Greenhills is an area within the Scottish new town of East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire in Greater Glasgow.
Greenhills is residential neighbourhood in the south western area of East Kilbride. It takes its name from the former farm of Greenhills which occupied the eastern part of the area later developed as Greenhills neighbourhood.[1] Most of the area forming the present Greenhills comprises the ancient small estate of Lickprivick which Greenhills farm was never a part of.[2] [3] This neighbourhood represents part of the Southern Development Area of the New Town of East Kilbride, which later incorporated an annexe called Whitehills (never a distinct neighbourhood). The primary motivation to create the area relied on intense pressure to accommodate a far higher level of Glasgow-region overspill.[4]
The streets mainly explore residential naming themes of trees, shrubs, ducks, waders, and Scottish golf courses. The housing stock of Greenhills proper was mostly built from early 1970s to early 1980s. The public house called the Greenhills Bar was built during the mid 1970s and formed part of the wider Greenhills Neighbourhood Centre development - known as Greenhills Square. Greenhills Parish Church was completed in April 1977.
The Greenhills shopping centre at Greenhills Square is situated adjacent to the highest point in the urban zone of East Kilbride, known locally as 'The High Point' and originally as the Lickprivick Mound. This is marked by a prominent OS trig pillar. It has been suggested in recent times that the mound represents the remains of an early motte and timber castle of the Lickprivick family, whose later castle stood nearby at Troon Court to the north.[5] However, this suggestion mooted in the 2000s was purely speculation with some serious critical issues attached to it, and some other evidence points to different origins such as a possible 'moothill'.[6] The shopping centre is served by some of the local bus services to and from Glasgow, chiefly the 18 and 21 operated by First Glasgow services.
Until June 2005, Greenhills was served by two secondary schools, Ballerup (which adjoined farmland to the south) and St Andrews, both completed in 1978. These schools have since been demolished and their pupils merged with two other schools - Duncanrig and St Brides, respectively. This change occurred as part of SLC's East Kilbride's school modernisation programme.
Parts of Greenhills are 699 ft (213m) elevation, above sea level.