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

Councillor Jim Logue, Council Leader, 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 Airdrie, there are plans to: 

• Develop a new town hub  

• Strengthen the Links with the station and transport interchange  

• Support a liveable town centre with new, affordable town centre living  

• Develop new connected green links. 

In Coatbridge the plans aim to adapt and strengthen the future role of the town centre based on its connections, quality of place, and opportunities for re-investment as a place to live and work. 

This will involve: 

• Developing a new town hub 

• Re-structuring the town centre on a stronger more compact mixed-use model  

• Developing the green network and active travel routes and connections  

• Re-vitalising the centre with extensive new mixed tenure housing  

• Integration within the centre – living, learning - health and leisure activity  

• Creating a new town centre gateway park  

• Developing an enhanced town square and civic event space. 

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

To date in Airdrie, 77 new council homes have been completed, construction has started on 197 homes, planning approval has been granted for a further 21 and development plans are underway at four sites with 125 homes planned. 

Since 2009, seven primary schools have been completed and two family learning centres. Work is planned or underway on six key projects in Airdrie, which will bring new homes and commercial space into the town centre; these are at Broomknoll Street Church, Mill Loan, the former Orrs building, Buchanan/Hallcraig Street, Graam Street and Airdrie Town House. 

In Coatbridge, 84 new council homes have been completed, work has started on 58 homes, planning permission has been granted for 19 more, and development plans are underway at two sites for 106 new properties. 

Since 2011, one primary, one secondary school and one family learning centre have been completed with work progressing to create a new community hub at Carnbroe/Sikeside. 

Two prominent buildings in Coatbridge – the former tax office and Carnegie Library - have been transformed into housing while plans are progressing well to convert the former council building on Kildonan Street into social rented housing, office space and new build homes. Plans are also being developed for housing at the former Sharksmouth pub on Banks Street and a fire damaged building on Main Street.  

For more information visit www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/vision