Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Civic centre awarded listed building status
Council headquarters hailed a‘key landmark’ by experts
North Lanarkshire Council’s headquarters has been designated as a listed building – even though the authority itself registered an objection to the new status.
The 1960s civic centre is now categorised as a B-listed structure by Historic Environment Scotland (HES), as it is considered to be of “special architectural or historic interest” as a major and relatively rare unaltered example of the country’s post-war Modernist civic architecture.
Experts also highlighted “its exceptional design by an important Scottish architect”, and called it a “key landmark” which makes a “cultural contribution to our understanding of civic life, society and local governance in Scotland in the 20th century”.
B-listed status now applies to the entire civic centre complex – consisting of the council’s six-storey headquarters and projecting circular council chamber, concert hall and theatre building, adjoining office blocks and clock tower – and means that the structure is protected and could not be altered or demolished without listed building consent.
However, the designation excludes the office interiors and later additions of fire escapes including the glazed tower added to the side of the council chamber, after North Lanarkshire’s consultation response highlighted “issues about the special interest value of the building and details of exclusions to be applied”.
Members of the council’s planning committee were told in a report for their latest virtual meeting: “A proposal to designate Motherwell civic centre was received by HES in early 2019; [they then] carried out the required site visit and consultation, culminating in the structure being designated with B-listed status on December 2.
“The council responded to the consultation to object to the proposed listing; however, this was unsuccessful.”
It added: “The listing of the structure may have an impact in terms of ongoing costs to maintain the special character of the building.”
A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council told the Advertiser: “Following HES’S proposal to list the civic centre complex, the council commissioned a heritage review of the facility to provide advice on the listing proposal and inform a response.
“While we accepted that the complex met the category B listing criteria, we raised issues about the special interest value of the building and details of exclusions to be applied to parts of the complex, which could affect the long-term use of the building.”
The new HES listing tells how North Lanarkshire’s civic centre was designed by noted architect Peter Williams of Wylie, Shanks and Partners in the early 1960s and was the winner from 63 entries submitted to a trend-setting nationwide designed competition.
It was built over five years from 1964 by contractors Whatlings (Buildings) Ltd, and housed various burgh departments, committee rooms and “an apartment for the Provost”; with the council chamber hosting its first meeting in January 1969 and the concert hall and theatre opening the following year.
HES note: “The centre has remained a headquarters of local government in North Lanarkshire over 50 years of continuous use; [it] is a major example of postwar Modernist architectural design, incorporating many of the movement’s fundamental design principles.”
Among these are the “spatial arrangement of architectural components [and] consistent and obvious use of building components in glass, concrete and steel”.
HES added: “The prominent placing of the council debating chamber near the roadside signifies its functional importance.
“The concert hall and civic theatre’s wide, glazed perimeter corridor, enveloping the two auditoriums, is a good expression of Modernist design principles.
“In the years after the Second World War, as newly-formed local authorities were charged with the task of rebuilding and regenerating their town centres, they became important patrons
of new architecture.
“Many civic centres built between 1948 and 1980 have been demolished in recent years [and] elsewhere in Scotland, this type of building has been found to be extensively altered – [North Lanarkshire’s] is one of a very small number of major civic commissions of architectural distinction in Scotland which survive largely intact.”
The HES consultation summary adds: “The response to consultation did not raise any
issues that put into question the special architectural or historic interest of the building.
“In light of comments received from North Lanarkshire Council, we revised the wording to provide further clarity regarding the extent and known dates of later changes to the civic centre.
“We were asked to consider excluding further elements from the listing; as a result, we have specifically excluded the access lift shafts and the metal fire escape from the concert hall.”
It makes a cultural contribution to our understanding of civic life and local governance in the 20th century
New shuttle buses are to be provided and a special vaccination team set up to serve people who are housebound as NHS Lanarkshire responds to concerns about moving its Covid-19 immunisation programme to two “supercentres”.
Monklands residents are now being invited to attend appointments at Ravenscraig sports centre in Motherwell – with the previous venue at Sir John Wilson town hall in Airdrie now no longer being used, while the Time Capsule centre in Coatbridge will only be in occasional use for rescheduled visits.
Health board officials say the new set-up will allow the county’s population to be vaccinated more quickly, saying that nearly 230,000 people have already had the vaccine and adding: “If people can travel to a supercentre, we will complete the programme around two months faster.”
NHS Lanarkshire is working with Strathclyde Partnership for
Transport (SPT) on running direct services and amending existing bus routes to help reach the Motherwell and East Kilbride supercentres, and is producing a new travel guide.
SPT has also set up a dedicated enquiry service for queries on public transport to the vaccination clinics, which can be accessed at www.travelinescotland.com/lts/#/ travelinfo or contacted on 0141 465 1878 and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Mobile vaccination units are being established for more rural areas and those unable to attend supercentres or the seven local venues including Coatbridge.
