Work under way at new civic building

WORK has started on a brand new civic building for Bathgate that will bring council and community services together under one roof.

The new building will include a community hall, library, accommodation for the Advice Shop and Council Information Services (CIS) centre, a community cafe, office accommodation, and meeting spaces for community groups, as well as a landscaped garden complete with an orchard.

A special ceremony took place to mark construction on the facility, which will replace the former Lindsay House building on South Bridge Street.

Jim Walker, executive councillor for culture and leisure, cut the first turf and said: "I'm delighted that work has started on this new centre, which will meet the growing needs of the community in Bathgate and West Lothian. The new building will be modern, attractive, spacious, practical and flexible, and the spaces will be used to their maximum potential."

The new centre will be built by Ogilvie Construction.