FAQs and protocols
What is the address of the Civic Centre?
West Lothian Civic Centre
Howden South Road
Livingston
West Lothian
EH54 6FF
West Lothian Council - redirecting your mail:
A representative for each building will have to set up a redirection - this applies to services moving to the Civic Centre and other locations. At the moment we have a representative for: West Lothian House - Isabel Murray, telephone: 01506 777273; Lindsay House - Stuart Isbister, telephone: 01506 776390. We are currently identifying someone from Lammermuir house. Each service area has a move champion ask your line manager if you are unsure.
Key contacts
- Facilities Management - john.keenan@westlothian.gov.uk
- IT Migration to Civic Centre - joanna.bytheway@westlothian.gov.uk
- IT Migration to other venues - lomai.rodden@westlothian.gov.uk
- Move arrangements - iain.haeburn-little@westlothian.gov.uk
- Induction/shared working arrangements - chris.keenan@westlothian.gov.uk
There will be a mix of dedicated meeting rooms, non-bookable interview rooms, break-out areas and the cafe in the main reception area for more informal gatherings. We are currently developing software which will allow partners to book shared meeting and interview rooms online. We are also developing protocols for booking shared meeting facilities to ensure that each partner can expect a fair use of the shared facilities. Shared use of the council chambers, the civil courtrooms and possibly the emergency planning rooms will be slightly different in that the partner looking to use these dedicated spaces would require the express permission of the partner responsible for this dedicated space.
Will staff need to use the main reception entrance or will there be a separate entrance for staff?
Staff can either access the building via the main entrance or east entrance next to the car park. Elsewhere in the building, there will be dedicated access routes for the courts, police and vulnerable persons visiting the building.
Will there be a staff canteen in the Civic Centre?
There will be no dedicated staff canteen. However there will be a cafe in the main reception area which you will be able to use. Staff will have the opportunity to purchase sandwiches from the council’s delivery service.
What mess facilities will there be at the Civic Centre?
Shared tea preparation, kitchen and vending facilities will be located throughout the building. There will also be shared break-out areas located throughout the open-plan office areas.
Will the Civic Centre have sufficient storage space for our files?
There will be a mix of dedicate storage areas and storage units located throughout the building. Each workstation will have a pedestal for personal storage. We are currently working with departmental champions to look at file storage requirements and file management. The IT team is looking to develop an electronic record document management system for the council.
You can start now by reviewing your current files and filter those which no longer need to be kept. Similarly, there may be some files which may need to be stored off site, for example court records, legal documents etc.
Walking to the Civic Centre will have its dangers won’t it?
The footpaths in and around the Civic Centre are not very-well lit and staff will be fearful to use them. The Civic Centre location should provide not more risk than other areas within Livingston town centre. Having a police station within the Civic Centre should also provide a welcome deterrent.
Part of the Civic Centre development includes the upgrading and lighting of footpaths to create better and safer access to the town centre. The existing landscaping will be opened-up to provide better passive observation.
I hear a lot about shared services and joint working. What services do the partners intend to share?
Any public service having a common partner interest is up for discussion. At the moment, the partners are concentrating on criminal justice, roads safety, licensing, emergency planning, and community services (i.e., community safety, the protection of vulnerable persons and management of sex offenders).
The focus is not to be constrained by organisational boundaries but to concentrate on what is best for the citizen. Co-location in the Civic Centre offers the partners the opportunity to work more closely on these key public services. It is important to note that we won’t have all our services co-joined or fully developed before we move to the Civic Centre. We will have a continuous improvement strategy in place and have addressed those systems which will yield the greatest added-value to the citizen.
Some of the service areas you are proposing to share are already governed by legislation / regulation. We can’t change national policy, so why look to share these services, where is the benefit?
It is not our intention to move away from national policy but to support and develop it with the opportunities which co-location presents. Even if there are some systems which we choose not to develop, the mere fact we are co-located and can share information more easily must be a benefit to us all.
