IN its heyday Ravenscraig was an industrial behemoth, its gas holder and three cooling towers dominating the skyline of Motherwell in North Lanarkshire, where it sustained work for up to 20,000 people.

Now proposals for redeveloping one of Europe’s largest brownfield regeneration sites – bigger than the city-state of Monaco – could bring more than 6500 jobs back to the area and boost the economy by £360 million a year.

Leaders of Glasgow City Region have approved money for new roads and infrastructure as part of the redevelopment of the former steelworks site, with the eight councils involved agreeing to allocate an additional £66m for the Ravenscraig Infrastructure Access (RIA) project. City Deal cash, along with an extra £29.7m from North Lanarkshire Council, will be used to upgrade roads from the M74 at Motherwell through Ravenscraig to the M8 at Eurocentral and onward past Airdrie on a new link road to the A73 south of Cumbernauld.

The project, part of the wider Pan-Lanarkshire Orbital Corridor, is vital to the overall development of the Ravenscraig site, according to councillors.

At 455 hectares, the Ravenscraig site accounts for 13% of the Glasgow City Region’s vacant and derelict land.

Ravenscraig Ltd’s new masterplan will be considered by the council in the coming weeks and includes proposals for 3000 houses, five primary schools, a town park and more than 110,000 sq m of office, industrial and retail space.

“The regeneration of Ravenscraig is of major strategic and economic importance to North Lanarkshire and the wider area, said Paul Kelly, depute leader of North Lanarkshire Council.

“The £201m Pan-Lanarkshire Orbital project represents the biggest single roads and infrastructure investment in North Lanarkshire’s history, and our focus must be on those projects that will attract investment to the area and be of the greatest economic benefit to our communities.

“Channelling our resources into creating a first-class infrastructure at Ravenscraig will bolster future investment from the private sector to create homes, businesses and job opportunities – potentially creating 6500 jobs and generating £360m in Gross Value Added (GVA) for the local economy.

“It’s vital that we focus on those projects that offer the best return on investment for our communities, our economy and for the future of North Lanarkshire.”

Kelly added: “There’s been huge delays over the years but I really feel today is a historic day – it’s the biggest investment we’ll ever see in our infrastructure and it will lead to the transformation of the Ravenscraig site.

“Over the last two years we have been driving this as best we can to try to transform it and to deliver on what the people of Motherwell and the wider area want on the site.”

Infrastructure Secretary, Michael Matheson, added: “I am pleased to see North Lanarkshire Council and the wider Glasgow City Region continue to drive this deal forward and work together in the best interests of the regional economy.”