Former office block could be converted to flats

An application has been submitted to transform the former Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) office block in Coatbridge into 39 new flats.

Plans for the building on South Circular Road show designs for its conversion into “affordable residential units”, with the new one- and two-bedroomed homes being laid out over three storeys.

It has lain empty for four years since its 250 staff members were relocated to Motherwell and Glasgow in a government estates review, with the building finally being sold at auction in February 2020.

Now prospective developers ML5 Ltd have submitted their official planning application to North Lanarkshire Council. A period of routine consultations is currently being carried out and a decision will be issued in the coming months.

Built in 1975, the 27,000 square-foot former office has a brick, glass and zinc facade plus landscaped grounds, and the plans also show the provision of 30 parking spaces for future residents.

It went for £440,000 when it went under the hammer 18 months ago after being put up for auction by Telereal Trillium, with bidding for the Coatbridge property being described as “fierce”.

The closure of Coatbridge’s DWP office followed a 2017 review which resulted in 16 government premises across Scotland being shut.

It was deemed “unsuitable for future needs and [requiring] significant investment to become a modern, digital working environment”, with the decision drawing cross-party opposition from all of Monklands’ parliamentarians at the time.