02/12/2009 08:00:00

Plans to build a new town in Lanarkshire were unveiled by property developers on Tuesday.

The developers, Edinburgh-based company Hazledene Homes, revealed its plans for Torbothie, a new waterside community to be built near Shotts in Lanarkshire, central Scotland, which will be built to be environmentally-friendly and sustainable.

The proposed plan would place the new community around a small loch on former industrial wasteland. The plans stated that this position would allow for the "healing of scars" that rendered the land disordered during its former use. Inspired by "traditional waterside settlements" like Ullapool and Inveraray, the community would maximise its position by a water source and enjoy not just pleasant surroundings but the use of the water for sustainable energy.

According to The Scotsman, Labour councillor Jim Robertson, deputy provost of North Lanarkshire Council, said: "This is just the kind of development we need here. It will undoubtedly help bring more people to the area, and it will provide much-needed local employment."

Malcolm McMillan, a councillor for the SNP, said: "This has the potential to give the Shotts area a wonderful boost. We have been suffering from depopulation, with falling rolls in the primary and secondary schools.

"The new Torbothie could well be the answer to many of these problems and I welcome it wholeheartedly."

The area promises to cater to tourists too, with shops, cafés and a public park under development. Maintaining the eco-friendly theme, the town would be filled with various pedestrianised areas, as well as cycle routes too.