The first of the residential districts of the New Town of Livingston, Craigshill was developed by the Livingston Development Corporation from 1965 and is located a mile (1.5 km) northeast of the Almondvale Shopping Centre, to the south southeast of the Houstoun Industrial Estate. The name originates from a farmstead at Craigs, a mill at Old Craigs and Craigshill Plantation and Craigshill was planned to accommodate 10,000 people in 2800 houses. The area is divided into three sub-districts; Craigshill, with Almond to the south and a northern extension known as Craigswood. The streets in the Craigshill West are named after Australian towns and cities, the 'Groves' in Craigshill East are named after trees, while the 'Walks' in Almond to south take their names from Scottish rivers and lochs, the 'Parks' of Almond Park are named after prominent topographic features and the 'Courts' in the extreme southeast take the names of Scottish authors. The first houses were in Broom Walk and Tay Walk in Almond West, completed on 31st March 1966. Also in Almond West are semi-detached homes by the Scottish Special Housing Association (1969). Housing comprises four-storey blocks of flats, a mix of flats and maisonettes in long blocks, and terraces of two-storey homes, all of which was once public housing. 1395 homes are now managed by the Almond Housing Association, but much were acquired by tenants under right-to-buy legislation. Many of the properties were system-built using the Danish Jespersen design of interlocking concrete panels, however these were constructed to a budget and problems with water ingress and structural weaknesses soon emerged. A severe storm in 1968 blew the roofs off sixty-eight houses; these were repaired and remedial work on the remaining houses began the following year at a cost of £350,000. Subsequent refurbishment saw flat roofs replaced with pitched roofs.
Craigshill Mall opened as Craigshill District Shopping Centre in 1968 and operated as the de-facto town-centre for Livingston until Almondvale Shopping Centre opened in 1977. Thereafter the facilities at Craigshill were remodelled. A pioneering health centre opened in Craigshill in 1969, only the second healthcare facility in Scotland where doctors, dentists and nurses worked together to provide an integrated service. Most notable amongst its three churches is St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church (1969), an iconic modernist design featuring a sweeping concrete sail. Other facilities today include a library, West Lothian's first mosque and two primary schools; namely Letham and Riverside. Craigshill High School was built in 1969 but closed in 1992. Inveralmond Community High School (1970) is now the principal school in the area, with the Beatlie School Campus (occupying the site of the former Almondbank Primary School) providing education for children with severe learning difficulties. Opened in 1990, Craigengar Park is a retirement living complex run by the Bield Housing Association.
