An area of former industrial heartland could become one of the greenest places in the country, it has been claimed.
Developers building homes on the site of the former North Lanarkshire steelworks have been told they must comply with strict eco-friendly rules.
About 3,500 houses will be built in the area and all must gain a minimum EcoHomes standard of 'Very good'.
This could be achieved by providing environmentally friendly facilities such as recycling and renewable energy.
Jim Fitzsimons, director of Ravenscraig Ltd, said: "Any house builder which cannot commit to delivering on the environmental requirements for Ravenscraig simply will not be part of the project.
"We are going beyond what the local authority can dictate, and will make key conditions legally binding through the sale of land."
Wired community
Developers will be asked to provide facilities to recycle or compost at least 25% of household waste, rising to 35% by 2010.
And they will be encouraged to offer on-site renewable energy generation facilities capable of reducing carbon emissions by at least 10%.
Discussions were also under way to make Ravenscraig Scotland's first 'wired community'. This would involve households having fibre optic links direct to their living room, giving access to information.
Mr Fitzsimons said: "We can envisage residents in the future being able to directly access everything from the time films will start in the town centre cinema, to booking badminton courts or to check when the next bus will arrive at the end of their street."
The £1.2bn regeneration of the 1,100 acre site will also see the construction of a new town centre, along with a £29m regional sports facility and business space.
Work has already begun on a state-of-the-art campus for Motherwell College. It will replace the existing site at Dalzell Drive in Motherwell and is due for completion by summer 2009.
Ravenscraig Steel Works closed in 1992.
^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~01~RS~)