Abandoned ‘ghost’ shopping centre near Edinburgh lies empty 25 years after opening

An abandoned shopping centre, once the pride of West Lothian, now stands empty and derelict 25 years after its grand opening.

The Five Sisters Freeport Shopping Village, which opened its doors in 1996, boasted over 40 stores and was hailed as Scotland’s premier outlet for designer clothes.

However, by 2004, a significant decline led to Freeport Leisure deciding to close the centre down, leaving it deserted ever since.

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Interestingly, the BBC found use for the site in 2015, utilising it as a filming location for a zombie-themed children’s show.

In its heyday, the 50,000sq ft shopping centre attracted over a million visitors in its first year alone, with plans to expand and include additional leisure facilities such as a snow centre and a golf course.

Open seven days a week from 10am, the venue offered top brands including Versace, DKNY, Calvin Klein, Rockport and Levis.

Additionally, it housed a Leisureland facility, complete with soft play, go karts, an entertainment centre and numerous activities for children.

To cater to all customer needs, the site also featured two cafes and two restaurants.

Despite its current state, there were ambitious plans to expand the Five Sisters Freeport Shopping Village just one year after its opening.

A proposal for an £18million upgrade to the leisure centre was submitted to West Lothian Council, with plans for a snow centre featuring ski slopes, toboggan runs, snowboarding, and a children’s winter wonderland. However, these plans, along with those for a new golf course and putting range, never came to fruition as the fortunes of Freeport began to change dramatically.

The opening of the new Livingston Designer Outlet in 2000 had a significant impact on the store. Customers started to drift away, and tenants also relocated their stores to the new outlet in Livingston.

The decline was swift, and by 2001, most of the shops had closed, with the remaining ones offering clearance sales and preparing to leave.

By 2004, Freeport Leisure decided it was time to close the centre down. Sean Collidge, Chairman of Freeport, conceded at the time that the opening of the Livingston outlet nearby was their downfall.

He stated: “This scheme was 100 per cent let when it opened in 1996 and had four tremendous years. Then retail in Scotland became overpopulated in the central belt”.

West Lothian Council has rejected plans to create housing in the area but has expressed interest in seeing it redeveloped in their Local Plan. A spokesperson commented: “The re-development, or re-use, of Westwood (Freeport), near West Calder, previously operating as a factory outlet centre, is supported by the council.”

“Leisure and tourist uses, specialised employment, starter units (Class 4), or institutional uses appropriate to a rural location will be supported.”

“Some element of new or extended building out with the development envelope on site and/or housing (very low density and a maximum of 30 houses meriting a rural location, all confined to the development envelope) will be considered, where this is shown to be necessary in terms of the financial viability of an appropriate scheme.”