Funding agreed for £73m Scottish road

The Scottish Government has granted provisional approval to North Lanarkshire Council’s use  of Tax Increment Funding to build a vital £73m road link to kick-start regeneration of the Ravenscraig steelwork site.

The council will now be able to borrow money against future income from business rates to build a seven mile long dual carriageway linking the site to the M8 and M74.

Although work has started on a few elements of the Ravenscraig redevelopment this is the key to what will be Scotland’s largest remediation project.

North Lanarkshire Council’s head of regeneration services, Maureen McConachie, said: “We are studying the terms of the provisional approval of the business plan and will have further discussions with both the Scottish Futures Trust and site developers Ravenscraig Ltd on how best to progress.

“Obviously, on a regeneration scheme of this scale, there are still a number of details to be resolved. Nevertheless we are delighted to have passed this crucial milestone.”

The redevelopment will effectively create a small, new town over the next 30 years.  But the main £500m phase 2 stalled in the downturn because of lack of upfront infrastructure investment. TIF should help to unlock this stage.