Investment totalling £1.25bn will be made in towns and communities across North Lanarkshire as part of a five-year plan focusing on improving town centres, creating new town and community hubs and developing country parks.

Both Cumbernauld and Kilsyth will benefit from having new Town Hubs created and from major improvements to their town centres.

Councillor Jim Logue, Leader of North Lanarkshire Council, explained, “Over the next five years, we are investing £1.25 billion in creating town and community hubs, in our country parks, and in essential infrastructure and housing to help create a sustainable future for town centres that will benefit people and communities across North Lanarkshire.

“The draft visions for our town centres bring a tangible reality to the outline concepts and these will be developed with our communities, for our communities, so that we are creating vibrant, safe, resilient places where people are supported at all stages of their life and businesses can thrive.”

This builds on work that has taken place by the council over many years, to create new homes, new education facilities and develop our green spaces.

In Cumbernauld 123 new council houses have been built over the past ten years – including at North Road, Westfield Drive, Cardowan Drive, Brown Road and Cedar Road Nursery. While in Kilsyth 30 new houses have been constructed at Fisher Avenue.

And a further 83 new homes are in the pipeline. 75 new council houses as part of the Community Growth area and eight on the site of the former Cumbernauld Primary School.

The town has benefited from the construction of seven new schools and family learning centre including, most recently, Greenfaulds High School and the Cumbernauld Academy and Cumbernauld Theatre campus.

Work is already underway on the new Cumbernauld Village Family Learning Centre and a on feasibility project to create a new community hub for the people of Abronhill

In Kilsyth the Stepping Stones Family Learning Centre, St Patrick's Primary School and Family  Learning Centre have been built in recent years.

Improved active travel links has seen the creation of a new green cycle/walkway linking Abronhill with Cumbernauld town centre.

There have also been improvements to commercial business space at the Muirfield Centre.

Cumbernauld and Kilsyth enjoy some of the best greenspace anywhere in the country and North Lanarkshire Council has made considerable investments to protect and enhance these areas for people to continue to enjoy.

Dumbreck Marsh, Colzium and Lennox estate, Mosswater Local Nature Reserve, Ravenswood Marsh and Nature Reserve and Seafar Woods, Palacerigg Country Park, Broadwood Loch, Moodiesburn Glen St Maurice's Pond, Cumbernauld Community Park and at Lanriggs have all benefited from this investment.

This investment work has included entrance and access improvement works, woodland management, new play areas, extension of badger walkways, path works, wildflower meadow planting and other biodiversity projects.

The report, The Place, The Vision – update, was approved at the council’s Policy and Strategy Committee on Thursday 30 September.

It also detailed the following potential developments for both Cumbernauld and Kilsyth.

Cumbernauld’s opportunities:

• Developing a Pilot for Low-2-Zero carbon living
• Develop a new Town Hub
• Re-structure the Town Centre on a stronger more compact Mixed-Use Model
• Integrate within the Centre – Learning -Health and Leisure activity
• Develop a grid of streets, squares and spaces and connected paths and cycleways
• Connect Town Centre activity and services with new and existing housing
• Develop a new Town Square and Civic Event space

Kilsyth’s opportunities

• Developing a new Town Hub with associated facilities and community services
• Connecting the Town Centre and strengthening links to the Glasgow-Stirling road (A803)
• Developing a northern Gateway to raise the town’s profile as a historic Burgh
• Developing stronger links, routes and opportunities for active travel (e-bikes) to the area’s attractions
• Developing Kilsyth as a great place to live
• Develop a new Town Square at Main Street North