Thursday March 19th 2026
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West Lothian Council headquarters
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
The plug will not be pulled on Armadale swimming pool during the eight-week consultation on its future, West Lothian council confirmed this week.
Labour’s Susan Manion, a local councillor for Armadale, asked the Chief Executive to defer the drain-down until after the consultation.
The move came after a heated meeting in Armadale on Thursday evening where more than 100 people demanded the pool should be saved.
And despite unanimous agreement to drain the pool at the Executive on 3 March, the council faces complex and time-consumin rules for emptying public swimming pools.
As the Holyrood election campaign gears up the swimming pool – shuttered and out of use for two and half years- has become a live issue and a political football.
Before the council can shut the pool it needs to obtain detailed consents from agencies such as the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). Officers will need to provide detailed plans on chemical neutralisation, high-capacity pumping, and adhere to strict regulations on water disposal.
Following Thursday night’s meeting both Labourt and SNP drew up motions to present to the full meeting of West Lothian Council on Tuesday morning.
Councillor Manion did not table her motion fearing that it would not be accepted under Standing Orders because the decision to press ahead with the community consultation and the drain down of the pool had been taken unanimously on 3 March.
The SNP did try to table its motion, but not at the start of the meeting. Opposition group leader Councillor Janet Campbell accused the Provost, Labour’s Cathy Muldoon of blocking the motion.
Cllr Campbell told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “I’m very disappointed that the Provost used procedure to disallow this motion.”
The council issued a pointed rebuttal, telling the LDRS: “The Provost, as chair of the meeting, did not have any authority to allow an urgent item… after the meeting had progressed.”
Armadale Community Council found itself at the heart of the political row last week when more than 100 people turned up, forcing the meeting into a larger space in the town’s partnership building.
In a letter to the community council issued on Tuesday afternoon Councillor Manion said: “As asked at the Community Council meeting last week, I drafted an emergency motion to full Council asking that the decision to drain the Armadale swimming pool previously taken at the Council Executive is reversed.
“I have just been advised by the Governance Manager for the Council that it is unlikely that my motion will be considered ‘urgent’ so it will not be heard at full Council. If that’s the case the motion will not be considered until the next meeting of the Council in two months’ time. It also means the decision stands. That would just delay everything. I know that’s not what the meeting would want.”
“As a result of this advice I… asked the Chief Executive of the Council to defer that decision and not drain the pool until at least well after the consultation period, which will be extended if required to ensure all options are fully considered.”
She added: “So, to clarify, the pool will not be drained. I ask that individuals and communities are encouraged to participate in the consultation and I hope we see options come forward to ensure we see viable plans for the swimming pool to be retained or any other community based options to be considered.”
There was confusion during the Tuesday morning meeting when the SNP group tried to raise its own motion.
It was ruled that the party’s motion could not be introduced. Cllr Lynda Kenna’s motion had stated: “Council… notes the strength of community opinions … and agrees the suspension of the swimming pool drainage and instructs officers to consult with the community….”
Councillor Kenna shouted her objections to the ruling.
After the meeting Councillor Campbell told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I’m very disappointed that the Provost used procedure to disallow this.
“A packed Community Council meeting last week saw approximately 150 people attend. We heard claims that the decision to begin an eight week consultation has not been well advertised.”
Responding to Councillor Campbell, a West Lothian Council spokesperson said: “It is not correct to say that the Provost prevented an urgent item being considered while chairing the meeting of West Lothian Council on 17 March 2026.
“Standing Order 7 of the council’s Standing Orders for the Regulation of Meetings state that urgent items must be raised at the start of the meeting, when the order of business is decided. Councillors who have urgent items for consideration must make sure they are raised under that item of business.
“No urgent items of business were made known. If an urgent item is not appropriately raised, then Standing Orders make it clear that it is not then permitted to be considered once the meeting is under way.
“The Provost, as chair of the meeting, did not have any authority to allow an urgent item to be added to the order of business after the meeting had progressed beyond that agenda item.”
A petition of 2,000 signatures to save the pool has been collected since the start of March.
The difficulty will lie in translating that apparent support into a workable plan – along with volunteers – to take on the running of the facility.
The initial decision to launch an eight- week consultation, and drain the pool, was taken at the Council’s Executive meeting on 3 March.
The decision was unanimous. At that meeting the SNP offered an amendment which read: “[The council] Agrees to drain down the pool and place the property on a minimum maintenance regime for 6 months.”
The SNP pushed for the six-month delay to allow community groups to formulate a plan to take on the running of the pool.
Attempts have already been made to secure a future for the pool. The Executive meeting heard from David Baird, the Property Services Manager said that lengthy negotiations with Armadale Thistle Football Club after the August 2023 closure to take over the pool had faltered.
In his report to the 3 March meeting Mr Baird said: “Despite the best efforts of all parties and due largely to a lack of volunteers and community support, after period of more than twelve months ATFC have unfortunately been unable to make any tangible progress on their initial proposals and, given the ongoing holding costs being incurred by the council alongside growing questions around the building’s future use, officers have advised ATFC that an alternative proposal for the former swimming pool must now be taken forward.”
Mr Baird responded to SNP questions at the Executive, promising a “robust” public consultation.
Council officers followed this up by telling the LDRS: “The site is classed as Common Good property, which means it is owned by the council, with statutory processes that the council must follow if it wishes to change the use of the property or dispose of it.
“An eight-week community consultation on the proposals for the property will launch soon, with the results reported back to Council Executive in June 2026.”
Councillor Manion told the LDRS: “We hope the community consultation will act as a catalyst, and help see a currently unused property back into positive use for the Armadale community.
“The recent decision to grant a community asset transfer lease to turn the former Bathgate West nursery into a hub for music in the town shows what can be achieved if different local groups work together towards a shared community goal.”
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