Developer reveals £200m vision to transform old steelworks site

Plans to create hundreds of jobs through a £200m development at a former steelworks site have been revealed by a transport and logistics company.

Russell Group is seeking permission to build a railhead logistics hub at former industrial site Ravenscraig in North Lanarkshire.

The proposed development would serve as the company’s UK headquarters and would include a training academy while also functioning as a “test bed” for innovation in the transport industry.

The site’s developer, Ravenscraig Ltd, has been in talks with Russell Group about the plans and a planning application notice is due to be submitted to North Lanarkshire Council this week.

Developers said the hub would create 200 jobs when operational.

Kenneth Russell, director at Russell Group, said: “Ravenscraig is set to be one of the best-connected locations in Scotland and is uniquely positioned to be home to our planned headquarters and logistics hub.

“We are hugely excited by the potential of this development, which will drive real and tangible benefits to the local population, not least through the creation of hundreds of new and high-quality jobs.

“At a time when there is so much economic uncertainty, we are proud to be investing in North Lanarkshire.

“While we are at the start of the planning process, we are committed to consulting with the public on our plans and will set them out in more detail over the coming weeks and months.”

If the plans are approved, construction work would begin towards the end of 2021 with the first phase of the development expected to be completed by early 2023.

Further phases would continue to be delivered while the first section is operational, with overall completion by early 2026.

A virtual public consultation is due to be held on two dates – November 25 and December 9.

Ravenscraig steelworks closed in 1992.

Ravenscraig Ltd, a joint venture comprising Scottish Enterprise, Wilson Bowden Developments and Tata Steel, aims to redevelop the former Ravenscraig steelworks site to have economic impact in North Lanarkshire and further afield.

Hundreds of homes have been built in the area since 2006, as well as a campus of New College Lanarkshire and a major sports centre.

In June last year, planning officials approved a new masterplan that aims to build a community where people can live, work and enjoy leisure activities.

Last month, funding approval was granted for the Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure project, which will connect Ravenscraig north to the M8 and south to Motherwell and the M74.