Shotts housing bid gets the green light
Councillor Tommy Cochrane
A major housing development has been given the go ahead in Shotts.
The decision to grant planning permission for 350 new homes at Springhill Farm coupled with 50 new council homes and 100 new social housing in Harthill gives the Fortissat ward 500 new homes.
Shotts councillor Tommy Cochrane has been pushing for new homes to be built in the town and was delighted the plans by Advance Construction were supported by councillors of all political parties despite NLC planners recommending the proposals should be refused.
He said: “In 2016 Advance Construction contacted me with plans to build houses in the Springhill area.
“After studying their ideas, I decided that I would support this application and to their credit, Advance Construction was active in community engagement.
“It was heartening to hear positive comments made by members of the committee about investment in the Fortissat ward.
“When it came to the vote, every councillor irrespective of their political party supported this application.
“A special thanks to the leader of the council Jim Logue for his contribution at the committee. He articulated very well the need for development and regeneration in Shotts, and this has given me confidence in the administration.”
With new homes being built in the area, Councillor Cochrane is now pressing ahead with ideas on how to improve Shotts ailing town centre and is hoping the council would support more investment in it.
He added: “We can now move onto the next level; this is to look at regeneration of our town centre.
“I have been in consultation with officers within the council about moving this forwards for a few years now, and the Springhill Farm development will go a long way to attracting new retail businesses into Shotts.
“There is still a mountain to climb to get our town centre updated but you can rest assured that I will continue to work hard to make this happen and I am sure we will now get the support of the council.”
Advance Construction Scotland, which has been working closely with EMA architects, also agreed to a planning obligation to support primary school capacity for the catchment area.
Advance director of strategic operations Lynsey Breen said: “We’re proud to partner with North Lanarkshire Council to help transform Shotts and get the area ready for hundreds of highquality houses, which will contribute to the much-needed demand for new homes in the area.
“It’s an exciting regeneration project that will give Shotts the social and economic boost it deserves, allowing it to continue to grow in the future and serve communities for generations to come.”