Will the facility be energy efficient?
Yes, the building will incorporate a number of energy efficient and sustainable measures, designed to minimise its carbon footprint. It will be insulated to the highest standards and deploy energy efficient modular boilers. The building will benefit from energy efficient external glazing, reflecting sunlight and retaining internal heat.
The heating and ventilation system will make best use of natural ventilation with mechanical ventilation only being used during periods of exceptionally high and low temperatures. Intelligent lighting will be used throughout the building.
It is planned that we will dispense with individual bins and deploy central waste disposal facilities. Central printing facilities, connected via the integrated network, will also be introduced.
Will I get a parking space at the Civic Centre?
Not necessarily. While per head, we have more parking spaces at the Civic Centre than we do at our current sites, we cannot guarantee staff a parking space on site.
There are circa 1,000 people moving to the Civic Centre and we expect that about 850 people will be working in the building at peak times. There are 358 parking spaces on site with a further 280 in the adjoining Terraces Car Park. In addition, there are a number of other car parks within walking distance from the Civic Centre.
We are working on a Travel Plan to ease transportation pressures within the immediacy of the Civic Centre.
How will you allocate parking spaces at the Civic Centre?
We have a Travel Plan project team currently looking at this and will ensure that parking is assessable to all partners working in the Civic Centre.
There is a mix of secure and non-secure parking at the Civic Centre. Secure parking will be available for such things as operational police vehicles and custody vans. Non-secure parking will be available for staff and visitors to the building.
We accept that it may not be entirely practical for everyone, but even if we were to walk, cycle or take the bus or train to work one day per week, we could reduce our carbon footprint by as much as 20%. Currently, 6% of staff live within one mile of Civic Centre and 17% within three miles.
If you want me to take public transport to the Civic Centre, then surely you need to improve current services?
As part of the Travel Plan being prepared for the Civic Centre, we will be speaking with public transport operators to ensure the Civic Centre is assessable by public transport.
However, in and around Livingston, there are already a significant number of bus routes which pass through Howden South Road. Most (if not all) will terminate or stop at Livingston bus station which is a five minutes walk from the Civic Centre.
How are you supposed to get to the Civic Centre by public transport if you live in say Fife, Falkirk or Airdrie?
For those travelling significant journeys, we accept that most people will continue to take the car, however, what about trip sharing? Why not try public transport on occasions? Some people of course either don’t drive or do not have access to a car in which case trip sharing with someone who does and is travelling to the Civic Centre may be a possible option.
Alternatively, public transport will be available. Livingston has two train stations each 20 to 25 minutes walking distance from the Civic Centre. Buses regularly depart from the train stations and terminate or stop at Livingston bus station.
There are frequent bus services operating between the two train stations and Livingston bus station (five minutes walk from the Civic Centre). Before 2010, the existing Edinburgh – Bathgate line will be extended through Airdrie to Glasgow which will also stop in Livingston.
Look out on the Civic Centre website for updates on the Travel Plan.
If I’m taking my bike to the Civic Centre will there be storage and shower facilities?
Yes - secure and covered bike storage will be available within the secure compound at the Civic Centre.
Lockers and shower facilities will be available to those who cycle or jog to the Civic Centre. Currently, other than that designed for the police, there are no drying room facilities within the Civic Centre.
Each partner will have their own policies. How do you propose to bring all this together at the Civic Centre?
Each partner will continue to deploy their own separate policies, but each partner is looking to agree a common set of working protocols around: shared working, shared information, facility management, travel planning, health and safety, security and business continuity planning.
It is not the intention of the protocols to define in detail what our joint policies will be, rather, they will be about agreeing a common set of working principles.
Will all council staff be located in open-plan offices?
The vast majority of council staff will be located in the open-plan offices. For reasons of strategic and political sensitivity, member services and the council’s corporate management team will have dedicated office space. Managers located on the open-plan office areas will have access to dedicated and quiet spaces where they have a need for confidential conversations, etc.
