Town Action Plans

Retail

Research has show that the independent retail sector is more resilient to change than larger national multiples and that these, in most cases local businesses, will prevail if sufficient infrastructure and and interest is in place. We will therefore seek to support the retail sector in Bellshill by encouraging the town centre owners to refurbish larger vacant units into smaller units to provide space for entrepreneurs and established businesses to find the optimum premises for their business.

Funding constraints and legal issues do, however, constrain the level of support which the council can provide. However, we are working with partners to identify potential funding streams to promote business investment and the regeneration of the key retail areas within Bellshill. 

Commercial 

The collapse in the demand for commercial premises such as offices in town centre locations echoes wider structural changes in the economy and the growth of digital connectivity. The impacts of the covid pandemic demonstrated the benefits and ease of remote working across the public and private sector and led to an exponential growth in homeworking with a resulting impact on footfall within the town centre. 

This needs to be recognised in how we change the structure of Bellshill town centre and make best use of the vacant premises which occur as a result of lower demand and need for town centre office space.

In addition, moving forward, the commercial space which remains also needs to be more accessible and energy efficient to compete with out-of-town locations (with consideration given to how we measure the scale of this challenge and take forward the repurposing of vacant office space).

Leisure & Hospitality

The leisure and hospitality sector is a key component of the move towards a more mixed-use town centre. The importance of 'Place' in terms of the public's perception of character and safety is very important in attracting people to use existing leisure and hospitality businesses. 

Ease of movement to and from the town centre will encourage people to access leisure activities and sustain and develop the night-time economy and footfall.

In meeting this aim, the Town Action Plan for Bellshill aims to promote and sustain active travel routes and transport options to support access to town centre facilities and build footfall that will help the leisure and hospitality sectors in Bellshill to grow. 

New Build

Encouraging more people to live in town centres is a key policy aspiration for the council, underpinning priorities around sustainability, net zero, inclusion and wellbeing. 

More people living in town centres means more support for local businesses. It means keeping bus routes active, as well as a safer place due to passive policing and greater local interest in the town centre environment. These all make a town more attractive to people living here.

We are seeking to promote new flatted residential development on the site of the former Money Advice Centre and Registry Office on Motherwell Road, in support of our Town Centre Living agenda. 

Refurbishment 

We are actively seeking to replace redundant properties within the town centre with residential development to ensure that we respond to issues of vacancy and dereliction. 

We have identified a number of existing properties within Bellshill Town Centre that are in need of refurbishment due to long-term vacancy or neglect. 

Heritage Refurbishment

Bellshill town centre has a number of heritage properties which are functionally obsolete but of good quality and whose external appearance contributes to the character and history of the town. 

Key heritage buildings within the town include Bellshill Academy, St Andrews Parish Church, the former Health Centre and 258 Main Street, and the former bank at 207 Main Street. Bellshill as a place would be architecturally poorer if these were not refurbished and subsequently fell into disrepair. Where the council do not own heritage buildings, we will support the owners in their endeavours to secure a future for these buildings by assisting in sourcing external grants and funding. 

Public Transport

Town centres are hubs for transport interchanges with Bellshill having strong rail network and bus service links, the construction of improved bus and taxi access and improved park and ride provision. 

It is essential that Bellshill builds on this strength, with the Council working with Scotrail and Strathclyde Passenger Transport to ensure good and co-ordinated public transport connectivity to this interchange, potential 'SMART' ticketing and well-maintained park and ride facilities.

The public have identified the frequency of bus services as an issue which needs to be addressed. As bus services are privately owned businesses, the council has no direct control over the bus service in terms of routes or frequency of services, however, we have regular engagement with the bus companies and the Strathclyde Passenger Transport to seek to improve services.

Active Travel 

Active travel (walking, wheeling and cycling) has many environmental benefits, as well as improved health and wellbeing, and is a core part of rebalancing the transport modes within our town centres.

In particular, Bellshill town centre needs to act as a key spoke for the town's active travel routes, connecting people with facilities and locations such as Strathclyde Country Park (including the Bellshill Cycle Gateway and Pump Track) and local business locations. 

Lastly, we have recently installed a modular Active Travel Hub at the Bellshill Clyde Gateway in Strathclyde Country Park and we are actively looking to develop a further hub within the town centre (location still to be identified) that will help improve access to and from the train station as well as enhance links to the Clyde Hub and facilities within the park.

Built Heritage

North Lanarkshire's towns have character and are distinctive in form and heritage, the town centres are a reminder of a positive and defining economic past (coal, iron, steel, mills, quarrying) with many notable buildings. 

The vision for Bellshill seeks to build on the distinctive character and quality of place using this legacy to reinforce urban form and repurpose heritage buildings for new uses. 

Place

We are seeking to promote Bellshill as a more inclusive place, promoting longer dwell-time and increased town centre footfall. 

The Vision for Bellshill already identified the need for improved 'gateways' to the town centre, improving the aesthetical quality of streetscape and creating 'place quality'. 

Carbon Reduction

Key measures within the vision for supporting carbon reduction in Bellshill will include:

• property upgrading, retrofit and re-purposing (making these more energy efficient);
• developing active travel infrastructure;
• greening activity;
• extending EV charging infrastructure; and
• planning for compact urban centres and accessible services.

EV Charing Infrastructure

As part of the delivery of the Bellshill Town Action Plan, we will investigate the suitability of our public car parks and facilities for electric vehicle (EV) charging and their capacity to meet future demand and need for EV charging within our town centres.

Bellshill Town Hub

Following consultation, the general public chose the Bellshill Academy playing fields north of Campbell Street as the preferred site for the development of the Town Hub for Bellshill. This site was selected as it has sufficient land to accommodate the footprint of the Town Hub campus and is adjacent to the town centre. 

We are currently seeking to secure the funding to proceed with the design development of the Town Hub and the associated statutory public consultation around education provision. No formal decision has been taken as to which schools will be incorporated into the Town Hub campus. 

Community Hubs

Community Hubs will be designed to be open and accessible to the whole community, with predominately school access during the day and the wider community able to access many areas within the hub out with school hours.

The design of the recent Orbiston Community Hub is seen as an exemplar for the development of future Community Hubs in terms of energy efficiency, accessibility, quality of internal and external learning environments and play facilities. 

We will continue to review the physical condition of its education estate to ensure they continue to meet the needs of the wider community. 

The draft Bellshill Town Action Plan public consultation has now closed.

Thank you to those who attended our in person exhibition at Bellshill Cultural Centre or submitted comments online. 

We are now working through your comments to finalise the Bellshill Town Action Plan, based on your feedback. This will be presented to our Enterprise & Fair Work Committee for approval in May 2024.