HRH The Princess Royal visited the Houldsworth Centre in Wishaw last Wednesday, and clearly enjoyed some of the uses the building is put to during her tour. Her Royal Highness was welcomed on arrival by Deputy Lieutenant of Lanarkshire, Lady Susan Haughey, who presented the Depute Provost for North Lanarkshire, Councillor Jean Jones, and Chair of NHS Lanarkshire, Neena Mahal.
The Houldsworth Centre opened in August 2015 and provides a wide range of health and community services under one roof. This includes GP, dental and community health services, as well as the North Lanarkshire Council library, First-Stop-Shop and housing services office. Music Works is an equipped, soundproof room which provides music classes for all ages and abilities.
The Princess Royal was then escorted on a tour of the centre starting in the library with the Bookbug children’s activity group, before moving onto the Music Works facility and the community physiotherapy room. She also viewed the artwork featured in the centre – part of a popular community project to create a stimulating environment within the centre.
Princess Anne then unveiled a commemorative plaque in the library, after which she was presented with a posy by three-year-old Lucy McCrossan.
Wishaw Health & Council Centre was given the name Houldsworth in recognition of the family who founded the local Coltness Iron Works. The decision was made by the team who oversaw the construction of the building which stands on the former library site, the team consisted of people from the public, NHS Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire Council.
Neena Mahal, Chair of NHS Lanarkshire, said, “We were delighted to present the Houldsworth Centre to HRH The Princess Royal. We are very proud of the centre. It’s an award-winning facility which represents strong partnership working and provides opportunities for new ways of working to meet the needs of the local community. As a new, multi-million-pound building, it also makes a significant contribution to the regeneration of Wishaw town centre.”
In addition to visiting the Houldsworth Centre last Wednesday, Princess Anne also paid visits to Shotts Prison, Bothwell Parish Church and Fernhill Community Centre.