Gary Fanning
About 24 Syrian refugees currently living in Beirut are on the way to Wishaw.
And the Wishaw Press understand that work on houses in the town has been carried out for about half a dozen Syrian families.
As part of the plans a briefing session with community groups in Wishaw is to be held in mid-February.
Councillor Pat O’Rourke, convener of the Syrian Resettlement Programme, said:“The group coming to Wishaw, will be the first group to have family members of refugees already settled in North Lanarkshire.
“This greatly enhances settling into communities of both the new arrivals and those previously resettled, by removing the worry and anxiety of having relations in a war zone.”
North Lanarkshire Council will resettle 180 Syrian refugees in the period 2015-2020, as part of the UK Government’s‘Syrian Resettlement Programme’.
The first families arrived in North Lanarkshire last November.
To prepare for their arrival, a Syrian Resettlement Project Team was established involving housing, social work and other council services, together with NHS Lanarkshire, local voluntary organisations, local housing associations, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
Councillor Pat O’Rourke added: “We have already successfully welcomed more than 80 Syrian refugees to North Lanarkshire in Airdrie, Coatbridge, Bellshill and Motherwell.
“The families already settled are relishing their new lives, thanks to the support from the council and other agencies and, importantly, the friendship offered by local volunteers and community groups.
“The council is proud that we will