Orchard Brae Ltd formally lodged its application for the EuroPark project with the council’s planning department this week, including 2,600 much-needed homes - 1,000 of which have been designated affordable and social properties.

The residential development, collectively entitled ‘The Villages’, would surround a newly established Country Park featuring the Monkland Canal and Calder Water, spanning more than half of the 600 acre site.

Following two rounds of public consultations, the proposals also include new schools provision, health centres, business and leisure facilities, and a care village.

The project – one of the biggest of its kind to be proposed in Scotland’s central belt – has been designed to complement the thriving hub of nearby Eurocentral/Maxim and support surrounding communities.

EuroPark’s green masterplan includes the creation of a new Country Park with an integral focus on the retention of the Woodhall and Faskine woodlands.

Subject to planning permission, the Country Park will comprise of four distinct new areas of parkland, containing a variety of habitats and attractions with the Monkland Canal a focal point throughout.

Orchard Brae says that this rejuvenated parkland network will give locals a formalised open space to explore and enjoy, preserving the best of the landscape for future generations while providing better paths and lighting that will heighten safety for new and existing users.

Orchard Brae is also working with Scottish Canals to invigorate and maximise the potential of the Monkland Canal and North Calder Water, with improved walkways giving the public access to new leisure opportunities.

Some 940 jobs will also be directly created from the project, helping to address local labour needs, with a further peak of 4,650 temporary construction jobs being created over the build-out period.

Scott Gillespie, director of Orchard Brae Ltd, said: “Two years on from when we first publicly unveiled our EuroPark vision, we are pleased to be formally progressing our plans with North Lanarkshire Council. After a sustained period of refining our ideas in line with community feedback, we believe we have created a strong proposition for the site with a variety of uses.

“We have major ambitions for EuroPark that we believe will provide much-needed housing, including up to 40 per cent affordable housing, as well as a significant boost to the local economy, new jobs, and an exciting new leisure and retail development for North Lanarkshire.

“Tying it all together with the Country Park influences reflects our entire sustainable approach to the development and ambition to positively involve communities. We want to realise the true potential of the site’s wonderful existing assets and the creation of a park at the very core of the development is fundamental to that.

“We are keen to work closely with local communities to help maintain and harness what’s best about it.

“We believe that we have a huge opportunity to create something very special for generations to come and are hopeful that the formal lodging of our plans with the local authority represents just the start of that process.”