Muirhouse, North Lanarkshire

Muirhouse is a residential suburb in the south-east of Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland,[1] coming under the Motherwell South East & Ravenscraig council ward[2] and bordering the Flemington neighbourhood in the town,[3] plus the Craigneuk and Netherton areas of Wishaw. It consists of thirteen tower blocks (each over 52 metres (171 ft) high with at least 18 floors, constructed between 1963 and 1970),[4] amidst low rise flats and numerous houses.

For the district in Edinburgh, see Muirhouse.

Muirhouse

Tower Blocks in Muirhouse
Muirhouse
Location within North Lanarkshire
OS grid referenceNS766553
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMOTHERWELL
Postcode districtML1 2
Dialling code01698
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

The area has two Roman Catholic schools (one being the nearby Our Lady's High School), a non-denominational school, a community centre, several small shopping area, two takeaway shops, tanning salon, dog groomers, dellicatessen and a pub. Muirhouse is surrounded by countryside, including the Dalzell Estate,[5] and has many walking routes into Motherwell town centre. The nearest train station is Sheildmuir, located on the north-eastern edge of the suburb.

Regeneration and Upgrades

The area has seen regeneration with the demolition of several low-rise flats replaced with housing and green areas. The tower blocks have seen substantial upgrades over the years. Most obviously, new overcladding was applied to the exteriors between 1997 and 2000 (with the first blocks to be upgraded being Grange and Merryton and the last being Shields and Muirhouse). Other work included the enclosing of external balconies and the installation of CCTV inside and outside the blocks. North Lanarkshire Council has also been upgrading the interior of the flats by replacing dated bathrooms and kitchens.

Currently the council are testing the cladding on the side of each tower to check flammability. The local fire service are currently inspecting the towers' safety.

In 2017, it was reported that the council planned to demolish all the towers in its control over the next 20 years and replace them with modern housing, due to the rising costs of maintenance as the buildings aged, as well as some of the flats being unpopular and underoccupied (although this was not a major issue in Muirhouse).[6][7][8][9]

Tower blocks

References
  1. Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 64 Glasgow (Motherwell & Airdrie) (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2010. ISBN 9780319228951.
  2. Electoral Ward: Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig, Scottish Government Statistics
  3. Flemington, Gazetteer for Scotland
  4. "'It was an experience' – High Living in Motherwell". University of Glasgow. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  5. Dalzell Estate & Baron's Haugh Nature Reserve, Visit Lanarkshire
  6. Plans to demolish every North Lanarkshire tower block over next 20 years, Scottish Construction Now, 20 December 2017
  7. All council high-rise flats in North Lanarkshire 'could come down', BBC News, 20 December 2017
  8. Towers among the first to be demolished, Motherwell Times, 30 March 2018
  9. Building You a Better Future - Regeneration Proposals for your area, North Lanarkshire Council, 9 April 2019
  10. "Tower Block UK: Flemington Area: Burnside Street, Phase I". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  11. "Tower Block UK: Flemington Area: Burnside Stret, [sic] Phase III". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  12. "Buildings in Motherwell: Burnside Street". Emporis. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  13. "Tower Block UK: Muirhouse Area: Phase III". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  14. "Buildings in Motherwell: Shields Drive". Emporis. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
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