Cash sought for Motherwell town centre improvements

Jun 11 2009 by Shirley Bartynek, Hamilton Advertiser

NORTH Lanarkshire Council this week announced they planned to bid for cash from the Scottish Government to help boost the regeneration of town centres there.

The authority will bid for £730,000 from the Government for a £1.83 million project for Motherwell town centre.

The money will be used to re-develop the vacant former ASDA store in the town centre.

The 5667 sq. metre space would be reconfigured to provide 12 modern retail units that will attract new businesses into the town centre.

The £1.83 million for the project also includes £1 million from the town centre owners CALA and £100,000 from the council.

The authority also plan to submit a bid for £150,000 to boost Bellshill’s town centre.

The money would be used to buy a high profile gap site at 278-286 Main Street for redevelopment, to create a pedestrian access route connecting the two main shopping areas and a new public space for activities in the town centre.

This work would all be incorporated into the improvements being carried out to the streetscape of the town centre.

The total cost of the project will be £250,000, with the balance of £100,000 coming from the council's own budget.

The authority will also submit a further bid for £800,000 to boost Wishaw’s town centre.

The council, in partnership with NHS Lanarkshire and developers Fusion Assets, are developing proposals for joint projects in the town centre which will seek to re-develop vacant land and buildings to provide new space for retail and public services.

If the bid is successful, it would attract £2.7 million in match funding from the council and its partners.

In total the authority is bidding for £3.5 million from the £60 million Town Centre Regeneration Fund for projects in Airdrie, Bellshill, Coatbridge, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth, Motherwell and Wishaw.

Councillor Tom Maginnis, convener of regeneration services, said: “Residents and businesses are already seeing the benefits of the council's multi-million pound town centre improvement plans. To support this work, we have submitted a bid for £3.5 million from the Scottish Government. The money would need to be spent in this financial year so, if our bid is successful, local people would see the results very quickly.”