Cycle Circuit planning permission granted!

We are delighted to announce that planning permission has been granted for the West Lothian Cycle Circuit. Thank you to everyone who has helped contribute throughout the whole planning application process.

All efforts are now on securing the remaining funds for the Cycle Circuit to progress to tendering, procurement and construction. The target is to commence construction by April 2019, with the 6-month build completing October 2019.

The circuit will be a fabulous community facility for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy the benefits of cycling. And not forgetting it will also offer a traffic-free workout option for runners and joggers.

Future phases of development within the site are also included within the planning permission. This includes a wheeled park area, for skateboards, bikes and scooters, plus a suite of athletic track and field facilities consisting of a sprint track, high jump, long jump, javelin and shot putt areas.  All very exciting! Once funding is in place for the cycle circuit the Linlithgow Community Development Trust is looking forward to working with local children and young people, schools, Linlithgow’s Young People Project, the Linlithgow Athletics Club and others to progress these projects.

Next Community Cake – Essential Finance

Sunday 23rd September, 7 – 9pm

One of the areas that a lot of community groups struggle with is finance. From finding a treasurer to knowing what submissions need to happen when, it can seem like a bit of a minefield. September’s Community Cake has been set up to explore charity/community group finance. It is a place where we can share knowledge and ideas, support one another and hear from local experts in the field. As usual there’ll be lots of cake and opportunities for networking and collaboration. Please share widely, hope to see you there!

EH49 Hub going forward

The time has come for us to complete the co-working pilot. As such, we will no longer be open for weekly co-working at the Star and Garter.

We have learned so much, so a huge thanks to all who have participated! Please join us in the evening on Thursday 27th September for a celebratory evening, where we can hear from you what you liked/didn’t about the co-working and what you’d like to see the Hub do next. We’ll send details of this event soon.

This is not the end though! This was just a pilot, and the Hub is about far more than just co-working. After the summer break we’ve got more Community Cakes, Learning Events, Networking events and much more, so watch this space!

The future’s exciting!

Volunteers week 2018

Linlithgow Community Development Trust was joined by Fiona Hyslop MSP to celebrate the huge contribution made by volunteers in Linlithgow as part of national Volunteers Week Scotland.

Linlithgow Community Development Trust, in partnership with Linlithgow Young People Project, is teaming up with thousands of charities and voluntary organisations across Scotland in a celebration of the vital contribution made by volunteers. This year the theme is ‘Volunteering For All,’ to highlight that volunteering is for everyone.

Volunteers’ Week Scotland will see a huge range of events take place in communities all over the country, from small awards ceremonies to large celebratory gatherings.

Linlithgow Community Development Trust is running two events on Monday 11th June, a daytime roadshow to encourage young people to volunteer and an evening celebration.
‘We Heart Our Volunteers’ is an evening celebration, 7-9pm in the Marches Marquee at the Rugby Club. The event is a great opportunity for organisations to bring their volunteers together to celebrate their success and be thanked by the community for all their contributions. All community groups and their volunteers are invited to come along and join the celebration!

To recognise Year of Young People 2018, LCDT asked a group of young from Linlithgow’s Young People Project if they would organise the event. This experience will earn them a Bronze Saltire Award to be presented on the night. The Saltire Awards is a scheme deigned to encourage and recognise young people’s volunteering, the difference they make and the valuable experience gained.

Chief Executive of Volunteer Scotland, George Thomson said,

“Volunteering is absolutely for everyone. While we celebrate the diversity of Scotland’s volunteering nation we should also recognise that more still needs to be done if volunteering is to be truly representative of our society. Those who are not engaged are who have the most to gain from volunteering, and we need to change to evaluate participation for everyone.
Volunteers’ Week is a great occasion to recognise volunteers and celebrate the difference volunteering makes to each and every community. It’s also a time to reflect on how we can work together to make the offer of volunteering truly one that is open to all.”

