Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal has officially opened The Craig

The £3.7 million park was created by North Lanarkshire Council on the site of the former steelworks, and includes a play area, Mini Craig, and the main park, The Craig.

The Princess Royal was welcomed to Ravenscraig by Lady Susan Haughey, Lord-Lieutenant of Lanarkshire, before meeting Provost Jean Jones. Council Chief Executive Des Murray and Marion Fellowes MP.

She was given a tour of the park by Jonathan Speed, Senior Project Manager at the council, and met staff from Brannock High School in Motherwell and Our Lady and St Francis Primary School, Carfin.

Provost Jean Jones said: “It was an honour to welcome The Princess Royal back to North Lanarkshire, and to the fabulous facilities at The Craig park at Ravenscraig Since it opened last July, thousands of people have visited to use the play and sports areas or just to enjoy a walk or cycle through the networks of paths.”

During the tour, The Princess Royal met Bobbi Arnott, manager of the Food Lovers Café. Bobbi, a former student of New College Lanarkshire, won a competition to use the hub for a new business.

The park is an important part of the wider masterplan for the regeneration of the Ravenscraig site, which has been developed by Ravenscraig Ltd. The plan will transform the area, bringing homes, jobs, leisure facilities, green spaces, shops and business opportunities.

Her Royal Highness was introduced to Russell Wilkie, Director of Ravenscraig Ltd and Willie Wilson, Operations Manager with Liberty Steel.

Mr Wilkie said: “We were delighted to welcome HRH The Princess Royal. Ravenscraig has undergone major regeneration in the last decade, with success stories including the creation of approximately 1,000 new build homes, a regional sports facility, a state-of-the-art college campus and local amenities.

"We were also pleased to share our plans for the next phases of the development which feature additional new homes with affordable housing, new retail, commercial, logistics space and transport infrastructure.”