Change of plan for owners who want to turn mall into distribution centre instead

The ambitious blueprint would also have brought a host of new shops and supermarket to the out-of-town site near Castlecary but the owner of the complex has submitted a new plan to North Lanarkshire Council for the land which would see a giant distribution centre placed there instead.

The applicant, Liverpool-based TJ Morris who also own Home Bargains said they had no-one available for comment in regard to the plan.

However local politicians were more forthcoming including Jamie Hepburn MSP who said: “Like other people locally I was excited at the prospect of significant leisure and entertainment developments there. The pandemic disrupted these plans somewhat but I see no reason why they should be killed off.

“There is planning consent in place to enable detailed applications for further retail and leisure development at Westway. I would urge the owners of the retail park to focus on this rather than creating a distribution centre, something the site wasn’t intended for. I’ll be looking to meet with them soon to press that case.”

Councillor Alan Masterton said that he was “concerned” by the news, stating: “It now looks like the owners have moved away from those plans in favour of an industrial development.”