The health board added: “A housebound vaccination team has been created for those who cannot leave their home.”
Dr Mark Russell, who is leading the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Lanarkshire, said: “Our updated plans will help us protect our communities as quickly as possible and support the wider NHS to keep other services running.
“More people being vaccinated quicker is the simplest and most important step we can take to help life get back to normal, faster. It wouldn’t be possible to do this without maximising our supercentres, so we’re asking for people’s help – if you can attend your appointment in a supercentre, please do so; this leaves the local centres for those who absolutely need it.
“Attending your vaccination appointment is the most important journey you’ll make this year, which is why we are asking communities to make an extra effort to attend as soon as they are invited.
“Our plans will remain flexible and we can adapt them to meet the needs of the service.”
Moving to the supercentre setup prompted concern from Airdrie politicians Neil Gray and Alex Neil; and now from Central Scotland MSP Richard Leonard, who has this week written to health secretary Jeane Freeman asking for a centre in Airdrie to be reinstated.
The Central Scotland representative insists local sites need to be re-established “as a matter of urgency”, saying constituents are concerned about travel difficulties and costs and calling the distances concerned “unacceptable”. He told the Advertiser: “More than 1200 people in Lanarkshire have died from Covid-19, one of the highest levels in the UK.
“It’s vital that we get as many people vaccinated as possible and to ensure the high levels of uptake we’ve seen so far, we must remove any barriers to access.
“Those who are the most vulnerable are those who are also less likely to be car owners and, therefore, unable to get to the Ravenscraig site. Healthcare should be as local as possible; regrettably, that is not the case with the Covid-19 vaccination programme.”
NHS Lanarkshire say: “We understand that these plans will not be suitable for everyone, which is why we’ve included local centres across Lanarkshire; we’ve listened to the concerns raised about accessing the supercentres and are putting in place additional support to help.
“Travelling to your vaccination appointment is an essential journey regardless of distance, no different to attending a hospital appointment; and car sharing is also allowed to travel to an appointment if there are no other alternatives.”
Chapelhall’s chicanes could be removed from the village’s busy main road after a study identified that they have not achieved the desired effect of reducing vehicle speeds.
Now the potential improvements being suggested also include a new traffic island at Bo’ness Road near the roundabout junction with Lancaster Avenue, plus signage intended to divert large vehicles away from the route through the village.
A report outlines the findings of a traffic survey carried out in September analysing traffic types, volumes and speeds along Chapelhall’s main routes of Woodhall, Lauchope and Main Streets, Bellside Road and Lancaster Avenue.
Its speed analysis, determining the rate “at or below which 85 percent of all vehicles are observed to travel under free-flowing conditions”, concluded that traffic negotiating the chicanes typically does so between 28 and 30mph, despite the posted speed limit of 20mph.
The consultation report notes of the traffic calming measures, put in place in October 2019: “These results confirm that the chicanes have not been as effective in controlling vehicle speeds as anticipated.
“Existing speed tables on Lauchope Street have been effective in reducing speeds to 20mph; a potential option would be to replace the chicanes on Woodhall Street with four speed tables to have the same effect.”
Also proposed is the new traffic island at the southern Bo’ness Road entrance to the village, plus three miniroundabouts at Kennelburn Road, Gibb Street and Honeywell Crescent.
The report states: “These would help improve the operation of these junctions and also act as a traffic-calming measure. As well as reducing traffic speeds, the mini roundabouts would also help to discourage through traffic movements.”
Now the current consultation, which runs until Sunday, also asks residents for their views on the current weight restriction preventing the heaviest lorries using Lauchope Street “as an inappropriate shortcut” – which was suspended during the review to ensure all relevant local exemptions were in place – and whether it should be discontinued.
The report states: “Surveys have confirmed that a maximum of two HGVS over 7.5 tonnes per hour travel [along the route] without stopping; this indicates that a weight restriction would not have a significant impact in reducing HGV movements.
“It is considered that new advisory signage may be more effective in discouraging vehicles in excess of 7.5 tonnes from travelling through Woodhall Street and Lauchope Street.
“This has the added benefit of encouraging not only 7.5 tonne vehicles to use the alternative route via Lancaster Avenue, but any vehicle over 3.5 tonnes.”
The survey established that 80 per cent of traffic using Woodhall and Lauchope Street had “a purpose in the village” rather than using it as a through route, including three-quarters of large lorries over 7.5 tonnes and two-thirds of smaller HGVS.
Roads officials also found that while total traffic on the local road through Chapelhall has decreased by 21 per cent since a previous survey in January 2020, “in line with the reduction measured across the road network during Covid-19 restrictions”, goods vehicles had increased by the same amount.