Planning

Refurbishment of Burgh Halls, Linlithgow

Civic Trust Policy: Full statement of the trust's views as stated in letter to the Chief Executive, West Lothian Council, on 27 September 2004

Further to the recent presentation of revised proposals held in the County Buildings (and our previous letter of 4 September 2001 addressed to the Head of Strategic Planning & Transportation), I am writing on behalf of Linlithgow Civic Trust to convey its appreciation of the efforts of all involved in progressing the project to its current stage. The Trust is both delighted and excited that plans to develop and upgrade the Burgh Halls are now materialising.

In particular, the Trust supports, and would encourage, both the conservation of the old building and the bold proposals to link all the levels with a lift and a stair, to transform the halls complete with panelling, shutters, fireplaces, paintings etc, and to open up the north hall to the rose garden. The significant Council contribution (40%) towards the capital costs is much to be welcomed.

There are, however, a number of aspects which give the Civic Trust cause for concern (and with regard to which please see our recommendations below):

The removal of the Tourist Information Centre (TIC) from the Burgh Halls. A few years ago a considerable amount of public money was invested in creating a modern TIC with a state of the art audio visual display, all augmented by an elaborate access ramp for the disabled. Bearing in mind that the motto of St Michael, the patron saint of Linlithgow, is to 'be kind to strangers', the Trust deplores the attempt to downgrade this facility, and is extremely concerned that the omission of the current TIC from the Burgh Halls proposals gives entirely the wrong signal to the tourism authorities
The lack of a suitable variety of room sizes to suit the hiring needs of the community. Your attention is drawn in particular to the lack of smaller size rooms. We query the need for two large halls holding identical numbers (120 people), and consider it unlikely that both would need to be hired at the same time
The proposed glass 'box' or lantern on the top of the tower - the Trust would almost certainly object to this feature if included in any application for listed building consent
The proposed location of the two-part gallery astride the access/corridor to the balcony is less than ideal. The balcony corridor effectively breaks up the display area, but open access from it could compromise the security of exhibitions. Also likely to pose security problems, and therefore likely to prove impractical on a day-to-day basis, is the idea that the gallery spaces might be used for meeting purposes
The positioning of the gallery across the access to the balcony also militates against any potential to provide a main entrance to the building from the Cross, via the grand front steps into the building
It is surprising to note that no provision has been made for a shop as part of the gallery proposal, since arts facilities of any stature usually include a shop - would this be squeezed in later?

Our more minor concerns are:

The concentration of toilet facilities within the same area, quite remote from the upper halls
An apparent lack of storage throughout the building (particularly for chairs and tables when not required)
Serveries are planned on two levels. Clarification would be helpful as follows: Who will be able to hire these? What type of catering is envisaged - cooking elsewhere and servery only here? What are the likely costs to hire the catering facilities? Will catering be franchised to a particular company and will it be possible for groups or individuals to provide alternative caterers of their choice? Will community groups be able to use an urn and make their own refreshments?
The Trust draws your attention to the apparent cramped planning of some areas (for example circulation space around the staircases), as compared to the over-provision in other areas such as the reception area
The Trust is concerned at the apparent lack of blackout capability indicated, particularly in the proposed north hall
Strong reservations are held about a café as we consider it would have a negative influence on similar businesses round the Cross.

Linlithgow Civic Trust queries the weight being given to the creation of a West Lothian-wide arts centre within the Burgh Halls. This is seen as a 'nice to have' rather than a 'must have'. However, if funding is more likely to be obtained with this emphasis, then the Trust is prepared to welcome this initiative and give it full support, so long as a range of flexible spaces for hire at affordable prices are provided for the town of Linlithgow. We query the business case for the arts centre and have concerns that the cost of hiring the halls may have to subsidise the arts centre element and become prohibitive for local organisations as a result.

Recommendations

The Trust has considered the proposals in depth and the drawings and presentational material have been examined closely. We strongly recommend the following as a practical means of accommodating the disparate needs of both the community and the arts facility:

Locate the gallery on the top floor - in the south hall. This would provide one large, flexible and elegant space; it would be far more secure and would have storage in closer proximity. The lack of toilets nearby would be less critical (although the hall could still, of course, be used for functions on very special occasions provided that they fitted in with the arts programme)
Retain the Tourist Information Centre in its current position which is essential to satisfy Linlithgow's major tourist potential. While it is agreed that the profile of the town would be considerably increased by the incorporation of the Community Art Centre, the retention of the Tourist Information Centre would signal the town's status as a tourist destination to a far greater degree
Confine café seating to the proposed conservatory or garden room with access from the servery into the garden room only. Redefine the reception/office and toilet area to provide more attractive office space and additional multi-purpose/meeting rooms for hire. Inclusion of a multi-purpose room by the foyer could, on special occasions, provide cloakroom space for users of the remaining large hall above
Locate the bar above the garden room and increase the capacity of the north hall to say 150 people. This would meet the requirements of several community groups for special occasions as well as providing extra space for wedding parties and other groups within the probable target market. It is recognised that the resulting extension to the building would have to be very carefully designed to satisfy Historic Scotland
Convert the ground-floor room envisaged as offices into a further medium-sized meeting room with a view to possible eventual use as a local Council office or 'One-Stop Shop', should the functions of the County Buildings ever be transferred to Livingston. While the Trust is opposed to the closure of the County Buildings, it would, however, be fitting if municipal offices were once more located in Linlithgow's original municipal buildings
With this in mind, consider renaming the whole facility as 'The Town House
If an addition to the top of the tower is envisaged, reconstruct the original steeple as indicated in the Slezer engravings.

Conclusions

Once again, I wish to emphasise Linlithgow Civic Trust's delight at the Council's commitment towards the upgrading and development of the Burgh Halls. Its primary concern is to ensure that all concerned benefit to the maximum degree possible from the scheme, and the recommendations set out above have been framed with that in mind. Of particular importance are the provision of a range of affordable facilities for the people of Linlithgow for their own cultural and social pursuits, and an indication that the current space will continue to be reserved for the retention of the Tourist Information Centre. The cumulative effect of the Trust's recommendations is that meeting/function accommodation would consist of one large hall (plus another for very special occasions and a multi-purpose space immediately off the hall overlooking the 'rose garden'), one large meeting room on the first floor, one medium-sized meeting room on the lower ground floor, and finally two small meeting rooms on the upper ground floor (one of which could function as a cloakroom when appropriate). The addition of an arts centre is a very attractive proposal which the Trust is delighted to support, provided that the needs of the town are also properly addressed as a priority.

It is understood that a business plan with an analysis of running costs has still to be prepared and the Trust would welcome the opportunity to examine this when it is available.

Representatives of Linlithgow Civic Trust would be delighted to be granted the opportunity to discuss the above recommendations with your steering group and architects. Please do not hesitate to contact me, or Chris Long, our Secretary, to arrange such a meeting.

We look forward to your response.

Ronald P A Smith BSc MRTPI, Chairman
Linlithgow Civic Trust