Historic B-listed Hamilton building faces demolition
Due to this, the local authority revealed that they are progressing with the appropriate approvals to demolish the site.
The former Vogue Cinema and Bingo Hall opened in 1921, and is an example of an Art Deco classical building. It was listed as a Category B building in 1979.
READ MORE: Dale Vince refuses to remove Palestinian flag from his headquarters in planning row
According to Historic Environment Scotland, a Category B-listed property is a building of "special architectural or historic interest which is a major example of a particular period, style or building type".
The council revealed the news after announcing major progress is being made on plans to transform Hamilton town centre.
Councillors at the Community and Enterprise Resources Committee heard updates on a number of sites which are crucial to the town centre masterplan.
As part of the plans, the Regent Shopping Centre has been sold, and the purchaser is committed to working with the council to deliver the masterplan vision, and officers remain in positive dialogue with the new owner.
The council also said work is underway with regard to the New Cross Shopping Centre, looking at the next stage of design development, demolition, and potential disposal. Additionally, the sale of the former Bairds building is in its final stages.
Options to look at the redevelopment of the Duke Street Car Park are also being progressed in line with the masterplan proposals.
Meanwhile, an 18-month trial reopening of Quarry Street to traffic has been deemed a success, and the road will now remain open.
Council Leader Joe Fagan said: 'It's fantastic news that so many elements which are vital to the delivery of the Hamilton Town Centre masterplan are coming together.
READ MORE: Scots schoolgirl named on Time's first Girls of the Year list for solar panel blanket
'There is, of course, still a tremendous amount of work to be done, but officers should be commended for the work they have done to get it to this stage.
'The masterplan is a bold and exciting proposal that would totally transform the look and atmosphere of Hamilton town centre.
'It is a unique opportunity to deliver transformational change to the town centre.
'This approach is consistent with that being proposed across the country, and I believe it is key to revitalising the whole town centre area.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Bothwell Futures earns double funding boost
The charity has received support from both the Scottish Government and South Lanarkshire Council for its community work. A busy Lanarkshire community organisation has received a double funding boost to support its work in the year ahead. Bothwell Futures is receiving more than £43,000 from the Scottish Goverment's Strengthening Communities programme, as well as benefiting from £25,000 from South Lanarkshire Council's Local Action Fund. The group runs the community hub in the town's former library on Main Street, and is currently working towards an asset transfer to take over the running of the community hall on Fallside Road. It was one of 77 organisations across Scotland to be included in this year's £2.5 million funding round from the strengthening communities scheme – along with neighbouring South Lanarkshire group Grow 73, based in Rutherglen. Bothwell Futures will receive £43,472 from the fund, which supports 'organisations delivering regeneration projects, to realise the economic potential of Scotland's communities' and helps fund initiatives ranging from employability and heritage initiatives to food hubs and renovating vacant buildings to provide cultural and community centres. Their funding allocation was announced by Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, who said: 'Local communities are best placed to address their own needs, identify improvements in their areas, and realise their own economic potential. Community-led regeneration is a key priority for the Scottish Government. 'From arts and culture projects, training and employment schemes, to bringing new life to disused buildings, hundreds of places across the country are already seeing positive change." Bothwell Futures was also selected to benefit from half of the local funding available under South Lanarkshire's new £1m local action fund, which allocates £50,000 to each of the authority's 20 wards. Local councillors Maureen Devlin, Cal Johnston-Dempsey and Kenny McCreary agreed a proposal to give half the funding to Bothwell Futures to allow the group to employ a general manager for a year – while the other half of the ward 16 funds will be spent in neighbouring Uddingston, with plans still to be decided. The proposal was unanimously agreed by councillors on South Lanarkshire's executive committee, along with recommendations including restoring the historic bandstand at Bothwell Road Park in the Hamilton North & East area. Council leader Joe Fagan said: 'Bothwell Futures has made a major beneficial impact on the village and the employment of a general manager will enable them to not only continue this work, but also to build upon it.' He added: 'The Local Action Fund was agreed as part of our building back budget and is designed to help each community with projects that can have a lasting and worthwhile impact for everyone who lives there. 'Local councillors were able to gauge from their constituents where the money could be best used, and I am delighted that we already have agreement for how the money should be spent in 13 of the 20 council wards, with the others to follow in due course.' Bothwell Futures is also currently working with the council on plans for a longer-term community asset transfer of the Fallside Road hall, after taking on its management last year to keep the 'valuable asset' available to the village for clubs, meetings and events throughout a typical week. They are currently running a consultation on proposals for future of the hall, which is described as 'in a poor state of repair and in desperate need of modernisation' – with the charity having 'commissioned an architect-led design team to review how the hall could be upgraded to provide improved facilities for the community' and running recent drop-in sessions to showcase the proposals.
