Gartcosh

Gartcosh is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The village lies a few miles East of Glasgow, and about a mile North West of the town of Coatbridge.

The name Gartcosh is derived from the Gaelic 'Gart' meaning 'field' and 'Cos' meaning 'hollow'.

In recent years, new housing developments by Redrow, Thomas Mitchell and other smaller developers along with improved road and rail links have seen the population of Gartcosh increase to an estimated 3000.

History

Though originally an agricultural village, Gartcosh is better known for its role in Scottish industry.

In the early 1800s there were a number of mines in the local area, and the first railway to service Gartcosh was used to transport coal to Glasgow. By 1837 there was a railway station, or to be more accurate a stopping place as there were no platforms or waiting rooms.

From the mid 1800s onwards, Gartcosh became prominent in industry with the opening of iron works and fireclay works.

Gartcosh Fireclay Works was established by James Binnie in 1863. Although mostly concerned with firebrick manufacture, during the early years its output was much more varied, extending to garden vases and pedestals, garden edges, fountains, chimney cans, roof tiles, cattle troughs, sewage pipes and other products. It was one of a group of such businesses in the area, with others at Cardowan, Garnkirk, Heathfield and Glenboig. Gartcosh Fireclay Works eventually closed down in the 1950s, when local supplies of fireclay were exhausted.

In 1865 Gartcosh became the home of Woodneuk Iron Works owned by William Gray & Co. It was bought by Smith & McLeans in 1872 and subsequently Colville's steel mills. British Steel took ownership of the Colville's steel mill in Gartcosh in 1962 and was in operation until its closure in February 1986. The mill has long since been demolished.

Smith & McLeans had considerable trouble purchasing the land for the extension of the steelworks from the original land owners. Most of Gartcosh at the time was owned by two strict presbyterian spinster sisters who were unswayed by the considerable financial offerings of the company. They eventually relented, on the condition that no public house, bookmakers nor Catholic church would ever be housed within the Gartcosh boundaries. This agreement still holds to this day.

For this reason, Chapman's public house is built immediately outside of the natural boundary of Gartcosh (a small burn running to Glenboig). In the 1960s, there was a successful application for licensed premises, under the label of Gartcosh Works Social Club. There has never been a licensed bookmakers in Gartcosh. The resident Roman Catholic population travel to the neighbouring towns of Muirhead, Glenboig or Coatbridge to practice their faith.

The Co-operative store was established in the late 1800s, situated at the junction between Old Gartloch Road and Lochend Road. The store closed down, date unknown, and has had a variety of uses since then. The building has 3 flats above the shop which are now privately owned and occupied. The shops are converted into 3 units, one of which houses a new pharmacy and the other two remain vacant at this time.

Present Day

Gartcosh Business Interchange is currently being developed on the site of the old strip mill and steel works. To date over £20 million has been invested in the site in terms of land reclamation, transport links and other development. This project will provide over 170,000 square metres of business space serviced by the excellent transport links detailed below.

The proposed new SPSA (Scottish Police Services Authority) campus is currently being developed within Gartcosh Business Interchange. This campus will, once complete, house new state of the art forensic science technologies for Strathclyde Police in conjunction with the SPSA, new headquarters for the SCDEA (Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency), SSOCA (Scottish Serious and Organised Crime Agency) and HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs).

There is a well attended Church of Scotland parish in Gartcosh whose church hall is utilised for various community projects including 1st Gartcosh Boys Brigade.

The defunct Anglican church at the top of the hill on Lochend Road was demolished in 1997 for property development.

The original Gartcosh Police Station closed in the 1990s however most of Gartcosh continues to be served by Cumbernauld Sub Division of Strathclyde Police. Gartcosh Railway Station and access roads, Chapman's and a small number of houses are served by Monklands Sub Division who operate from Coatbridge Police Office. Gartcosh has some of the lowest crime rates in the area.

Other local services in Gartcosh currently include:

* Village Shop
* Pharmacy
* Chapman's (Public House)
* Gartcosh Works Social Club
* Gartcosh Primary School
* Lochview Children's Nursery
* Plant Nursery/Tea Room
* Mount Ellen Golf Club

A leisure complex providing a franchised restaurant, hotel and petrol station has also been proposed on the site of a former recreation ground, just off the M73 junction.

Transport

General Transport Information

Gartcosh has excellent transport links. The M73 motorway is the main transport link, with Junction 2A providing excellent road access to the village. Gartcosh also benefits from the new £3.5 million railway station which was officially opened in March 2005 by HRH Princess Anne.

Road and Rail Links

* M73 - north to A80(M) providing motorway access to North Glasgow, Cumbernauld, Falkirk, Stirling and The North
* M73 - south to M74 providing motorway access to South Glasgow, Hamilton, Motherwell, Carlisle and The South
* A752 - north to Muirhead
* A752 - south to A89 providing access to Coatbridge and Baillieston and continuing south to Uddingston and Bothwell
* A752 - south to A8(M) providing motorway access to Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Central Belt.
* B806 - West to Glasgow Fort Shopping Centre
* Gartcosh railway station providing direct rail service to Glasgow Queen Street, Cumbernauld and Falkirk Grahamston, and to Edinburgh via either Glasgow or Falkirk stations.