£1.9million cash gift from lottery will help West Lothian building rise again

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A planned heritage attraction telling the story of Scotland's Co-operative societies has been awarded almost £2 million from the National Lottery.The redevelopment will celebrate the birth of the national Co-op in a West Lothian village and see a former bakery - a hidden architectural gem- rise again .The support takes the Trust a huge step towards their fund-raising goal of £6 million to deliver the Scottish Co-operative Discovery Centre in West Calder.West Calder and Harburn Community Development Trust's plan to redevelop a former Co-operative society bakery in the village has received £1.9 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.The National Lottery Heritage Fund Director for Scotland Caroline Clark said: "In keeping with the roots of the Co-operative movement this project has engaged with local people and delivered opportunities for them to get involved with taking it from an idea to a detailed plan."The building itself is an important part of the heritage of the community and the co- operative movement.

This project will give it a new life continuing to serve by both, celebrating and sharing the story of Scottish co-operatives and creating new opportunities for local people."The project aims to take one of West Lothians hidden architectural gems and, through a "Recycle, Renovate and Reuse" policy, make the building fit for community use and to be as close to net-zero carbon as possible.This means making it as sustainable as possible not just in terms of heating and energy use but in terms of recruiting and procuring locally."We believe sustainability is about refurbishment and reusing the assets we already have and we aim to make this amazing building fit for another 120 years, rather than demolishing and