Have your say on town hub plans

Online consultation events are being planned for the proposed eight town hubs across North Lanarkshire.

Scheduled events include Motherwell on Tuesday, March 16, Wishaw on Wednesday, March 17, and Shotts on Thursday, March 18.

In a statement on its website, NLC state: “Given the ambition to replace every school not replaced or remodelled since 1996, our vision is to make these places for the whole community rather than only the school community.

“To do this, hubs will be places where education is delivered alongside other council and community services.

“Hubs will have a form and facilities based on the needs of the local community.”

The council envisage three different types of hub.

Town hubs are likely to include primary and secondary education and an early years’ facility. Other services on offer will be larger in scale, such as more comprehensive sport, culture and leisure facilities and a wider range of council and partner services.

Community hubs are likely to include at least one learning establishment and may include other zones such as sport and leisure.

Small community hubs may exist in areas where there is no requirement for new education facilities but where there is a need to replace older facilities like libraries, community centres and health centres.

In Shotts, Calderhead High School is relatively new so facilities would be examined to understand what additional services could be incorporated to enhance the offering to local people.

In Wishaw, the council has already lost out on funding for the new town hub which would have included a new St Aidan’s High School and associated primary schools.

Meanwhile, Ravenscraig councillor Kenneth Duffy is calling for the new Motherwell Town Hub to be built in Ravenscraig – as the council begins its consultation process with residents next month.

There are three options for the Motherwell location – Forgewood, North Motherwell or Ravenscraig - and Councillor Duffy believes the latter provides the best option for communities.

He said: “Thanks to this Labour administration, plans for Ravenscraig are finally coming to fruition. It is vital that we continue the momentum we have already established in regenerating the site and a town hub would be the best way for the council to show the ambition they have for this area

“Ravenscraig was the hub of our community in years gone by. What would be more fitting than to make it our town’s hub once more?

“Public consultation will start next month on these plans and I would encourage all residents to have their say to ensure that the great progress we have made with Ravenscraig continues.”

If you would like to take part in the consultation visit https://www. northlanarkshire.gov. uk/regeneration-andinvestment/towns-andcommunities/place-vision/ town-and-community-hubs