An abandoned West Lothian abattoir has been demolished and will be replaced with a massive new village with over 150 homes.
West Lothian Council approved the planning application from the developers Kalvec Ltd on Thursday January 27.
The site at Whitburn Road will have 160 new homes when the works are completed.
It is expected that it will take three years to complete, with around 50 houses being built each year.
READ MORE: Edinburgh set for huge travel network including new tram lines and bus routes
The mix of new houses will likely include one and two bed cottage flats and three and four bed family homes. These will likely be a mix of terraced, semi-detached, detached properties and apartments.
The site is located in Whiteside, just to the south-west of Bathgate and is approximately 2.6 miles south-east of Armadale.
It is clear from the historical maps that the trees, railway and the road have existed for some time and date back to at least 1856.
The site was originally Birniehill Farm and later adapted to become the abattoir.
A public consultation was held to discuss the development at at St Columba’s Episcopal Church in Bathgate on June, 2019.
This event facilitated positive engagement with the local community and councillors.
The architects EMA prepared a design statement on the planning application for the developers and it explained that the new site will not increase traffic in the area, but will in fact increase connectivity.
It states: “The layout seeks to maximise the opportunities to connect to the surrounding road, footpath and cycle network. The site lies to the south of the adjacent railway footpath which links Bathgate to Armadale.
“New links will connect into this important network as much as possible. Footpaths will provide access from the new neighbourhood to the existing settlement and the existing schools in line with the requirements and principles of Safe Routes to School.
“Vehicular access to the site will be from the Whitburn Road in the south. There are currently two existing access points which are to be utilised to form the new entrances into the site. New residential streets and lanes within the site will be developed adopting the principles of Designing Streets.
“This will create a permeable and legible new neighbourhood which is well connected and easy to move around and navigate, with potential to improve the footpath on Whitburn Road.”
