Construction of the initial phase of enabling works will begin immediately, funded through the Scottish Government’s Vacant and Derelict Land programme, with Fusion Assets due to submit a planning application early next year to build a multi-use industrial scheme on the 6.4-acre site.

The acquisition follows significant investment by Ravenscraig Limited to prepare the site for development, most recently with the construction of the new £4.5 million access road.

Russell Wilkie, director of Ravenscraig Limited, said: “This is the latest in a series of milestones at Ravenscraig as we build out the site into a mixed-use community where people live, work and play. We now have over 1,000 households, a nationally significant sports facility, college, pub, park and extensive accessible green space, with great road and public transport links.

“We look forward to Fusion Assets effectively launching SevenFourEight, an exciting new opportunity for employment and industry in Scotland’s central belt.”

Murray Collins, managing director of Fusion Assets, said: “This marks the latest achievement in Fusion Assets’ ongoing development programme of targeting long term derelict sites and successfully transforming them into thriving business locations. This process not only attracts jobs but also encourages investment in the local area.

“Following the remediation and servicing of the site, Fusion Assets will bring forward plans for a multi let industrial scheme designed to accommodate a range of potential users, including local companies and inward investors.”

In October 2020, funding approval was granted for the £127m Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure project, which will see Ravenscraig connect north to the M8 and south to Motherwell and the M74.

The first phase of works, funded by North Lanarkshire Council and the Scottish and UK Governments through the Glasgow City Region City Deal, commenced in 2022 to install a new railway underbridge on the West Coast Mainline as part of an initial £16.9m investment.

Plans by the Russell Group to create hundreds of jobs at a £200m railhead logistics hub are also being reviewed by The Scottish Government. The proposed development would serve as the company’s UK headquarters, with the facility set to include a training academy which also functions as a testbed for innovation in the transport industry.