Work is now completed on the second phase of the Strathaven Project.

The village has already been given a new look following a £63,440 programme of works over the last year and, thanks to this latest package of works, the village now has undergone:

• new streetscape improvements at Bridge Street (£85,000) with the resurfacing and widening of the footpath using Caithness flagstones, the road will also be resurfaced
• a the building facelift programme (£100,000), which includes important buildings in Common Green, Bridge Street and Kirk Street
• the construction of a new car park at Castle Street (£100,000) with 41 spaces
• Common Green landscape work (£20,000) including the replacing of planters, new hanging baskets and tree planting which will match the stylised lamp-posts and tourist signage already in the Green

Councillor Danny Meikle, chair of the Council’s Planning & Development Committee, said: “This is an important programme of works for Strathaven which has already benefited the village. Strathaven and the surrounding area has always been very picturesque and, with this project, it should really be a great pull for tourists and benefit the local economy.”

The improvement works have been made possible thanks to the Strathaven Project, a multi-agency community-based initiative involving South Lanarkshire Council, Lanarkshire Development Agency, other public agencies and representatives from the local community. The project has also benefited from grant aid from the European Union, which has been crucial to the success of the project.

Completed work to date includes phase one of the streetscape improvements programme with the refurbishment of street and path surfaces, and soft landscaping in and around Main Street, Strait Close, the Boo-Backitt Bridge, Kirk Street and parts of Castle Street and Bridge Street. There has also been the first phase of building facelift which involved improvement of various blocks of buildings in Kirk Street, Main Street and Strait Close, and landscape improvements at Lesmahagow Road, Darvel Road and Glasgow Road.

The Strathaven Project was set up in 1993 and, to date, £650,000 has been spent in the village excluding the figures quoted above.

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