Beecraigs archery centre to be renamed in honour of Jim Greig

Liberal Democrat councillor for Linlithgow, Sally Pattle, put in a formal request to West Lothian Council’s chief executive to consider renaming the Beecraigs Field Archery Area in memory of Jim Greig, who died in September 2021, aged 84.

A report to councillors noted: “There was overwhelming support for the proposal to rename the field.”

Mr Greig, a former coaching director for the SFAA, lived at Beecraigs until his retirement when he moved to Threemiletown.

A report to the Corporate Policy and Resources Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel (PDSP) this week said: “Jim was instrumental in establishing the archery field and worked at Beecraigs for many years.

“In addition to being the secretary of Beecraigs Archers, he was head coach for the Scottish Field Archery Association and his efforts helped bring field archery to new generations of participants, as well as bringing hundreds of families to Beecraigs Country Park.”

The report added: “There were 49 participants from the various stakeholder groups – family, park user group, political group leaders, ward members and legal services.

"There was 98 per cent support for the proposal with very many supporting statements from those surveyed. The two per cent not in favour reflected one vote.”

The news has delighted Sally Pattle, who was approached by Jim’s family to take the proposal forward.

She said: “It was the day after I was elected in May 2022 when I was contacted by Jim’s family so it was the very first case that I was involved with.

"It’s taken a while to get to this stage; initially I had to write to the chief executive and then key stakeholders were asked for their views.

"The news that it has now been approved has delighted the family as it is such an appropriate way to remember and honour Jim. It’s a fantastic outcome and received almost unanimous support.

"Jim did so much for Beecraigs, archery and the wider community so everyone involved was delighted to hear the news this week.”