The council will now be able to borrow money against future income from business rates to build a seven mile long dual carriageway linking the site to the M8 and M74.

Although work has started on a few elements of the Ravenscraig redevelopment this is the key to what will be Scotland’s largest remediation project.

North Lanarkshire Council’s head of regeneration services, Maureen McConachie, said: “We are studying the terms of the provisional approval of the business plan and will have further discussions with both the Scottish Futures Trust and site developers Ravenscraig Ltd on how best to progress.

“Obviously, on a regeneration scheme of this scale, there are still a number of details to be resolved. Nevertheless we are delighted to have passed this crucial milestone.”

The first phase of development at Ravenscraig is well under way with the construction of the new £70m Motherwell College campus. The site is also now home to the £31m Ravenscraig Regional Sport Facility and new housing.

The redevelopment will effectively create a small, new town over the next 30 years.  But the main £500m phase 2 stalled in the downturn because of lack of upfront infrastructure investment. TIF should help to unlock this stage.

Future phases include plans for a 58,000sq metre shopping centre, more than 185,800sq metres of business development and 3,500 homes.

The entire project is expected to take up to 30 years to complete in a series of standalone phases over 20 to 30 years, creating 12,600 jobs and attract more than £1.2bn in private sector investment.