Funds boost regeneration

Conservation area support

Additional funding is being made available for work on properties in Blairhill and Dunbeth conservation area in Coatbridge.

Owners can now apply for grants of up to £ 15,000 – compared to the previous limit of £ 10,000 – to help with between 50 per cent and 90 per cent of the costs of external improvements such as stonework, chimney and gutter repairs plus shopfront improvements.

The funding is available through the council’s Coatbridge Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme ( Cars) – which received £800,000 from Historic Environment Scotland to support work in the area.

North Lanarkshire officials recently increased the maximum funding available through the initiative, following an external inspection of all the properties in the conservation area – which includes the canal basin and areas of Sunnyside Road, Academy Street and Main Street.

Enterprise convener Councillor Allan Graham said: “Regeneration of the conservation area is a key part of our Coatbridge town centre action plan, and we are keen to work with property owners to restore the buildings and preserve the character of the area.

“We have a clear picture of the work required to the buildings in the conservation areas, so I would encourage owners to get in touch to see what funding might be available to help them.”

One of the major projects currently underway in the conservation area is the conversion of the B-listed former library building into 12 flats for Clyde Valley Housing Association.

The Advertiser told in February how work was taking place on the historic Carnegie Library, stripping out the previous main lending library space at pace while preserving the sandstone facade to create the new homes and their enclosed courtyard garden.

“Significant work” undertaken since – with the project now having passed its halfway point – includes completing demolition of the old bookstores, removing old windows and doors and cleaning the stonework.

The building, which dates back to 1905, had closed to the public seven years ago when the town’s library relocated to new purpose-built premises in the Buchanan Centre, and had lain entirely empty since 2012, when its last remaining mobile library stocks were also moved.

Councillor Graham added: “The old Carnegie library is a landmark in Coatbridge town centre, and its transformation into 12 flats will give the building a new future and help local regeneration by bringing more people to live in the area.”

An exhibition on the history of the building and the restoration project is currently running in Coatbridge Library.

We’re keen to work with property owners