For more details contact Katherine Orr on kateorr32@yahoo.co.uk or Pamela Barnes on pamela@trust-linlithgow.org.uk

Our next Community Cake

Thursday 7th June, 7 – 9pm

Many charities and community groups we’ve spoken to believe they’re immune from the implications of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This is simply not true. Our next Community Cake event is on Thursday and focuses on this topic. We’ve a fantastic speaker lined up, who’ll give you advice on what steps your community group/charity need to take to be GDPR compliant. As usual there’ll be lots of cake and opportunities for networking and collaboration. Please share widely, hope to see you there!

What’s been happening at the Hub?

The Hub is now in its 4th month of the Coworking pilot based at Star & Garter Café in Linlithgow.  You can support the project by coming along to our Coworking days on Mondays and Thursdays anytime between 9-5pm.

Bookable in 2 hours slots from just £3.75  – Each session includes a desk, tea, coffee & biscuits and access to the Wi-Fi with break out areas for calls and meetings.  Each session is managed by the Host, whose job is not only to ensure the smooth running of the session, but to help connect businesses and those interested in networking.  Here’s what one of our Hub users had to say on a recent visit:

”I liked that there weren’t too many distractions in the Coworking space, or if there were then I was part of them.  I like the coffee, I like the host and general benevolent atmosphere amongst the co-workers.”

Sportscotland Award to West Lothian Cycle Circuit

Linlithgow Community Development Trust (LCDT) received a major boost for their plans to build the 1km West Lothian Cycle Circuit in Linlithgow.

The Trust has secured a £100,000 grant from sportscotland and is now nearly half way towards hitting their £895,380 funding target and realising their ambitious plans to build a 1km traffic-free cycle circuit for everyone to enjoy. This project, the first community-led facility of its kind in Scotland, aims to provide an exciting range of supported cycling sessions for people of all ages and abilities from across West Lothian.

Fraser Falconer, Chair of LCDT says “We are absolutely over the moon about the £100,000 grant, and are grateful to sportscotland for supporting the project at this crucial stage. Securing this large donation is the start of a big push to complete our fundraising campaign”.

LCDT have been working with West Lothian Council, the local community and a number of clubs in developing plans for the facility, aimed at getting more people cycling and allowing cycling for all.

A cycle development officer on site will run coached sessions for adults and children so more people can improve their skills in a safe cycling environment.

Stewart Harris, sportscotland Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to be investing in the West Lothian Cycle Circuit. The circuit will help support the cycling community in the area for years to come and provide opportunities to cycle for all ages and abilities.
“Cycling is in a great place at the moment in Scotland with our cyclists about to set off for the Gold Coast in the hunt for medals at the Commonwealth Games, and, back at home, Scottish Cycling continue to do great work to encourage more people to take up the sport
“We look forward to working with our partners to ensure the project moves forward in the coming months.”

Fiona Hyslop MSP who is supportive of the cycle circuit commented;

“This is fantastic news for the Linlithgow Community Development Trust and all who will benefit from the local cycle circuit in Linlithgow and Beyond and I was pleased that the Scottish Transport Minister Humza Yousaf visited LCDT while he was taking part in the Pedal for Scotland event last year to hear more about this project.”
A key local stakeholder in the project is the West Lothian Clarion Cycling Club who run weekly coaching sessions for youth riders.

Ewen Fulton, their Youth President, says “We have a massive waiting list and are at full capacity at our present coaching venues. The circuit is crucial to helping us get more kids experiencing the simple joys of riding a bike”.

The cycle circuit will also be a centre for all abilities and hand cyclists can use the specially designed circuit.

Hand cyclist Mike Thomas says “The track will be the perfect place for people to learn how to use hand cycles and adapted bikes in a traffic-free safe environment.”

Depute Provost Dave King, Executive Councillor for Culture and Leisure, stated “West Lothian Council are delighted to support Linlithgow Community Development Trust develop a closed loop cycling facility in Linlithgow”.Cllr King said “The significant financial contribution provided by the council will assist Linlithgow Community Development Trust deliver a fantastic facility for community participation and progression in cycling”.

