New era for an oldCarluke landmark?

A planning application has been lodged with South Lanarkshire Council for creating a new “Growing and Learning Garden” at the historic High Mill off Chapel Street.

The application has been made in the name of Mr Bill Anderson of the Carluke Development Trust and could be the first tangible step in the long-hoped for refurbishment of the ancient mill, abandoned in the 1930’s, into a major visitor attraction for the town.

The exact wording of the application is for “The formation of Community Growing and Learning Garden, formation of new vehicle access, erection of pollytunnels, erection of fencing and gates, reserved space for the erection of single-storey outbuilding, formation of hardstanding, siting of containers and landscaping.”

Various plans for the restoration of the old mill and its grounds have been proposed without result for decades but hopes grew that the dream would finally become a reality two years ago when the Development Trust received a Scottish Land Fund award of £278,000 to buy the property from it then-owner.

At the time, Chair of the Trust, Tom Sneddon said the grant came thanks to “the hard work of the Directors of CDT and the many people, both inside and outside of the town, who have persevered for many years in order to get the project to this important stage.

“This hard work was further enhanced by feedback from Carluke’s communities through the Carluke Conversation, in which the communities expressed a desire to see the windmill restored and land developed to become community owned and managed facilities”.

No-one at the Trust was available for comment at time of the Gazette going to press this week.