The applications from North Lanarkshire Council would see an extension at Chryston High School and a new-build Gartcosh Community Hub through the Learning Estate Improvement Programme.

The projects have been prioritised as capacity at both schools are now at acute levels due to extensive housing growth within the Northern Corridor area.

Councillor Angela Campbell, convener of Education, Families and Children, said: “The news that we will be submitting these funding bids will be welcomed by families in the Chryston and Gartcosh area and we hope that the Scottish Government will recognise the urgent need for these projects and give them their full backing.

“We would like to do so much more to continue to improve the learning estate for the benefit of communities across North Lanarkshire however, the financial pressures which all local authorities are facing means that we cannot do everything we would like to.”

Both the Chryston extension and Gartcosh Community Hub already have a substantial proportion of funding already allocated under the council’s five-year plan and the bid to the Scottish Government of around £19 million would constitute the remainder of the costs.

The decision to proceed with the funding bids was approved at a meeting of the council’s Policy and Strategy Committee on Tuesday 4 October 2022.

The council had previously hoped to prioritise the new Wishaw Town Hub project however inflationary pressures on materials and energy costs have pushed the overall cost of this development to be in the region of £150m, of which around £100m would need to be funded by the council.

The Learning Estate Improvement Programme funding bid will be submitted to the Scottish Government by Monday 31 October 2022.