Five West Lothian towns are bucking 'clone' trend

West Lothian's five traditional town centres are bucking the national trend with their high number of thriving independent shops, according to new research.

By The Newsroom

Published 24th Sep 2010, 16:17 BST

Updated 27th Sep 2010, 12:02 BST

A report from the New Economic Foundation on Clone Town Britain found 41 per cent of surveyed towns consisted mainly of national chains, making them indistinguishable.

Only 36 per cent of towns across the UK scored over 65, enabling them to be rated as "home towns". However, Whitburn, Linlithgow, Broxburn, Armadale and Bathgate scored between 70 and 80.

Martyn Day, Executive Councillor for Transport and Development, said: "I'm delighted that West Lothian's five traditional town centres are home towns, not clone towns."