Understanding Scottish Places

Motherwell, North Lanarkshire

Population 33,031

View Motherwell on map

Motherwell is the administrative headquarters for North Lanarkshire. Until the 19th century it was a small hamlet on the site of a former Roman bath house and fort. In 1881 iron and steel was developed in Motherwell facilitated by the arrival of the railway. Munitions, trams and engineering components plants opened and the town became associated with heavy industry. It became best known for the Ravescraig steel works which dominated the town from the 1960s both visually and in terms of jobs. The closure of Ravenscraig in 1992 brought economic decline to Motherwell. Service industries have now replaced the heavy industries of the past.

In large towns, people in this group experience more challenging circumstances with higher rates of unemployment, poorer health, lack of a car, lower levels of education and lower social grades than other groups. A higher proportion live in social rented housing. There is a higher proportion of single person households and lone parents.

Motherwell is an interdependent to independent town.

Its most similar towns are Alloa, Clydebank, Coatbridge, and Greenock.

To gain more insight into Motherwell, compare it to any of the other towns included in USP.

Inter-relationships

Dependent
Interdependent
Independent

Number of jobs

4
Type average 4

Diversity of jobs

2
Type average 2

Distance travelled to work

4
Type average 3

Number of public sector jobs

-2
Type average 3

Number of hospitals

-2
Type average -3

Number of GP's and dentists

-2
Type average -1

Number of children in primary schools

2
Type average -1

Number of children in secondary schools

-2
Type average -2

Distance travelled to study

4
Type average 3

Number of shops

0
Type average 3

Diversity of retail offer

6
Type average 5

Number of charities

Type average -1
Dependent
Interdependent
Independent

Change

Public

Education (% all people aged 16 and over)

  No education Standard grade or equivalent Higher grade or equivalent HNC, HND, SVQ4 Degree or higher degree
Motherwell 20.41863556 20.00516834 10.69108092 22.93266391 25.95245127

Commercial

Distance travelled to study

  At home Up to 5km 5 to 10km 10 to 30km 30km and over
Motherwell 3.9629439011837366 12.21579728134177 0.7629196815113075 1.5924434622021737 0.3542127092731071

Environment Indicators

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Discover

To gain more insight into Motherwell, compare it to any of the other towns included in USP.

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Footnotes