West Lothian Council delivers

Building Standards - licences

 

Building Standards are involved in the licensing of the following:

• Temporary Raised Structures 
• Sports Ground Safety
• Licensing (general, liquor and public entertainment)

Temporary raised structures

If you are organising an event which will include the formation of a temporary raised structure, then you will require the consent of the local authority Building Standards team. This applies to any platform, staging, stand or similar structure to be used for seating or standing accommodation.

The majority of these structures are required where public entertainment is provided and all such applications are processed through the council's Licensing Section.

Building Standards offer technical expertise in determining the suitability of the proposed structure and the premises to ensure there is no risk to the safety of the public.

Information on this legislation can be found in Section 89 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 and the application forms for the erection, structural stability and completion of the structures for use, can be found alongside our other forms (opens in new window).

Sports ground safety

Disastrous events at sports grounds such as Hillsborough in Sheffield, Valley Parade in Bradford and Ibrox in Glasgow led to the introduction of legislation to control the safety of sports grounds.

The Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 brought about the designation of stadia with a capacity of 10,000 or more. Within West Lothian, this applies to Braidwood Motor Company Stadium, home of Livingston FC. All designated stadia require to have a valid safety certificate to hold public events.

Later legislation made it necessary for Safety Certificates to be obtained for stands at sports grounds with accommodation for more than 500 spectators.

It is Building Standards who apply this legislation and are responsible for the issue of the annual and special safety certificates. In so doing, we liaise very closely with the club involved and also with other Agencies through our membership of the Sports Ground Safety Committee.

The committee comprises representatives from the West Lothian Council Building Standards, Lothian & Borders Police, Lothian & Borders Fire & Rescue Service and the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Safety is an issue that is taken very seriously by all concerned and is far from being a paper exercise, the safety certificate conditions are monitored by the Safety Committee.

 
Licensing (general, liquor and public entertainment)

Licenses of these types are issued by West Lothian Councils' Licensing section and the West Lothian Licensing Board.

Building Standards offer technical expertise to these parties in determining the suitability of the premises to ensure that there is no risk to the safety of the public.

For further information on these issues please contact the Licensing section direct.

 

Updated 11/03/13