Ravenscraig road plan clears first hurdle

Mar 24 2011 Hamilton Advertiser

PLANS for a £73m road linking the fringes of Hamilton with the M8 at Chapelhall this week received a major boost.

The Scottish Government have granted provisional approval to North Lanarkshire Council's business plan to allow construction of vital infrastructure on the long-awaited Ravenscraig development.

The approval now opens the way to begin in-depth discussions on planning and funding for the project.

It’s hoped construction of the road will provide the catalyst for the stalled regeneration of the former Ravenscraig site.

The council are to seek to finance the road under a largely-untried Tax Incremental Funding scheme.

Under the scheme, the council borrow money to fund the new road then pay back the cost over a number of years using ring-fenced business rate income from the Ravenscraig development.

Government officials have for the past month been assessing the scheme’s value for money.

Council head of regeneration Services Maureen McConachie said: “We are studying the terms of the provisional approval of the business plan and will have further discussions with both the Scottish Futures Trust and site developers Ravenscraig Ltd on how best to progress.

“Obviously, on a regeneration scheme of this scale, there are still a number of details to be resolved. Nevertheless we are delighted to have passed this crucial milestone.”

As part of the Tax Incremental Funding (TIF) scheme lodged with the Scottish Futures Trust a new seven-mile-long dual carriageway will stretch from the Chapehall junction of the M8 motorway, between EuroCentral and Newhouse, skirt Carfin and cross the site of the former Ravenscraig steel works to link with Airbles Road and then to the M74 motorway at Hamilton.

The council hope construction of the new road will encourage £425million worth of private investment from developers.

North Lanarkshire Council leader Jim McCabe said: “This very welcome announcement is a huge step forward for the further regeneration of Ravenscraig.

“The TIF funding will mean the creation of up to 5000 jobs over the first six years of the project and will allow us to lever in up to £425m in private sector investment.

“That will lead to £1.2 billion of investment over the 30-year lifetime of the project with the creation of 12,600 jobs.

“The closure of Ravenscraig steelworks was a hammer blow for North Lanarkshire and Scotland, but this allows us to secure a real and prosperous future for the site and for the area as a whole.”

The council hope that if they win full approval, work on the road network will start next year.

Outline planning permission for the road has already been granted.