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Three Scottish Aldi stores named in list of 23 locations to receive 'upgrades'
See the full list of locations set for major upgrades to enhance the customer experience. Aldi has revealed the latest list of stores that are part of its commitment to revamping and refreshing hundreds of stores across the entire UK. The budget supermarket's most recent list covers 23 locations that are set to get major upgrades before the end of the year, and it includes three branches based across Scotland. This will be the stores based on South Road in Cupar, Dunbar Road in North Berwick and Almondvale Road in Livingston. Alongside the other locations included, these three Scots stores are set to undergo improvements as part of the budget supermarket's plan to improve the shopping experience for customers nationwide. Examples of upgraded features set for these stores will include benefits such as refreshed fixtures, enhanced layouts and improved sustainability features. The rollout builds on the success of the original upgrade programme that has already delivered modernised layouts, with extra improvements including more space for fresh and chilled products, and brighter, wider aisles to more than 500 stores across the UK. As part of the upgrades, two stores in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria and Ebbw Vale in Wales will be receiving extensions between now and December. Jonathan Neale, Managing Director of National Real Estate at Aldi UK, said: 'Our investment into our store estate is part of our ongoing commitment to provide the very best shopping experience for our customers. "By extending and refreshing our existing sites, we're providing more sustainable and convenient stores, ensuring they continue to meet the needs of the communities they serve for years to come." It comes as Aldi is also committed to its ambitious growth plans that will increase its accessibility to customers nationwide, with 40 new store openings planned for 2025 alone. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The UK's fourth largest supermarket also revealed a list of 'priority' locations it would like to set up shop, with the list including Scotland's seaside town based in Largs, North Ayrshire. Meanwhile, in other Aldi-related news, the discounter was recently ousted as the cheapest supermarket in the monthly Which? comparison, with rival Lidl taking the top spot for the first time in 20 months. The results for July 2025 found that, for a basket of 76 groceries, the price came to £128 for Lidl Plus members and £128.40 for regular shoppers. Comparatively, Aldi's total came to £129.25 - marking the first month of 2025 it has not been the cheapest. Full locations of Aldi stores to receive an upgrade by the end of 2025 Stores in Scotland South Road, Cupar Dunbar Road, North Berwick Almondvale Road, Livingston Stores across the rest of the UK Risedale Road, Barrow in Furness The Walk, Ebbw Vale London Road, Brighton Westway House, Clevedon Green Lane, Romiley Newbridge Hill, Louth Carley Hill Road, Sunderland Clock Tower Retail Park, Chelmsford Ambley Road, Gillingham Walsall Road, Cannock Laight Road, Maidstone Bessemer Road, Welwyn Garden City Fishponds, Bristol Healaugh Park, Yarm Stephens Way, Carmarthen Stanier Retail Park, Kettering Weybrook Road, Heaton Chapel Unthank Road, Bellshill Stretford Mall, Stretford Albert Street, Eccles
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
New calls to exempt people from paying National Insurance Contributions after 35 years
A new online petition is urging the UK Government to change the current policy on National Insurance deductions. Income tax rises for Scots in April - how the changes affect you A new online petition is calling for National Insurance (NI) deductions to be scrapped once someone has contributed 35 years' worth and is entitled to the maximum State Pension rate in retirement. The State Pension age is currently 66, but set to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028. Many people approaching retirement age may not be aware that to receive the full New State Pension payment of £230.25 each week, they will need around 35 years' worth of NI contributions. You will usually need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to qualify for any State Pension payment. Petition creator Debra Fielding argues that the current system is 'unfair' and people 'should be able to stop paying after we have reached 35 years of NI contributions'. The 'exempt people from paying National Insurance Contributions after 35 years' petition has been posted on the UK Government's Petitions Parliament website and states: 'I urge the Government to exempt people from paying National Insurance after reaching the 35 years of NI contributions required to receive the basic state pension. 'I believe we should be able to stop paying after we have reached 35 years of NI contributions.' The campaigner continues: 'I believe it to be unfair of people still paying NI after they have achieved the 35 years. I feel the situation has been made more unfair by raising the State Pension age. 'By the time I retire at 67, I could have paid 16 years more than the 35 years for full pension - that's 51 years NI paid as I worked since the age of 16.' If you are worried about how many years you need to work - if retirement is a long way off, or just a few years away - our handy guide below should help you understand how National Insurance contributions affect the amount of State Pension you will be paid. How to get any New State Pension payment You will need at least 10 qualifying years on your National Insurance record to qualify for any State Pension, but they don't have to be 10 qualifying years in a row. This means for 10 years at least one or more of the following applied to you: you were working and paid National Insurance contributions you were getting National Insurance credits for example if you were unemployed, ill, a parent or a carer you were paying voluntary National Insurance contributions If you have lived or worked abroad you might still be able to get some New State Pension. You might also qualify if you have paid married women's or widow's reduced rate contributions - find out more about this on the website here. How to get full New State Pension payments The first thing to understand is that the term 'full' means the maximum amount of New State Pension a person can receive. You will need around 35 qualifying years to receive the full New State Pension if you do not have a National Insurance record before 6 April 2016 - this may be more if you were 'contracted out', find out more here. For people who have contributed between 10 and 35 years, they are entitled to a portion of the new State Pension, but not the full amount unless they buy additional NI years. Qualifying years if you are working When you are working you pay National Insurance and get a qualifying year if: you're employed and earning over £242 a week from one employer you're self-employed and paying NI contributions You might not pay National Insurance contributions because you're earning less than £242 a week. You may still get a qualifying year if you earn between £123 and £242 a week from one employer - find out more here. Qualifying years if you are not working You may get National Insurance credits if you cannot work - for example because of illness or disability, or if you're a carer or you're unemployed. You can get National Insurance credits if you: claim Child Benefit for a child under 12 (or under 16 before 2010) get Jobseeker's Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance receive Carer's Allowance If you are not working or getting National Insurance credits You might be able to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions if you're not in one of these groups but want to increase your State Pension amount. Find out more on the website here. What if there are gaps in your National Insurance record? You can have gaps in your NI record and still get the full New State Pension. You can get a State Pension statement which will tell you how much State Pension you may get. You can then apply for a National Insurance statement from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to check if your record has gaps. If you have gaps in your National Insurance record that would prevent you from getting the full New State Pension, you may be able to: get National InsuranceI credits make voluntary National Insurance contributions Check your National Insurance record on here. Check your State Pension age Check your State Pension age to find out when you can retire and claim State pension using the free online tool at here. This will tell you: when you will reach State Pension age your Pension Credit qualifying age We have a dedicated section for the latest news on the State Pension here.
