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Former Armadale Swimming Pool - Common Good Community Consultation Survey
West Lothian Council is seeking the views of local residents over the future of the former Armadale Pool site.
The former Armadale Swimming Pool in North Street has been declared surplus to requirements by the council and we are now seeking to identify a solution for its future use.
The pool has been closed since September 2023, after West Lothian Leisure informed the council that they could no longer afford to operate it.
The building is "common good" property and this means that we have a legal duty to undertake a statutory community consultation to help us understand what the community thinks about that proposal.
The eight-week common good community consultation aims to consult with the local community on the proposed sale or lease of the North Street site, and the potential demolition of the building in the event of no viable interests being received.
The site is still available for community use or community asset transfer if any viable requests come forward at this time.
To share your views on the future of the property, please take the survey. The online version of the survey includes include a free text box for members of the public and the community to fully express their views.
This is an anonymous survey and no personal information will be shared or published, however participants are asked to note that all representations received during this consultation will be published.
Two public meeting have also been organised in the assembly hall of Armadale Academy on Tuesday 14 April and Wednesday 15 April from 7pm, with local community members invited to attend either of those two meetings to find out more about the council's proposals.
Please see our FAQ below for more details
The council wishes to bring the vacant site back into use for the benefit of the local community.
As it how now been empty for over two and half years, we are proposing to dispose of the building by openly advertising it for sale or lease.
That sale or lease could be to a commercial business, or it could be to a community organisation that is interested in taking control of the building via Community Asset Transfer (CAT).
The council is proposing to advertise the vacant building for sale or lease on the open market and to invite offers and submissions to a closing date.
All interests received at that closing date would be considered and reported to the Council Executive, who would then decide which of those interests should be accepted.
The council continues to incur significant holding costs for a building that has been empty and unused since September 2023.
It is not currently serving the community and it is now becoming the target of vandalism and break-ins. Given these circumstances, we consider it important to act now to determine the future of the building.
We want to identify and understand who out there is interested in taking on this building and for what purpose.
We think the best way of doing that is to "test the market" by openly advertising the property for sale or lease and then fully considering all the interests that we receive. This would include full consideration of any interests received both from commercial businesses and from community groups.
Everyone from Armadale or the wider West Lothian is welcome to take part in the consultation.
You can make your views known in the following ways:
Complete our short survey with questions that will help us understand how the community feels about our proposal to sell or lease this vacant property.
Collect a printed copy of the survey, which will be available from local council offices. If you or someone you know would prefer to complete and submit a paper copy of that survey, then copies are available at Armadale Partnership Centre, North Street, Armadale and council staff are available to assist anyone who requires help completing the survey.
Print off a .pdf copy of the survey from this webpage and return your completed version to:
Scott Hughes Interim Property Services Manager West Lothian Council West Lothian Civic Centre Howden South Road Livingston EH54 6FF
If you do not wish to complete the survey but wish your views to be considered, please email ArmadaleCommonGood@westlothian.gov.uk or write to Scott Hughes, Interim Property Services Manager, at the address above.
We will widely publicise survey to try and get the views of as many local residents as possible.
This will include:
Sharing details on this dedicated webpage;
Posting on the council's social media channels;
Placing a public notice on the Armadale Pool building;
Placing an advert in the West Lothian Courier.
Yes, two public meetings have been organised in the assembly hall of Armadale Academy, West Main Street, Armadale, EH48 3LX, on Tuesday 14 April and Wednesday 15 April from 7pm.
Members of the public are invited to attend either of those two meetings and to use that opportunity to comment on the council's proposals.
At these meetings, council officers will explain:
what common good is;
what the status of the property is;
what the council's proposal for the building are, and;
why those proposals are being put forward.
Armadale Pool has been closed for over two and a half years, after it was no longer financially viable for Excite to operate, as it was making a significant monthly financial loss.
West Lothian Leisure warned they faced the risk of insolvency, which could mean the closure of all Xcite facilities, if it was not allowed to close the pool.
Prior to the pool closing in August 2023, the council sought expressions of interest both from commercial and community groups who might be interested in operating the swimming pool.
Unfortunately, no viable requests were received at that time.
There are currently has no plans to re-open the building, and it is not required for service delivery.
We have received no approaches from any organisations with any viable plans for re-opening the pool.
The Armadale Pool site is classed as common good property, which means it is owned by the council.
In this case, the site was inherited by the council from one of our predecessor authorities, Armadale Town Council.
For common good properties, there is a statutory process that the council must follow if it wishes to change the use of the property or dispose of it.
Any net proceeds from the sale or lease of the property would go directly to the Armadale Common Good Fund, with community groups able to make bids into that fund through the Armadale and Blackridge Local Area Committee
West Lothian Council is aware of the legal requirements around common good properties, and will make sure our obligations are carried out in full.
Details of the Scottish Government guide for local authorities on how local authorities should carry out their duties around common good properties can be found on the Scottish Government website (opens new window)
We would welcome any community plans to bring this vacant site back into productive use.
The council previously engaged with Armadale Thistle Football Club over an extensive period on community-led proposals for the property, however the club have not been able to take those proposals forward.
No other definite proposals have been received to operate the site.
West Lothian Council recognises that the ownership of property assets (land and buildings) can contribute to the empowerment of communities.
Community Asset Transfer (CAT) involves the transfer of responsibility for an asset from the Council to a voluntary or community organisation.
Armadale Pool has been available for any interested local groups to lease or takeover via CAT since August 2023, with no requests received during this time.
A number of successful CATs have taken place in West Lothian in recent years, including:
Eastfield Development Centre to Fauldhouse and Breich Valley Development Trust;
Lowport Centre in Linlithgow to St John's Church;
Almondbank Library in Craigshill, Livingston, to SPARK.
A community benefit lease has also recently been agreed for the former Bathgate West Nursery building to Bathgate Band.
The band aim to create Bathgate Music Hub, a shared resource bringing together a wide range of music organisations in the town.
The lease will allow them to establish the hub, with an option to purchase the property under CAT at the end of that lease period.
West Lothian has a number of locations where public swimming is available.
West Lothian Council operate a public pool at Fauldhouse Partnership Centre. For more details, please visit Fauldhouse Swimming Pool.
West Lothian Leisure offer public swim sessions at seven locations across West Lothian.
We have not received any direct financial support to prevent the closure of pools, or to re-open them.
A UK Government scheme to provide £63million of ring-fenced for swimming pools and leisure centres in 2023/24 was only applicable in England.
While this would have led to an increase in Scottish Government funding of around £6million due to the Barnett formula, no direct funding was ever allocated for pools in Scotland.
It has been agreed that decision to drain the pool will not be implemented until after the consultation process has been completed.
In accordance with the decision made by elected members in 2023, the pool was not drained when it closed. This was aimed at minimising potential costs if anyone wished in future to re-open the pool.
Measures were taken to reduce operating costs, including stopping heating the pool and only utilising background heating for the building. While the operating and security costs of maintaining the pool building have been minimised, the council has been incurring these costs for over two and a half years and it is clearly not sustainable to meet these indefinitely.
Council Executive unanimously agreed to drain the pool in March 2026.
A full report with all the responses to the community consultation will be prepared after the statutory eight-week period.
This will be reported back to Council Executive in 23 June 2026, for a decision on the future of the property.
Because the building is common good, any net proceeds from the proposed disposal would, by law, be required to go to the Armadale Common Good Fund. Community groups are able to make bids into that Common Good Fund via the Armadale and Blackridge Local Area Committee.
If no viable bids are received, the building would be demolished and the site would be cleared. The council would then consider options for the future of that cleared site.
