Now Look Closer - At Home in North Lanarkshire

Providing our communities with the services they deserve is a key priority for the council and we want people to enjoy living and working in the area. There is a wide range of services available, ranging from education and lifelong learning, to shopping and eating out. In this section, you will find out more about getting the most out of North Lanarkshire.

North Lanarkshire Council's Education Department provides the best possible education for all ages to prepare young people for life's challenges. It is responsible for educating over 50,000 pupils in 168 primary, secondary and special schools.

In 2003 the Education Department was commended as being the best in Scotland by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMI) in their inspection report. It cited North Lanarkshire as a council that has made a significant commitment to widening the achievement of its pupils.

Further education courses are provided by the area's colleges - Motherwell, Cumbernauld and Coatbridge.

The council's Community Learning and Development (Lifelong Learning) Service provides a range of opportunities for increasing levels of literacy, numeracy and general education attainment and supports local communities.

Libraries are another key local resource. The council's 24 libraries and 6 mobile library vehicles provide a variety of items available for loan including books, in traditional, large print and talking formats, to compact discs, videos, DVDs and computer games. Gaelic, Cantonese and Urdu collections are also available. Also on offer from the Museums Service, is advice to children and adults on local and family history research projects.

North Lanarkshire Council's Housing and Property Services Department is the largest public sector landlord in Scotland and is responsible for managing and maintaining its 43,000 homes. A wide range of information is available from the department to help you access housing in the area, including details of other registered social landlords, details of housing available for immediate let, information on new housing developments and details of regeneration projects.

In addition to council properties, new housing development continues at a steady pace throughout the area, ranging from small flats to large family homes.

There are six main town centres, in North Lanarkshire. Airdrie, Bellshill, Coatbridge, Cumbernauld, Motherwell, Wishaw, Shotts and Kilsyth, all offering excellent shopping and eating outlets. Continual investment is being made by the council to enhance these areas, to provide employment and business opportunities, as well as improved facilities.

And with changes afoot, the future looks bright for North Lanarkshire's towns, with a number of major developments in the pipeline. One such project is planned for the former Ravenscraig steelworks site that marks a giant step regenerating the economy and prosperity of Lanarkshire.

This development is planned to be built over the next 20 years, and will cost £800 million. It will mean homes for up to 10,000 people, 12,000 jobs created, a new town centre, new railway station and public transport interchange, business and industrial parks, community infrastructure – schools, health centres, leisure facilities and a ski dome and arena.

A modern, state-of-the-art shopping complex – the Antonine Mall - is being developed within Cumbernauld. This will bring with it new retailers and is a welcome boost for the local economy.

The Gartcosh area is also set for change. The creation of around 4,000 new jobs, 270 new homes, a new motorway junction, providing direct connection between the site and the M73 Glasgow to Stirling motorway, and a new railway station on the Glasgow to Falkirk line will enhance this location.

With excellent transport links on offer, access to town centres could not be easier. Transport across the area includes rail and bus services, and North Lanarkshire can also act as an excellent base to explore from, with the M8 offering links to Glasgow and Edinburgh and the M73 to Stirling.

To find out more, North Lanarkshire Council has published an A-Z booklet of public services which details the wide range of services provided by the council and its partner organisations. To obtain a copy please contact North Lanarkshire Council's Corporate Communications Unit by telephoning 01698 302396.

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