New and experienced cyclists will be able to enjoy a pump track, mountain bike skills areas and trails, Learn to Ride zones, and a trials bike area.

There will be a range of spaces for different types of sport cycling, alongside improved active travel connections within the park. Encouraging new people to cycle is a key part of the plan and we are working Clydesdale Colts, Active Schools and Social Track to draw up plans for two Learn to Ride areas. These will create safe environments for community groups and families to teach cycle skills to young people. £120,000 has been awarded to this initiative from the Place Based Investment Program and is supported by £20,000 of investment from the council’s Country Parks service.

Local families will be encouraged to explore the park through a natural play trail, public art and access improvements including a family friendly nature walk. Work has already started on creating hedgerows, a wildflower meadow and tree planting in the park at Bellshill, with opportunities for local people to get involved.

Work is also starting on a year-long process involving groups in the community who have experienced a high impact on their activities due to the pandemic in co-creating a covid-19 memorial within Strathclyde Country Park.

We will invest £400,000 in the Bellshill Gateway project, with another £600,000 received from other agencies, such as the Scottish Government and sportscotland who are providing funding through their Cycling Facilities Fund.

Strathclyde Park will also feature North Lanarkshire’s covid-19 memorial, as part of the national Remembering Together project by Greenspace Scotland to create community memorials in all 32 local authority areas in Scotland.

The plans are all part of the council’s Country Parks for the Future programme which aims to offer health, wellbeing and social improvements for residents and visitors.

“Our country parks offer wonderful opportunities for everyone to enjoy a range of outdoor activities, from walking and cycling, to watching local wildlife, natural play and watersports, and our ambition is to expand the facilities and use of our parks for residents and visitors,” said Councillor Michael McPake, Convener of the Environment and Transportation Committee.

“The new cycle facilities will provide experiences for children and young people of all abilities, and the new gateway at Bellshill will develop another area of Strathclyde Country Park as an attractive, woodland location.

“Throughout the covid pandemic parks have become increasingly important, offering us all space to take some exercise and fresh air when we were forced to stay at home so much. So it’s appropriate that Strathclyde Park will be the home for North Lanarkshire’s covid memorial, where we can remember those we have lost.”

The Cycling Facilities Fund has been made possible through a £4million commitment of capital funding from Scottish Government and £4million of National Lottery funding from sportscotland. This significant investment in infrastructure is being delivered through a partnership between Scottish Cycling and sportscotland to ensure projects can have a lasting impact.  

Following consultation with park users, the council has decided to keep the road through the park from Bothwellhaugh Cemetery to the junction for the Watersports Centre closed to traffic.

The closure was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic to create more space for people to walk and cycle, and in response to a recent survey over 85% of visitors felt that the park was safer without traffic, 77% said it was better for recreation and 79% agreed they saw less antisocial behaviour. Police Scotland has recorded a 57.1% reduction in crimes, a decrease of 32% in incidents and a 25.4% in road traffic incidents.

At Palacerigg Country Park, children will be planting trees as part of the council’s objective to plant a tree for every school pupil in the area and help address climate change. Plans for a Community Asset Transfer of the visitor centre, surrounding land buildings to Palacerigg Community Trust are progressing. A bothy has been refurbished to give park staff a base and allowing them to provide an improved service to visitors

At Drumpellier Country Park, designs for a new park gateway at Blair Road are being drawn up, after consultation with local residents. Additional car parking, including new blue badge provision, is included along with proposals to plant a tree avenue to commemorate the Queen’s Jubilee, seed a new wildflower meadow and improve welcome signage. The council has engaged with park users who have conditions which limit their mobility to ensure the plans meet their needs.