Property Management and Development

Property Management & Development's primary involvement with external customers is through the management of West Lothian Council's commercial property portfolio.

We are also responsible for the sale of surplus properties and support the development of the West Lothian economy by engaging in business property development.  A full description of what we do is available but key activities are featured below.

Commercial property for lease 

We manage and let over 500 office, industrial and retail properties throughout West Lothian. These include:

• Almost 300 units from 28 sq.m (c 300 sq ft) to 180 sq.m (c 2000 sq ft) suitable for a variety of light industrial and office uses. We also have about 30 larger units, up to 2300 sq.m (25,000 sq.ft)
• Office accommodation in Livingston town centre, and 
• Over 100 shops in both prime locations and local shopping parades throughout the county.  

Prospective tenants who want to know how to lease a Commercial Property from the Council can find out how in our Guide to Leasing a Property. Our small industrial units are available on monthly "easy in, easy out" leases.  You can see a summary of our Standard Terms and Conditions and our full monthly Tenancy Agreement here.

Our shops, offices and larger industrial properties are also available on a standard lease agreement, where the lease is for a period of up to three years.  All our leases are supplemented by a Tenant Handbook, which gives more information on your rights and responsibilites as a tenant. Existing tenants can also find additional information about the insurance of their property and the current insurance certificate. 

We manage the council's roundabout sponsorship scheme.  Please download our information leaflet, application form and standard licence agreement.

Sale of council property

• Development sites and surplus properties - These properties are usually advertised for sale on the open market, with a closing date for the submission of formal offers.  Please note that we do not generally have individual house plots for sale.
• Garden Ground  - We respond to requests from local residents for the purchase of amenity land for the extension of their private garden ground.  If you want to find out more details please download our information leaflet and application form.
• Industrial and business development sites - The Council has a small stock of land for development for industrial or office use, falling under planning Use Classes 4, 5 and 6. We are also a partner in the development of new business parks at Heartlands, Whitburn, and at Lothian Gateway, Bathgate. 

Link 1 - A full list of the properties we currently have available, on the NovaLoca Data base, and details of who to contact, can be found here.

Prospective tenants should complete our Application Form to Lease Commercial or Industrial Property.

If you can't find Council property that suits your needs please use the broader property search facility to see what else is available in West Lothian.  

We can tell you if the council owns a particular property

Property Management and Development (PM&D) maintains computerised records of all properties owned by West Lothian Council.  All enquiries about property or ground ownership and requests for information on boundary issues should be directed to Brian Chrystal on 01506 281821 or email - brian.chrystal@westlothian.gov.uk  Only information on council ownership is available. This service is free of charge.

Enquiries regarding the management and maintenance of grass, landscaping and open space should be directed to NETS and Land Services through the Customer Service Centre on 01506 775000.

If you need information on privately owned properties we suggest that you contact Registers of Scotland.

In a limited number of circumstances PM&D may charge for the provision of services - please download our scale of fees and charges.

How to Contact Us

Address - Property Management & Development, Civic Centre, Howden South Road, Livingston, EH54 6FF
Telephone - 01506 281836
Email - propertymanagement@westlothian.gov.uk

Directions to Civic Centre can be found here.

 Managers
Jack Orr, Estates Manager, 01506 281829, jack.orr@westlothian.gov.uk 
Paul Furbank, Economic Property Development Manager, 01506 281824, paul.furbank@westlothian.gov.uk

Individual contact details for our staff members, and information on their areas of responsibility can be found here.

SERVICE DELIVERY

Management Planning

Full information on Property Management & Development's activities, previous performance, current year targets and how we intend to develop and improve our service can be found in out Team Management Plan 2012-2013. Previous years Service Plans are also available.

Service Standards

Property Management & Development has consulted with our partners, stakeholders, staff and customers to develop appropriate Service Standards.

We are committed to providing fair and equal access to services which focus on our customers needs; are honest open and accountable; and are reliable, courteous and effective.  We aim to provide a quality service that is continually improving.

Performance

Property Management & Development measures its performance against annual targets for all our principal activities, and against our Service Standards.  Our performance is published annually in our Team Management Plan.

In common with other council services, we also produce Public Performance reporting indicators which are published through the council's main website.

Customer Consultation

Property Management and Development works with its customers, partners, stakeholders and other services of the council to deliver its services in the best way possible.  As an integral part of this process we regularly consult with our customers to ensure that we meet their expectations and needs.  Customer feedback is welcomed and we will review our services as a result of your comments.

Full information on our consultation programme, the detailed results of our performance against our Service Standards, and the actions we intend to take as a result of feedback are available for both 2011/2012, and for previous years.

Customers are invited to complete our annual customer survey at any time.  We are also happy to receive your suggestions on how we can improve our service, including the information contained on our web pages, please contact us.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the service or we have not done something we said we would, please let us know.  Problems can arise without our knowledge so we welcome the opportunity to put matters rights.  We also like to hear when a service is delivered well.  In both cases, we value your opinion!

In the first instance we would ask you to follow PM&D's own complaints procedure.  Most problems can be dealt with quickly by people closest to the situation.

If you are unhappy with PM&D's response then you can escalate your complaint through the council's formal procedures by downloading a "Points of View" leaflet.

                                                                                                                                                                                              Updated  27/02/2013 (PMD)