Tag: West Lothian

Opportunity to comment on proposals for £10m. countryside leisure park

The public are to be given the chance to view and comment on exciting proposals for a new £10 million countryside leisure park at the former Couston Quarry site in West Lothian. 

Being undertaken by SRD Rural Ltd, Couston Country and Water Park includes plans for water-based activities, adventure playgrounds, restaurant and café facilities, and an outdoor event space for historical enactments and nature displays.   

Luxury short stay eco-lodges and houseboats, in addition to those already on site, are also part of the plans to revitalise the location. 

The public consultation event will be held in the Bridgehouse Village Hall on Tuesday 24 October between 4.00pm and 7:30pm  

Couston Country and Water Park will create an attractive and compelling destination within the Central Belt for locals and visitors from across the country.  

With an absence of similar attractions in the area, the development will also bring a significant boost to tourism in West Lothian, and it is anticipated that the £10 million investment will create around 65 jobs onsite (based on a conservative estimate), with an additional number created offsite. 

SRD Ltd is committed to being a responsible developer and to engaging with the local community at every stage of the development.  

Those with questions, comments, or feedback on the proposals are warmly invited to attend the consultation event, which will be attended by representatives from the project who will be happy to provide answers. There will also be the opportunity to leave feedback.  

All material from the event, including the consultation boards, will be available at www.coustonpark.co.uk 

A spokesperson for SRD Rural said: “We are very excited to bring forward our exciting proposals for Couston Country and Water Park, which amounts to a £10 million investment in West Lothian, creating around 65 onsite jobs and with a countless number created offsite. 

“Couston Country and Water Park will be a highly attractive destination for families and others looking to enjoy the great outdoors and enjoy Scotland’s history in an exciting and creative way.  

“Even though our proposals are at a very early stage, early and sustained engagement and consultation is very important to us at SRD Rural, and public consultation events such as this are a key part of this commitment.”  

Illegal tobacco factory smashed

One of Scotland’s biggest ever illegal tobacco factories has been dismantled after a raid in West Lothian. 

The state-of-the-art factory, capable of evading millions of pounds of duty per year, was uncovered in an operation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Police Scotland. 

The sophisticated set up included expensive machinery and insulation to hide noise and smells. 

Four tonnes of tobacco was recovered, worth an estimated £1 million in unpaid duty. Suspected counterfeit tobacco pouches were also found and seized. 

Joe Hendry, Assistant Director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: “This was one of the largest and most sophisticated tobacco factories we have ever uncovered in Scotland.

“We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to target anyone we suspect as being involved in the illicit tobacco trade. 

“The illicit tobacco trade steals money from our vital public services, undercuts legitimate businesses and can fund other crimes that harm our communities.

“We encourage anyone with information about the illegal sale of tobacco or alcohol to report it to HMRC online.”  

Detective Sergeant John Irvine, Police Scotland, said: “We will continue to work closely with our partners to disrupt, detect and deter anyone involved in the illicit trade of illegal or counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco.

“We know that due to perceived higher profit margins, criminals can turn to the illicit trade in tobacco, which in turn can lead to other forms of criminality.   

“If you have any information or concerns about illegal or counterfeit cigarettes or tobacco within the local community, please get in touch with HMRC or Police Scotland. Alternatively calls can be made to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where anonymity can be maintained.”

Five people have been arrested and charged. Investigations are ongoing.

Scottish Ambulance Service: Extra staff and resources for West Lothian

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) is boosting its ambulance provision in West Lothian as part of its Demand and Capacity Programme.

The Demand and Capacity Programme is aimed at ensuring SAS is working as efficiently as possible and has resources in place to meet both current and projected future demand.

As part of the review, across Scotland an additional 540 frontline A&E staff have been recruited this financial year – the highest number of staff ever to have joined the Service in a single year.

The programme has been supported by £20m investment from the Scottish Government so far.

In West Lothian, Bo’Ness will receive an extra resource and the station will also gain an extra five staff this year.

Bathgate will increase its resources, moving from one vehicle to two 24/7 vehicles.

In total, across the East Region, there is an overall increase of 1940 Double Crew Ambulance hours.

Clair Wright, Area Service Manager for West Lothian, said: “This is welcome news for the West Lothian region and surrounding areas. We are committed to increasing our ambulance provision in and the past 12 months have been the busiest in terms of recruitment for the Scottish Ambulance Service.

“With the increased demand for our services, it’s vital we introduce extra resources and staffing. This will ensure we continue to deliver the very best patient care by boosting capacity and increasing our resilience in communities across Scotland.”

This increase in staffing and resources, coupled with alignment of shift patterns to patient demand profiles, aims to improve patient safety and staff welfare.

This year, additional ambulances have gone live in Edinburgh and Lothian, Greater Glasgow, Tayside, Grampian and Clyde.

SAS has also established seven new satellite stations, of which six are co-located with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Breakdown of national staffing

The new staff include 414 Technicians, 25 Paramedics, 58 Newly Qualified Paramedics, 23 Advanced Practitioners and 20 Ambulance Care Assistants. 192 staff have been recruited into the East, 111 for the North and 237 for the West.

NHS Lothian launches drop-in COVID vaccines for people aged 40 and over

Vaccine drop-in centres for the over 40s will be launched across NHS Lothian as part of the battle against COVID-19.

Clinics will be rolled-out in mass vaccination sites, from today (Wednesday 9 June), for people aged 40 and over, who require a first or second dose of the Astra Zeneca vaccine.

Anyone over the age of 40, who have not yet had their first dose – for whatever reason – can attend the clinic without an appointment, while those who are waiting for their second dose can turn up as long as they received their first injection of the Astra Zenaca vaccine at least eight weeks before.

The clinics will run at Lowland Hall (Ingliston) and West Lothian’s Pyramids Vaccination centres from tomorrow (Wednesday) through to Sunday 13 June. Starting from June 14, they will run at every centre except Lowland Hall.

People will be seen on a first come first served basis, and the centres will run for 10 hours every day.

NHS Lothian has joined up with the British Armed Forces as part of this key stage to accelerate the programme and provide increased protection for more people as quickly as possible.

A total of 36 Army personnel have been deployed into Lothian to help deliver vaccines across all of the centres.

That extra capacity – which equates to more than 3,500, appointments each day – will allow the vaccination team to target people who have not yet had the vaccine and may also speed up the process for those waiting for a second injection.

Pat Wynne, Nurse Director of Primary and Community Care, NHS Lothian, said the clinics, which will run for two weeks, were an important step. He said: “This is a really exciting step for us because it means we can reach a lot of people really quickly to help give them some protection, which is obviously vital to help beat new variants and keep people well.

“We are delighted to team up with the British Armed Forces again. Our teams have previously worked with them in two of our vaccination centres and we invited them to return to provide extra capacity across our centres as part of this race. They will join our teams at the routine appointment clinics and in the drop-in clinics.”

Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “This is an excellent idea and people in Edinburgh and the Lothian’s, who are aged 40 and over waiting on their first or second dose, will welcome this move.

“NHS Lothian have used their initiative to launch vaccine drop in centres and they will be an important part of the strategy to speed up the vaccination process.”