A West Lothian Council official confirmed on Friday 13th October 2017 the following in relation to Montreal Property’s proposal to redevelop the Victoria Hall site for flats and retail units:
• The council has not received confirmation of the registration of the Section 75 legal agreement and therefore the planning and conservation area consent (CAC) decision notices have not been issued.
• The draft conditions for the CAC covering the demolition of the building include a requirement that the building can only be removed once contracts have been let for the redevelopment, to prevent it becoming a gap site. This condition will be included on the final decision notice for the CAC when it is issued.
• A Staged Building Warrant has been applied for to erect a mixed use development with 2 commercial units on the ground floor and 16 flats above. Stage 1 is for the demolition of existing theatre. This application, which only covers the demolition aspect, was granted on 16 August. No further stages have been applied for yet.
So what does this mean?
• Montreal Property Ltd cannot start to demolish the existing Victoria Hall building until a contractor is in place (contracts signed) to construct their proposed flats and shops. This is to prevent the creation of a gap site in the High Street.
• They have only applied for and been granted the demolition Building Warrant and have not applied for the construction Building Warrant.
• Effectively nothing will be happening anytime soon.
Community Empowerment
Linlithgow Victoria Hall Trust continue to gather signatures in support of their application to the Scottish Government to register an interest in the site and this is rapidly approaching the required 1000 statements of support (currently 878)!
You can add your support below:
**Personal and contact details submitted shall be used to demonstrate community and wider support for the Linlithgow Victoria Hall redevelopment proposal and for no other purpose.**