Town visions

The old model for town centres is not sustainable. Out-of-town and online retail has changed how towns work. So how do they survive, and what can we do to re-imagine our towns?

The answer is to reposition our towns as mixed-use spaces, promoting town centre living and putting staff and services closer to communities. There will be a much stronger focus on new-build housing, residential conversion and refurbishment.

We'll use land no longer needed for retailing and improve town centre access and active travel. We plan to build 5000 new homes and many of these will be in town centres.

This won't be a one-size-fits-all approach. Each of the towns in North Lanarkshire has its own challenges and opportunities, and its own history and heritage.

To become a reality, these visions need to be shaped through extensive consultation and engagement with community planning partners, landowners, retailers, residents and other agencies, and they'll inform both private and public sector investment.