Mr William and Mrs Morag Morton didn’t have far to travel to move into their new two-bedroom home. They made the short journey from nearby Draffen Tower, after spending over 48 years living there.

Their modern home is part of the fantastic new development located on the site of the former Calder Primary School, Draffen Street, Motherwell.

It’s home to 30 properties, a mix of houses, flats and wheelchair homes and is part of our new house building programme which aims to deliver 5,000 new homes by 2035.

Both Mr and Mrs Morton are delighted to have made the move and are settling into their new home and its new layout well.

Mrs Morton said: “We haven’t been in our new home for very long and having lived in Draffen Tower for over 48 years, it’s been a real change for us. We’re really loving our house and enjoying having a back and front door. There are still a few jobs for us to do to make our new house feel like our new home. We’re looking forward to a relaxing Christmas and New Year and a very happy future here.”

All of the council new build homes are designed with energy efficiency in mind to help minimise running costs for our tenants. In addition, they also boast dementia-friendly design features, including contrasting colours between kitchen units and flooring.

They meet Housing for Varying Needs standards and are Secured by Design accredited, which involves Police Scotland architectural liaison officers having input into the layout and design.

Alison Clarke, housing area manager, added: “It’s great to see tenants move into our new developments and it was a pleasure to visit Mr and Mrs Morton in their new home.

“Our local housing team helps new tenants settle in and provides a range of advice to make sure the move into one of our new builds goes as smoothly as possible. It’s always pleasing to see the high standard of the new builds we’re delivering and the excellent progress we’re making in providing more affordable, modern homes across our local communities. We’re making North Lanarkshire the place to live.”

The development cost £4.6 million and was completed by Robertson Partnership Homes. The Scottish Government contributes towards the development costs at each site.