Coatbridge residents welcomed transport minister Jenny Gilruth for the official opening of an improved £429,000 pathway at an increasingly popular beauty spot.
The walkway alongside the Monkland canal, leading from Blair Road near the town centre to Drumpellier Lawns, has now been resurfaced following eight weeks of work by Scottish Canals with support from active travel charity Sustrans.
Members of Friends of Monkland Canal, who have worked to secure a range of improvements for the canal area, led politicians and special guests on a walk along the two-kilometre route, which they say is “a game changer” for the area.
Friends group co-lead Alan McCormack said the event was “the culmination of two years’ hard work”, saying: “The investment has been warmly welcomed and opens our canal up to the wider community who might not have been able to use the towpath – this has been a great success story and something Coatbridge can be very proud of.”
Committee member Stephen McCargo added: “The two ends of Coatbridge are now joined up. [Previously] people just wouldn’t use [the path] at night but now people are actually using it all the time and feel safe.”
He told members of the canal’s 2600-strong Facebook group that the minister’s visit “gave us the opportunity to highlight some of the fantastic work that has gone on over the past couple of years, from the initial clean-up phase to the installation of the new path, bins and benches”; and added: “The continued support and investment by the community of Coatbridge in bringing back to life this historic canal has been nothing short of remarkable.”
Ms Gilruth was greeted by party colleague Fulton MacGregor, the Coatbridge MSP, and praised the work of the group of dedicated local residents, plus the investment by Scottish Canals and Sustrans.
She said: “Friends of Monkland Canal been working really hard throughout lockdown to deliver improvements for the local area, so it’s fantastic to see some of the progress and what’s been achieved.
“It’s fantastic to see the regeneration that’s happened in the course of a pretty short time period, with the help of the community and Scottish Canals to improve the environment for the folks that live here; and the wider canal network offers real opportunities in terms of active travel.”
Also visiting Coatbridge to see completion of the project to transform the former muddy pathway into a paved route – which also forms part of national cycle network route 75 – were Scottish Canals chief executive Catherine Topley and Sustrans Scotland director Karen McGregor.
Ms Topley praised the two organisations’ “significant partnership” and added: “This would not have been possible without the Friends of Monkland Canal.
“They have advocated for this canal for many years, ensuring that it’s looked after and during times of Covid came together to make sure it stayed a safe and comfortable place for people to use.”
Friends of Monklands Canal was formed two years ago, with regular volunteers and school and community groups taking part in litter picks, securing the installation of benches and bins along the route and creating a charity photo calendar of waterside views.
Townhead resident Alan describes it as “Scotland’s most beautiful canal”, and previously told Lanarkshire Live: “People are proud of it and really support the campaign to look after it, and the tarmac path is going to make a massive difference and open it up to so many more people, like those with wheelchairs and buggies.
“Visitor numbers have gone up by 100 per cent since lockdown when a lot of people who’d never been here before discovered it. Monkland canal powered the industrial revolution and built Coatbridge; it’s been here since 1770 and has been good to the people of the town, and now this work brings it into the 21st century and makes it fit for the future.”
And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here.
*Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
