DAISY PARK - THE SITE

Winchburgh Masterplan

Land was allocated at Winchburgh for mixed use development through the Adopted West Lothian Local Plan 2009. This required that a Masterplan be prepared for the settlement extension at Winchburgh. However, work on the Masterplan and supporting documents for the resultant planning permission commenced much earlier circa 2003/4. The Masterplan presents a clear vision, a flexible development framework and clear design guidance – essential tools to turn the opportunity into reality. In time, the Masterplan will deliver circa 3,450 houses, a mixed-use town centre, primary and secondary schools, formal and informal public open space, a new motorway junction and a rail station to serve the expanded village. The Winchburgh Masterplan is being delivered by Winchburgh Developments Ltd (WDL).

To date approximately 700 new homes have been constructed with associated infrastructure. The new town centre construction is underway, including new housing, a variety of shops and the canal marina completed to date. Phase 1 of Auldcathie Park is open and will be completed in Spring 2022. The new schools campus in under construction, due to open in August 2022.

2022 will also be a key year as another major piece of the masterplan infrastructure comes into place, namely the motorway Junction giving direct access to the M9. By early 2023 the link through from the M9 to the new schools campus should be completed. This project will enable WDL to fully develop the town centre retail and employment areas and develop more business opportunities, from mid-2023 as the retail areas and market square take shape. Alongside this comes more greenspaces with Auldcathie Phase 2 underway.

In 2023 the spine road will be complete, the schools will be occupied with their first pupils, Daisy Park will be under development, Auldcathie will be fully open, new shops will be occupied and the WDL team will be based in the new office space opposite Sainsburys. As part of the overall landscape framework for Winchburgh, Daisy Park is planned to be opened to the public in 2024. Further public parks will follow at Hawkhill and Glendevon in coming years.

The brickworks site

Daisy Park will be constructed on the land surrounding the claypit which was the original location of the Winchburgh Brick Works, an important element of Winchburgh’s industrial heritage.

Alexander Dougal and Sons’ brickworks in Winchburgh opened in 1873 and continued in operation until the 1970s. Dougal’s Brickworks was located close to the source of clay, the site of which is still visible in the form of the remaining claypit. The brickworks was built at Winchburgh because of the proximity to the canal. Heavy goods like bricks were cheap and easy to move by canal. The brickworks buildings have been demolished, although buried foundations have been identified through the archaeological survey. The associated claypit remains as a large water body at the centre of the site.

Since the closure of the brickworks the site has remained undeveloped and left to degenerate, with much of the site now overgrown with pioneer plan species. As a semi natural site at the centre of the community it has been a popular area of informal public open space for people to walk, fish and swim.