Will you be looking to introduce hot-desking or mobile working at the Civic Centre?
Everybody who currently has a dedicated workstation will have a desk at the Civic Centre. The Civic Centre will be able to accommodate flexible working arrangements, but the decision to deploy such arrangements will be a matter for individual partner policy.
I work in a council service which will have no interaction with a partner organisation. What’s the benefit of the Civic Centre to my service and me?
We recognise that particularly for the council, there are some departments moving to the Civic Centre who will not necessarily interface directly with a partner organisation. The benefit for everyone will be the improved working conditions which a modern, state-of-the art Civic Centre will provide. Co-location will also offer opportunities for closer working with other co-located council departments.
The service I work in has a lot of public interface. Will my service unit be located near the main reception area?
While there will be dedicated and shared spaces in the Civic Centre, the working premise is to have as much flexibility in the building as possible. Where it makes business sense to locate staff from different organisations together in the building, then this is what the partners are likely to pursue. Similarly, for departments having a high public interface such as the council’s regulatory services, they are more likely to be located near the civic reception space.
The Civic Centre will have an operational custody unit and court, will I be put at increased risk of intimidation or even assault?
No. The custody unit is designed to the highest security standards with dedicated secure routes leading from the custody block to the courtrooms. People held in custody will be closely monitored and escorted by the police or custody escort contractor. We will also have security staff in the reception area to discourage loitering and manage the flow of people in the civic reception area and public corridors leading to the courts. The building and car parks will also be monitored by CCTV.
In terms of the courts, will it only be the sheriff and district courts that will sit in the building?
In West Lothian, sheriff and district courts will unify during 2008 and this will form the biggest volume of court business. The modern custodial and secure facilities will be attractive to the High Court and it may be that they would wish to use the Civic Centre as a High Court circuit venue. The Supreme Court in Edinburgh is also undergoing an extensive redevelopment programme which will mean the circuit courts are likely to absorb more High Court business during this period.
Winning questions
"How do the panel see the public fitting in to business change benefits and the function that the civic centre will bring?"
By the very nature of the partner organisations moving to the Civic Centre, we know that the citizens of West Lothian can expect to see improvements around community safety, criminal justice and licensing. For example, physically co-locating in the Civic Centre, the police and council can work more closely on matters such as anti social behaviour. Sharing information and working jointly on such matters should mean that we can deal more quickly and effectively on individual cases. For the citizens exposed to such anti social behaviour, the result should mean that that the inconvenience caused to them is resolved quickly.
This is just one example of an obvious benefit. We also know that there must be less obvious benefits which the programme management team have not yet identified. For example, the council are moving three buildings into one. Are there any internal operational benefits to the council by co-locating departments which up until now have been physically separated? This is why we want to hear from you. Are there any areas of your work that we could help you develop which would not only benefit the citizen, but make your job easier?
"How far are you going to take partnership working, for example joint briefings? Are each of the organisations going to sign-up to a protocol of sharing information?"
Effectively, we have a blank sheet of paper. By bringing seven organisations under one roof, we have a tremendous opportunity to explore opportunities which we have not explored before.
Joint briefings - why not? If it benefits the citizen then yes, we should consider it and develop a joint working protocol with those partners who would look to be involved in the joint briefing. In terms of protocols, we are already developing agreement around partnership working, facility management, health and safety, security and business continuity planning. The principles of how we go about sharing information will be included in the partnership working protocol.
"Should we be looking at what we do and who we do it with to make things better?"
Absolutely. As stated above, while we know what are the main benefits of co-location, there will be opportunities at an operational level that we may not yet be aware of. That is why we want to hear from you and help realise these benefits.
Even within your own department, you may find that moving to a new state-of-the-art building will provide you with opportunities which until now, you have been unable to realise?
