Monday March 23rd 2026
Whitburn's refurbished elegant 1830 Burgh Halls and revitalised town clock. Work nears completion on the building's transformation into the Whitburn Partnership (copyright: Maxi Construction)
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
West Lothian Council has appealed for a volunteer to take the chair of a new £20m fund for projects to improve three communities.
The board of the Pride in Place fund will largely be made up of members of the public and chaired by someone independent of local government.
The board will guide the way £2m a year is spent in Whitburn, Blackburn and Fauldhouse for the next ten years.
The voluntary chair will provide leadership for the board, ensuring it is community-led and embedded within the local Pride in Place area. The board will be made up of local people, who must develop a Pride in Place plans together with the wider community on how how the money will be spent.
The chair must live or work within one of the three communities, and understand the opportunities and challenges they face.
The areas were selected for the UK Government’s Pride in Place Phase 2 funding, a £20 million 10-year programme which aims to empower local people to shape the future of their neighbourhoods.
While councillors have welcomed the money there are concerns about how the money will be spent and who will decide where. There are concerns about the level of local authority input and influence.The West Lothian communities are among 14 in Scotland which will benefit from a total of £280m in the next ten years.
A report to the council’s Economy, Community Empowerment and Wealth Building PDSP this month highlighted the first steps of the project.
The report said: “The Boards must:-
– Have a minimum of 8 members
– Must have an independent chair who is not an elected official,
– Must have the Local MP, MSP and at least one Local Councillor
– At least 51% of the board should live or work within the boundaries of the neighbourhood.
“As the West Lothian Pride in Place area is over two Parliamentary constituencies, two Scottish Parliament constituencies and two multi member ward areas, the West Lothian Pride Board will likely have two MPs, two MSPs and a minimum of two ward Councillors.”
It added: “Whilst the Pride in Place board will be responsible for determining how the funding is allocated there are a number of areas that Local Authorities have been identified as being responsible for.
“They are: to be the accountable body for Pride in Place Programme funding at the start of the programme, and play a critical role in enabling and supporting the Neighbourhood Board to develop plans for spending.
“The council will support the Board to embed community-led delivery into decision making and support the development of the Pride in Place Plan. West Lothian Council has already been given £150,000 to support initial building capacity and engage widely with the community.”
The report concluded: “The Pride in Place funding is intended to make changes within three areas of deprivation in West Lothian. The initial focus of the funding is the establishment of the local neighbourhood board and development of the Pride in Place plan which should capture community needs and aspirations. “
If you are interested in applying to lead the board, please visit www.westlothian.gov.uk/prideinplace for more details and how to apply. The closing date for applications is Sunday 29 March 2026.
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