The application for Planning Permission in Principle was validated by West Lothian Council at the end of February 2025.

Gavieside Village provides a huge opportunity for West Lothian. It marries people, place and environment in line with local and national policy around local living, active travel and ecology. It is a new, distinctive neighbourhood of 2800 homes, rooted in its history and landscape, offering low impact living and sustainable enterprise opportunities for residents and visitors alike. Persimmon and the team have taken a joined up, blue-green infrastructure approach to development to create a new neighbourhood of rural character with links to ecology that is rooted in place.

Persimmon approached Collective Architecture to ensure the development would be at the forefront of best practice and NPF ambitions. Particularly ensuring drainage and landscape were integrated to deliver place-making opportunities whilst maintaining commercial viability and deliverability over time. The project builds on Collective’s NPF4-leading strategic work at Ladyfield, Dumfries and Edinburgh’s Granton Waterfront (with LUC) which holistically integrate communities, landscapes and development.

Situated in West Lothian, the site sits within Scotland’s central belt and is accessible by the national rail and road network. It is part of the West Livingston Core Development Area (CDA), allocated within West Lothian’s Local Development Plan. The site is home to agricultural fields, remnants of its past mining industry and is bounded by natural watercourses including the River Almond, West Calder Burn and Harwood Water. It has strong links and connections to Livingstone and West Calder which include the fabulous Shale Trail.

The site is also home to a range of physical considerations, which include the former mine-workings and contaminated land. There is also an existing pipeline within the site with a defined ‘no-build’ zone and wider ‘low risk’ area that limits the type of development that can be provided there.

The approach for Gavieside Village is formed around a characterful village centre, green-blue routes and associated parks and open space. It integrates new homes with their surroundings, landscape and key active travel corridors.

The new development is anchored by a series of key elements as follows:

• A new characterful Village Centre
• A resilient landscape framework that embeds blue-green infrastructure and fosters a mature landscape over time
• 2800 new homes and intergenerational living with landscapes linked to active travel and open space
• Local uses which include a new primary school with community enterprise opportunities in and around the village embedding flexibility and fostering community
• A series of clearly defined character areas, which respond to their landscape and surrounding context.

The broader spatial framework fosters the following:

• Moving Around Sustainably: Primary vehicular routes are arranged to avoid cars and major junctions within the Village Centre and Gavieside Green with ready access to wider green networks.
• Celebrating the Water Journey: Water elements are integrated at a variety of scales and in differing ways that includes pools, reedbeds, rain gardens and planting.
• Integrating People, Landscape & Ecology: The proposals aim to provide a net gain in biodiversity, through an increased variety of habitats, including the introduction of woodland, orchard and extended wetland habitats which are currently limited within the site boundary.
• Supporting Village Activities & Uses: The proposed mixed-use development will comprise of housing, a neighbourhood centre, a site for a primary school, employment uses and open space with associated transportation, drainage and landscape infrastructure.
• Creating Defined, Safe, Active Streets: To reflect the differing character of streets and open spaces, a hierarchy of frontages will ensure distinct approaches are taken to each across the neighbourhood.
• Living in a Low Carbon Neighbourhood: Sustainability and low-carbon living have been integrated into the strategic framework for Gavieside Village, with social and environmental considerations ensuring that a holistic approach to achieving net zero targets is taken.
• Phasing: The development will be phased to consider how the development might evolve over time with consideration towards housing delivery, uses/amenity and infrastructure, drainage, roads and active travel networks.

Neil Martin of Persimmon Scotland East said: “This project has already been through several evolutions but to date the opportunity remains untaken. Persimmon Homes’ approach therefore was to ensure that a positive, deliverable development proposal was prepared for this site that absorbs all the past lessons and the challenges posed by a changing policy context. The outcome is a fantastic vision for a new village on the west side of Livingston that will become a core part of Persimmon Homes continued and long-term commitment to West Lothian.”

Jude Barber, director and architect at Collective Architecture, said: “Collective Architecture is delighted to have collaborated with Persimmon Scotland East and the design team to shape the future Gavieside Village. The vision and ambition for the site connects people, ecology and place to create holistic and biodiverse community living in West Lothian. The village centre sits at the heart of this with green corridors and opportunities for rural activities and enterprise evolving over time.”

Tina Muldowney, director of landscape architecture at LUC, said: “LUC is delighted to work closely and collaboratively with the design team on the exciting Gavieside Masterplan- creating a new sustainable settlement on the outskirts of East Calder and Livingston. Green infrastructure and place led, the Gavieside Masterplan has been developed in close collaboration between the architecture, landscape architecture and engineering teams to deliver a future place of lasting value.

“Woven through the masterplan is a green and blue network to support biodiversity, climate resilience, active travel and active lifestyles. A place for people to live, work, play and connect with nature - closely anchored in the rural agricultural landscape.”