Building Briefs – November 14th

• Ravenscraig woodlands plans to be opened to public

Ravenscraig is home to dense woodlands, which are currently inaccessible. Now, plans have been drawn up which would see the woodlands opened up as a place of natural beauty for the public to enjoy.

The developers of Ravenscraig are working alongside North Lanarkshire Council and Central Scotland Green Network Trust (CSGNT) on the proposals. Under the plans, an accessible green corridor would be developed between Craigneuk with Carfin with surfaced paths and picnic areas to encourage people to enjoy and make use of the woodland area, and management works to ensure the health of the woods for generations to come.

A community consultation event was held last week at Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility, with the public giving their feedback on proposals. The next stage will see a management plan agreed ahead of funding being sought.

• Kilmarnock bus station refurbishment gets underway

The refurbishment of Kilmarnock Bus Station is set to get underway next week, following the appointment of Project Management and Construction Ltd (PMC) to carry out the £420,000 works.

Funded by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, the project has been progressed by Ayrshire Roads Alliance in partnership with East Ayrshire Council and Wyllie Shanks Architects.

The initial bus station feasibility study and proposals were presented to the public in November 2018 where up to 200 members of the public gave their feedback on the proposals.

Phase 1 of the project will concentrate on the waiting room / Shopmobility and Stagecoach ticket counter area. The Shopmobility office will be completely refurbished and repositioned allowing for the installation of a fully accessible Changing Places Disabled Toilet. This is considered to be one of the first such installations within a bus station in Scotland.

The Stagecoach ticket counter will also be revamped and reposition through 90 degrees to face out into a new waiting room accessible from the bus concourse complete with new state of the art real time passenger information screens.

The access corridor to the Foregate will be slightly repositioned and widened and the Burns Mall access will also be subject to improvements which are designed to enhance access to the Mall and help improve security.

The contract is anticipated to last 18 weeks with a completion date in early spring 2020. The bus station will remain fully operational throughout with no disruption to services.

• Strategy plans way forward for Cambuslang town centre

A wide-ranging strategy and action plan for Cambuslang town centre has now been agreed.

Following extensive consultation over the summer months, the strategy will now be implemented with council staff working in close partnership with Cambuslang Community Council and other community groups.

A number of action points will now be taken forward to improve the town centre following the decision by South Lanarkshire Council’s community and enterprise resources committee.

This includes the review and possible replacement of street furniture, a new approach to commercial waste management, upgrading shopfronts, a review of parking in the area (including park and ride), signage review and development of a Business Forum.

In parallel to the work on the Strategy and Action Plan, the Cambuslang Future Group (a sub-group of the Community Council) were successful in securing £620,000 of funding through the Scottish Government Town Centre Fund.

This award will allow a significant section of the Main Street, from Greenlees Road to West Coats Road, to be resurfaced. These works are expected to bring a major improvement and make a significant contribution towards addressing many of the concerns raised throughout the consultation and are consistent with the strategy.

• Permission granted for Angus community facility

Permission has been granted for a community hub aimed at transforming the fortunes of Monifieth.

Angus Council’s development standards committee councillors unanimously backed the recommendation of officials in approving the Monifieth Community Resource Group (MCRG) bid for land at Riverview Park.

It will now see the creation of a centre containing community space, a fitness suite, café, Changing Places toilet and potential for cinema screenings.