Bathgate

Traditional Town Centre Shopping

Bathgate offers a traditional town centre shopping experience with a wide range locally owned, family run businesses. The extensive selection of first class local services ranges from hairdressers and beauty therapists to travel agents and opticians. There is also an excellent choice for eating out, from cafes and pub lunches to evening dining.

The Council, local businesses and individuals have worked together on the Bathgate in Bloom initiative to make the town centre a much more attractive place to visit. The recently completed environmental improvements have created a safe and pleasant environment for pedestrians and road users to enjoy the town centre in Bathgate.

When in Bathgate, don't forget to check out the thrice-weekly market. Drawing visitors from far and wide to the town every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday it offers an Aladdin's cave of local goods and produce at bargain prices.

Bathgate Action Plan

The Bathgate Town Centre Management Group chaired by Cllr John McGinty has recently issued an Action Plan for Bathgate. After much social and industrial change in its recent history, Bathgate is now entering a period of growth and renewal which will see population in the town expand significantly and provide new opportunities for the development of business and leisure activity.

The Bathgate Action Plan sets the context for future development in the town and provides a backdrop to the key strategic areas of economic growth, business and retail opportunities, transport, social and leisure facilities, housing and community. The recently established Bathgate Traders Forum is committed to working in partnership with the Council to create a bright future for Bathgate. Bathgate is a pilot for the Business Improvement District (BID) scheme. Local businesses can vote to invest collectively in local improvements in addition to those delivered by statutory authorities.

The aim is to develop Bathgate town centre as a place where businesses work together, and in partnership with the public sector, to deliver service improvements. To find out more about Bathgate's BID project click here. Download a copy of the Bathgate Action Plan below.

Demographics and Housing

Situated on the lower slopes of the Bathgate and Torphichen Hills Bathgate is the second largest settlement in West Lothian with a population of 16,000. The current size of Bathgate with around 6,500 properties is likely to increase rapidly over the next 10 years as the Wester Inch development at the former Leyland site will add around 2,000 houses and flats, while other developments will provide around 1,000 properties.

This will be an increase in size for Bathgate of around 50%. In terms of socio-economic indicators Bathgate remains in many respects typical of wider West Lothian. The age of the population in Bathgate is slightly older than the West Lothian average as is the case with many of the towns towards the west. Bathgate's economic activity rate of 72% is only slightly less than the West Lothian average of 75%. New housebuilding and right to buy legislation have meant that the level of Owner Occupiers in Bathgate is around 56% only slightly below the West Lothian average of 62%.

The unemployment figures in Bathgate have fallen by 50% in the last 10 years to around 2.7% again just above the West Lothian average of 2.3%.

History of Bathgate

Bathgate was little more than a hamlet until the 18th century, although James VI permitted seven fairs to be held annually in 1596. Between the 16th and 18th centuries the main occupations were farming and weaving with some coal and lime quarrying. Bathgate's growth from a village of less than 300 residents in 1841 is mainly attributable to its location at the eastern edge of the Lanarkshire Coalfield with reserves of coal, fireclay, ironstone and shale combined with a central location equidistant from the major ports of Glasgow, Leith and Grangemouth as well as more locally Bo'ness.

The Bathgate Chemical Works were established in 1852 following Dr James Young's discovery of cannel coals in the Boghead area, southwest of Bathgate. The industrial stock was further developed by Bathgate Foundry founded in 1863 and George Wolfe’s shovel and spade factory, established in 1877 which later became the Bathgate Forge Ltd and the principal source of mild steel sheets in Scotland. Other industrial works included two grain mills and a brewery. It was in the middle of the 19th century that Bathgate town began to expand outwards from the narrow streets and crowded conditions of the old village, centred on Main Street and the High Street.

Housing conditions were very poor with little or no sanitation. Names like Shuttle Row and Livery Street reflect the occupations of the time. Rows of miners cottages housed the workers employed at the pits around the town.

Bathgate's industrial base was sufficiently diverse to enable the town to resist the most acute effects of the inter-war recession and restructuring - unlike most other parts of the county. In the post WWII period the coal industry flourished for a time. Women’s work opportunities were considerably enhanced at several knitwear and hosiery factories and with the location of the Telegraph Condenser Company (T.C.C.) in Bathgate.

Not only were 70% of the 1,400 employees female but the opening in 1947 was the first time a major industry was not dependent on natural resources. By 1958 the writing was on the wall for mining. However the development of the British Motor Company, opened in 1964, was heralded as the beginning of a new industrial era and renewed prosperity. Sadly this proved to be a short-term phenomena.

The town, along with West Lothian generally, went through a traumatic period of economic adjustment during the 1980s. Other towns and villages in the greater Bathgate area arguably felt the restructuring more severely. Nevertheless, Bathgate's name was the one most closely associated with the crisis and as such was immortalised with other Scottish unemployment black-spots in the Proclaimer's song 'Letter from America.'

Recent Developments

The economic recovery, effected in the 90s has benefited Bathgate in a real and concrete way. Many of the physical improvements were designed to underpin the recovery - the reopening of the Bathgate train line to passenger traffic, and the construction of junction 3a on the M8 are examples. The town centre was transformed through the pedestrianisation of George Street and the Steelyard. In turn the improved access and image of the town assisted in attracting new private house builders and residents.

The location of Motorola’s mobile phone production at Easter Inch was an endorsement of the value of Bathgate’s strategic location. While the downturn in the electronic sector that led to the closure of Motorola and NEC might have been expected to affect the prospects of Bathgate in fact the area has responded well. The redevelopment of the Motorola plant as Pyramids Business park has been a great success. The Inland Revenue have become a major employer with the location of their Working Families Tax Credit department there.

Recently Morrisons have become the latest company to move to Bathgate having decided to locate their logistics operations at the Pyramids Business Park. The successful developement of J4M8 Logistics Park has also been based on Bathgate's strategic location. Future projects like the Airdrie to Bathgate rail line, the rehabilitation of the Riddochhill area as an extension of J4M8 and the rebirth of the former Leyland Truck Plant at Standhill as an urban village will enhance Bathgate's economic prospects even further.