| AdminHistory | On the initial creation of the Scottish New Towns, the Scottish Office had stipulated that the Development Corporations responsible for their creation would dissolve themselves when the town hit a specified target population (100,000 in the case of Livingston). By the late 1970s it had become apparent that the initial role of providing population overspill for Glasgow had been completed, and New Towns were, instead, acting as promoters of rapid initial economic growth; nor were the towns ever likely to hit their target population. As a result, the Scottish Office began, as early as 1982, to look at how, when and why the assets and functions of Development Corporations should be transferred to local authorities. The Scottish Office also revised the trigger that would initiate process, first to when the New Town came within 5000 of its target population, and then later to a percentage of the total population.
The most prominent aspect of the appraisal of the transferral of assets, other than the revised timetable for winding up orders, was the production of "Maintaining the Momentum", a consultative document designed to gather a broad range of views on the future of the housing managed by the Development Corporations. Maintaining the Momentum led to a 1989 White Paper "The Way Ahead." The White Paper put forward that the New Towns would not have to hit any specified target, but wind-up orders would instead be issued based on a general view of the maturity of the town.
By 1989 a date of 1995 had been set for the commencement of the dissolution Livingston Development Corporation, with a projected timetable of 3 years. This was, however, superseded by the re-organisation of local government and the Windup Order was brought forward so that Livingston Development Corporation would dissolve on 31 March, 1997, at the same time as the creation of a new Local Authority, West Lothian Council.
The Wind-Up of the Corporation would result in the disposal of the entire rented housing stock to alternative landlords. As such, existing Corporation tenants were faced with a change in ownership of their houses, and a change in housing management service provided to them. To provide a choice, and to maximize tenure diversification in New Towns, a housing ballot was held to decide to whom Corporation Housing Stock would pass. This Ballot was held, by post, from May-June 1996. Of the ten balloted areas, seven passed to the newly formed West Lothian Council, whilst Craigshill, Howden, and sheltered housing passed to private landlords.
The remaining functions of the Housing Department/Property Services passed to West Lothian Council at the end of 1996. |
| ScopeandContent | 5 subseries comprising:
1. Scottish Office papers, tracing the development in the Scottish Office's thinking towards the Wind-up of New Town Development Corporations in Scotland, 1983-1992.
2. Papers relating to the creation and use of Housing Associations in Livingston as an alternative tenancy management system to the Housing Department, 1989-1996.
3. Papers created by the Monitoring Manager, the position created once Housing Management had become the responsibility of the Housing Associations, 1992-1996.
4. All papers and files relating to the Wind-Up of housing stock, the housing ballot, and the disposal of Corporation housing stock to West Lothian Council and the Housing Associations that were successful in the housing ballot, 1992-1997.
5. A file relating to the ecunemical service held to mark the Wind-Up of the Corporation, 1996. |