MEP
  42. ^ "Bangour General Hospital". Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2008.
  43. ^ "St John's Hospital Livingston" (PDF). Retrieved 1 April 2008.
  44. ^ "WLYAP". WLYAP. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  45. ^ "Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh".
  46. ^ "UK Mosque searcher Livingston". Mosques.muslimsinbritain.org. Retrieved 25 December 2011.

Primary sources

  • Wills, E (1996) Livingston: the Making of a Scottish New Town
  • Cowling, D (1997) An Essay for Today: the Scottish New Towns 1947-1997

http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/media/downloaddoc/1799479/Applying_for_a_House/Housingapplication2011