North Lanarkshire

The Place and its People

North Lanarkshire is situated in west-central Scotland, bordering Glasgow City to its west. It is the fourth largest local authority in Scotland in terms of population, with nearly 340,000 residents.

North Lanarkshire has many strengths, including:

A prime location for local businesses and people, with affordable land and housing

Excellent employability support

Access to valued green, leisure and visitor resources (including Strathclyde Country Park, Drumpellier Country Park, Palacerigg Country Park, Kilsyth Hills and the Forth and Clyde Cana)

Many excellent public services

A rich and diverse Community and Voluntary Sector (CVS) providing cost-effective support and services

Supportive and caring communities with a strong volunteering culture

North Lanarkshire’s people live in eight towns as
well as many villages and smaller settlements.
These are clustered into the following nine
localities:

Long-term pressure on public sector budgets, the COVID-19 pandemic and current high levels of inflation are making it more difficult to reduce deprivation and improve health in North Lanarkshire. However, there is a strong commitment across the public, CVS, and business
sectors to work together to improve quality of life, wellbeing, equality and environmental sustainability

North Lanarkshire’s Communities

North Lanarkshire’s people live in eight towns, many villages and smaller settlements, clustered into the following nine localities:

Airdrie
Bellshill
Coatbridge
Cumbernauld
Kilsyth
Motherwell
Northern Corridor
Shotts
Wishaw

Each of these localities are supported by:

A Community Board, supporting residents, CVS organisations (including Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire) and staff from public bodies to make decisions about the local area.
A Local Outcome Improvement Plan
A local profile providing key information about each area
Local Facebook and Twitter accounts

North Lanarkshire Organisations

North Lanarkshire’s people and communities are supported by a large number of CVS, public sector, and business organisations.

Community and Voluntary Sector Organisations

Over 1000 diverse community and voluntary sector organisations provide services to local people. This includes small community groups, charities and social enterprises of all sizes and types. As well as providing support and services to local people, the CVS also employs local people and involves local residents as volunteers.

VANL is encouraging all CVS organisations supporting the people and communities of North Lanarkshire to share information about their work on ALISS.

Public Sector Organisations

The following four public sector organisations provide vital services to everyone in North Lanarkshire:
North Lanarkshire Council The council supports community wellbeing through provision of essential services, including: affordable housing cleansing and environmental protection education for our children and young people up to 18 parks and open spaces road maintenance social work and social care services through Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire The council is a major employer with over 16,750 staff and also involves volunteers.
NHS Lanarkshire In addition to providing vital, local hospital services, NHS Lanarkshire also provides a range of community health services and supports provision of primary care services through Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire, working with independent health-care providers such as GPs, pharmacists, opticians and dentists. NHS Lanarkshire is a major employer with around 12,500 staff and also involves volunteers.
Police Scotland Lanarkshire Division Police in North Lanarkshire support community safety and wellbeing, including crime-prevention; responding to crime and supporting victims of crime through the community justice system; responding to accidents and public safety incidents. Over 4,000 staff work for Police in Lanarkshire and they also involve volunteers.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Lanarkshire Division Fire and Rescue support community safety and wellbeing by responding to fires, road traffic accidents and other safety incidents. They employ nearly 240 staff and also involve volunteers.

Further and Higher Education

North Lanarkshire Business Organisations

Over 8,000 businesses are based in North Lanarkshire, providing employment, goods and services. Because of North Lanarkshire’s central location and good transport links, it is a popular location for businesses – which trade locally, regionally, nationally – and even internationally.

Business in North Lanarkshire can access support through:

The Plan for North Lanarkshire

The Plan for North Lanarkshire is the strategic plan for the area, setting out shared priorities and porposed actions around five ambitions:

Improve economic opportunities and outcomes

Support all children and young people to realise their full potential

Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities

Enhance participation, capacity and empowerment across our communities

Improve North Lanarkshire’s resource base

Delivery of the Plan for North Lanarkshire is supported by all the sectors and organisations listed in the section above, which work together through the North Lanarkshire (Community Planning) Partnership and other partnerships.