Ravenscraig
Ravenscraig is an area of land located in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, due to become a new town. Ravenscraig was formerly the site of Ravenscraig steelworks; once the largest hot strip steel mill in western Europe, the steelworks closed in 1992, and is now almost totally demolished.
The site is now in the process of a major redevelopment by Wilson Bowden Developments Ltd, Scottish Enterprise and Tata Steel Europe.
Location
Located in North Lanarkshire, Ravenscraig lies between the towns of Wishaw and Motherwell and the villages of Carfin and Newarthill, an area with a combined population of over 120,000.Ravenscraig is only some ten minutes drive from both the M74 and the M8 motorways, which lead to Glasgow and Edinburgh – Scotland's two largest cities – respectively.
A rail line travels directly through the site and another travels around the opposite end of the site.
History
Ravenscraig Steel Works, as well as the former settlement of the same title, took its name from the nearby secluded cliff face called Ravenscraig. This translates as Raven's Cliff or Cliff of the Ravens. It is situated in the valley of the North Calder Water, north of the steelworks site. This is first shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1859.A major expansion of Colvilles, the largest steel manufacturer in the United Kingdom before World War II, was approved in July 1954 by the Iron and Steel Board.
In 1954 the first stages of development began in Ravenscraig, turning a green field into a site for steelworks. By 1957 several coke ovens, a by-products plant, a blast furnace and an open hearth melting shop with three steelmaking furnaces were built, and by 1959 a stripmill was complete.
The closure of Ravenscraig in 1992 signalled the end of large-scale steel making in Scotland, and was the cause of a loss of 770 jobs, with another 10,000 job losses directly and indirectly linked to the closure.
Current state
In its current state, Ravenscraig is one of the largest derelict sites in Europe measuring over in size, an area equivalent to 700 football pitches or twice the size of Monaco. The main spine of the new road network has been constructed and there are facilities onsite to help decontaminate the River Calder which suffered during the years Ravenscraig steelworks was in operation. There are also plantations designed to encourage diversity in the site wildlife.Plans
After many years of planning, Ravenscraig will be 'regenerated' and rebuilt by three equal shareholders: Wilson Bowden Developments Ltd, Scottish Enterprise and Tata Steel. The project will be one of the largest regenerations in Europe, with being developed.Ravenscraig will be home to several new facilities:
| New Facilities |
| 3,500 new homes |
| A new town centre with 84,000 m² of retail and leisure space |
| Up to 216,000 m² of business and industrial space |
| Major parkland areas |
| A new transport network |
| New sports facility |
| A new college campus |
| Two new schools |
| A hotel |
Part of the development will be to create new habitats for the wildlife already living in the area, such as deer, foxes, hares, otters, badgers, watervoles, butterflies and birds such as the wader, song thrush and the little ringed plover, with an Ecological Clerk of Works appointed to 'ensure compliance with Ravenscraig Ltd.’s aims and objectives by all developers and contractors.'
The new £29 million sports complex was used as training camps for the 2012 London Olympics in London and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The complex was also the host facility for the 2011 International Children's Games.
Debates
The plans for the regeneration generated a certain amount of controversy; local residents and businesses were worried about the proposed shopping facilities. It is feared that new shopping facilities in the town centre will destroy jobs and nearby businesses and town centres will suffer. Nearby shopping centres such as Motherwell Shopping Centre, the Regent Shopping Centre in Hamilton and East Kilbride Shopping Centre have complained that new shopping facilities may take away their regular customers, a statement that North Lanarkshire Council leader Jim McCabe disputes.Ravenscraig today
The first major development, the new Motherwell College, has been completed, and has been formally opened. The building will attract in excess of 20,000 students. The new regional sports facility has also been completed and opened on 4 October 2010.The final part of Phase One, which is construction of houses to the north of the new town, is well underway. The housing development of Phoenix Park will eventually hold 850 new homes, some of which have been completed.
Also, another important step towards full completion of the project has been met, with funding being approved for the second phase. Phase two of the construction, which includes shopping facilities, was planned to start around mid-2012.
A new dual carriageway that would link the new town with the M8 and M74 motorways has been given approval, with an extra £10 million to bring the project forward agreed in June 2012. The new carriageway would also travel through neighboring North Lanarkshire settlements, Motherwell and Carfin.
In September 2012, the first building of a new BRE Innovation Park was opened, with the visitor centre building officially completed. A total of ten energy-efficient buildings were expected to be built in the park.
On 14 November 2012, plans were also un-veiled to build a new Marston's pub-restaurant directly to the north-east of the Sports Facility. Despite favorable first impressions, the proposal did not receive planning permission at the time.
Progress slowed on the development due to adverse economic factors, and a revised masterplan was submitted in 2018, being approved the following year. The planning report, which differed from the earlier master vision with the amount of retail space reduced by around 60% and no short term prospect for a new railway station, anticipated that progress would be slow but steady across the site, not being completed until around 2045.
Transport
As part of the regeneration, the transport links to Ravenscraig will be greatly improved. There will be a new transport interchange within walking distance of the new town centre offering bus services to Glasgow and Lanark. There will be easy access to public transport throughout the site including dedicated business routes. There will also be a new railway station built that will link to the broader public transport network. The Argyle Line travels through the area, so trains could easily travel to major Scottish railway stations such as Glasgow Central from Ravenscraig.In future, the Greenlink Cycle Path may be extended to connect Ravenscraig with a direct route to Strathclyde Country Park.