The next step for the campaign is to secure other targeted grants and undertake fundraising activities to make the track a reality.

It’s going to be a BIG year!

Last year we were pleased to announce a new project, the EH49 Hub.
Here’s an update on how this exciting community and business collaboration project is coming along.

You may have read in the latest Black Bitch magazine, LCDT is very pleased to present the EH49 Hub project. The mission is to create an online and physical ‘Hub’ that connects local community and business people in order to bolster each other and create social change.

We want to provide opportunities to blur the lines between business and community, focussing instead on encouraging people to work smarter, together, supporting each other to mutually achieve – utilising all the wonderful knowledge and experience Linlithgow has to offer.

The objective is to create space for;

  • Developing community and business connections.
  • Growing local resilience and sustainability.
  • Sharing resources and knowledge.
  • Supporting enterprise and innovation.

One of the first steps in the project was to create a coworking space in the centre of town.

With thanks to the team at the Star and Garter, we are pleased to present weekly co-working sessions at the repurposed Star and Garter Cafe, right next to the Linlithgow train station.

The co-working runs from 9am – 5pm every Monday and Thursday, and is bookable in two hour sessions.

Each session includes a desk, tea coffee and biscuits, wifi and access to breakout areas for meetings and phone calls. Each session is managed by a host, whose role it is not only to ensure the smooth running of the session, but to help connect businesses interested in networking.

Why co-work?

  • Lower your carbon footprint by stopping the commute, and/or heating your entire home for one person
  • Reduce the time spent getting to and from work
  • Share knowledge and resources with others
  • Find motivation and focus working in amongst a productive group
  • Help grow your business with the support of others
  • Find camaraderie, a supportive ‘team’, stop working in isolation

You can read more about the EH49 Hub and the coworking space here.

Please help us get the EH49 Hub off the ground!

  • Donate to our Crowdfunder. There are some fantastic rewards, including time in the coworking space and free advertising opportunities for your business.
  • Talk to us about becoming a founding member.
  • Vote for us using your Tesco Bags of Help tokens in March and April at the Linlithgow and Bo’Ness Tesco stores.
  • Attend a coworking day to see what it’s all about! Make use of the included wifi, coffee, networking and business support.
  • Come along to our EH49 Hub launch event on 22nd February, more information below.

Help us launch the Hub!

Thursday 22nd February, 7 – 9pm

Join us at the Star & Garter cafe in Linlithgow for our EH49 Hub Launch event! Entry is FREE so pop along from 7pm to find out more about the EH49 Hub. We’ll explain who are are, what are we here to do and how we’re working with Community, Voluntary groups, Social Enterprises and Businesses in Linlithgow.

You can find out more about our exciting plans for the future and have a chat with us about how you can get involved and support this fantastic initiative!

Join us for an informal evening of:

  • Meeting like-minded community and business folk
  • Complimentary drinks & nibbles
  • Raffle prizes
  • Goodie bags

Our next Community Cake event

Thursday 22nd February, 7 – 9pm

As part of the EH49 Hub project we have been running Community Cake events. A chance for local community and voluntary organisations to come together to share ideas, support each other, network and collaboration. Our next Community Cake event is on Sunday, focused around how social media can help your community/voluntary initiative. The event will follow the usual format, with chance for each group to share their experiences, followed by some fantastic speakers and a chance for networking and collaboration with other groups. And as usual, there’ll be plenty of cake!

Our first Learning Exchange event

24th January  7.30-9.30pm

As part of the EH49 Hub project we’ve created Learning Exchange events. These events are designed to help small businesses and social enterprises share ideas and expertise. At these events we ask local experts to come and speak to attendees, sharing their knowledge. The aim is that this will help build local business resilience, and foster a culture of community knowledge sharing.

Managing accounts for a small business can feel like an overwhelming task. This event aims to demystify the process, showing you how with a few simple tips and tricks, accounting needn’t be stressful and can actually help you run your business. All sizes/ages/types of business are welcome, from new solo-entrepreneurs to established small businesses. Bookings essential. To book your ticket please click here.