Wednesday February 25th 2026
Linthigow's Burgh Halls
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
No “stone has been left unturned” in a bid to make Linlithgow’s Burgh Halls profitable.
That was the declaration from an education officer delivered to local councillor Pauline Orr during this week’s budget debate in Livingston’s Civic Centre chambers.
Councillors heard earlier this month that a revised set of charges had been drawn up to help “sell” the historic building in the heart of the town as a wedding and events venue.
Councillor Orr, for the SNP, asked: “Is the council now content that all reasonable action has been taken to increase income at the Burgh Halls or is there still some work to be done to make best use of the facilities in order to maximise income potential.”
Siobhan McGarty a senior education officer, in whose department the remit for the venue lies, told the meeting: “There has been a considerable amount of work that has been done to try to maximise income so, for example, the staff have looked at overtime expenditure, they have revised the cafe menu, they have looked at looked a revised packages on offer so there is a profit from what takes place.
“There’s a whole list of things that have been done They have not left any stone unturned to maximise profit.”
At an earlier meeting the new charges were revealed which will take the costs of hiring the Burgh Halls as a full wedding venue to £4,500.
Other price rises could include: £40 for a two hour let of the Garden Room rising to £60 at the weekend, with a commercial let costing from £110 to £130.
Proposed charges for one hall for a wedding venue could rise to £750 while the weekend hire of two halls for family celebration or weddings could rise to £1,000 and £2,000 respectively. The latter with minimum bar spend rules attached.
In the last two years losses- or rather projected incomes of around £100,000 have failed to materialise and this has prompted questions from all local councillors about the Burgh Halls is managed by the Education service
Greg Welsh, the head of the Education service said the price rises would be “an income generator” for the council.
He added: “Benchmarking that’s been undertaken has been looking at wedding packages delivered in the private commercial industry and they have been aligned to ensure that we get full cost recovery.
“Also noted on proposals there is a minimum bar spend to ensure that full cost recovery is received and then becoming an income generator beyond that.”
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