Scotland

Community developing on North Road

A brand new housing development in Cumbernauld will bring twenty-nine brand new affordable homes to the area.

The North Road project is the latest stage in North Lanarkshire Council’s ‘Building for the Future’ programme and will see twenty-one terraced houses and eight semi-detached houses constructed at the site opposite St. Maurice’s High School. One of these homes will be purpose-built in order to make it accessible for a young wheelchair user.

The cost of the project is £2.7 million, with £652,000 of the funding coming from the Scottish Government. Taking place over five years, the programme aims to see the construction of 500 new high-quality homes for rent across the local area.

The houses on the North Road project are being built by Wates Living Space, whilst Coltart Earley is the architect and Scott Bennett Associates is the Structural Engineer. Houses will be constructed to meet the requirements of tenants and will include high quality kitchens and bathrooms.

Convener of Housing and Social Work, Councillor Barry McCulloch, said:

“This is our first new build development in the Cumbernauld area and it will see our 100th new home built, providing much needed housing in the area. Our £75 million Building for the Future programme will deliver a total of 500 homes across North Lanarkshire, underlining our commitment to providing high quality homes for our tenants.”

He added: “The homes here in North Road will be modern, energy efficient, accessible and built to the highest standards.”

During the construction of the North Road project, The Wates Group has worked closely with the council, the local community and nearby Motherwell College in order to support unemployed people in the Cumbernauld area. Indeed, a number of unemployed residents have been given work on the project and The Wates Group has also taken on a new trainee.

The Wates Group has also been involved in a project to upgrade the lecture theatre at the nearby St. Maurice’s High School. This project has been conducted by The Wates Group as part of its commitment to help deliver projects for local communities and work includes removing existing furniture, repairing the ceiling and general decorating works. In addition, all timber benches and chairs removed from the lecture theatre will be recycled in the school’s wood shop. During the project, Wates Living Space and Coltart Early have provided work experience placements for four pupils at the school.

Wates’ Business Unit Director, Ronnie Bennett, said: “Not only are we creating twenty-nine affordable family homes, our involvement to date has brought numerous additional benefits such as the recent Building Futures programme, mentoring and work experience placements for St. Maurice’s students, along with a wide range of other community-focused activities.”

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