Town centres to be improved

Feb 25 2009 by Graham Miller, Wishaw Press

Town centres to be improved

AFTER many years of neglect, the town centres of Wishaw and Motherwell are at last to receive long-overdue maintenance work.

The latest council budget shows that during the next three years, Wishaw town centre will have almost £8m spent on it. Meanwhile, Motherwell, a recent runner-up in the annual Scottish Carbuncle Awards for the nation’s most dismal towns, will receive more than £5m.

During recent years, both towns have been consistently overlooked in favour of their Monklands counterparts, Coatbridge and Airdrie, which have both benefited from generous council expenditure.

Wishaw’s SNP councillor, Clare Adamson, said: “I was shocked to discover that in the years from 2004 to 2008 the total capital expenditure on Wishaw town centre had only been four per cent of the total budget, in comparison to Coatbridge receiving 20 per cent.

“Wishaw has recently seen some of its oldest established family businesses closing, as well as the impact of the credit crunch closing one of its major high street names.

“The town has been starved of investment and while there are still plans to by-pass the town centre, this project, long on the cards, has yet to be confirmed.

“In the current climate, we need radical thinking that will restore the town to a thriving market town that supports local businesses and produce.”

Wishaw’s improvement plans are dependent on the proposed northern by-pass, which would see traffic diverted from the Main Street, along Dryburgh Road and into an extended Kitchener Street. After objections to the original applications, consultants have been producing more detailed plans, to be submitted soon.

Wishaw Labour councillor John Pentland said: “The by-pass being approved is pivotal. Once agreed, it will allow the implementation of lots of exciting initiatives to upgrade and improve our town centre.”

The next three years will see the realisation of the streetscape design strategy in Wishaw. There will be widening and replacement of existing pavements, along with improved lighting and street furniture.

Parking improvements are also scheduled, together with an initiative to modernise back court areas in the centre of town.