LANARKSHIRE has long been an area which has attracted waves of newcomers, to work in the coal mines, steel mills, the new towns and increasingly these days, folk who may or may not work locally but have chosen to move there because it has so much to offer.

Incomers in the past have included thousands of Irish, Highlanders, continental Europeans and English, all of whom have added to the rich mix of the present-day Lanarkshire whose citizens are noted for their sense of humour, a disinclination to look at life through rose-tinted glasses and marked creative abilities, particularly apparent in strong, gutsy women such as writer Liz Lochhead and actress Elaine C Smith.

And despite the devastating blow dealt to the area with the shutdown of the steel industry, people are continuing to move to Lanarkshire with many of the incomers, these days, relocating from elsewhere in Scotland. In fact, the current combined populations of North and South Lanarkshire which now include Cambuslang and Rutherglen, comes to more than 625,000 - more than the population of Glasgow.

Although any other area might have been expected to lie down and die when its main industry vanished, this has not been the case in Lanarkshire, due in large part to huge injections of much- needed cash and the efforts of the vigorous and dynamic Lanarkshire Development Agency (not to mention the resilience of local people).

Said a spokesman for the Lanarkshire Development Agency: ''Lanarkshire is now widely acknowledged as one of Scotland's industrial success stories. Major international investment is flowing in and local firms are making huge progress in entering new markets.

''Thousands of jobs have been created, new businesses launched and young people entered on training programmes.

''One of Lanarkshire's most significant regeneration projects focuses on the site of the former Ravenscraig steelworks in Motherwell. The #500m plan is expected to generate 600,000 jobs over 15 years and attract millions of pounds of new investments.

''When complete, it will comprise up to 3400 houses, 500,000 sq ft of retail space, 100,000 sq ft of leisure space, two primary schools, a railway station, multi-functional sports arena, multiplex cinema and a natural snow indoor

ski centre.''

The Lanarkshire Development Agency's confident prediction that, over the next decade, the county will become ''one of Europe's best places to live and work'', demonstrates how completely the area has changed since the alleged bad old days of the 1840s when, according to one rather sensational contemporary account, the population of Lanarkshire was ''without the restraint that may naturally be supposed to be exercised by the supervision, authority and example of the classes of society of a higher grade. The low animal habits of the uneducated or demoralised receive little rebuke from a superior presence.''

Airdrie came in for particular criticism, described in the middle of the nineteenth century as having ''the ramshackle and dangerous character of a frontier town'' whose population was swelled on pay night by 10,000 miners, attracted to the town ''to fight and drink; where rival bands of men beat one another up outside the pubs, which numbered one for every 20 males.''

Changed days, indeed, according to one 1990s resident who heaped praise on the area he moved to more than 20 years ago, saying: ''Lanarkshire seems to have become increasingly prosperous and the local authority makes great efforts to ensure that the area looks good, too, with lots of flowers and attractive landscaping, particularly in towns like Hamilton and East Kilbride.

''Despite cutbacks, there is still a good range of adult education classes on offer and some excellent sports and leisure facilities including the sort of swimming pools that children love as well as more basic Sports Barns and football pitches.

''East Kilbride has a marvellous arts centre which not only looks good but runs events that are of interest to the whole family. And there are facilities like the Bellshill Cultural Centre; also magnets for community involvement.

''Even the churches seem fuller these days which is something that visitors regularly comment on.''

Despite the colossal amount of house building and industrial development that has been taking place over the past few years, Lanarkshire still has many nice areas of countryside that are only a short drive away. It's not always possible to escape the sound of a motorway but swans and wild geese are there to be seen none the less, and seem to have adapted very well.

''Shopping could hardly be better with big supermarkets such as Safeway, Sainsburys and others in the area and a giant Asda due to open soon near Strathclyde Park. Hopefully, that won't have a negative impact on towns like Hamilton where there is still a good choice of small, independent retailers.''

And no article about Lanarkshire would be complete without a mention of the excellent Summerlee Heritage Museum in Coatbridge; the David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre; New Lanark Village and the Observation Tower at Motherwell's Heritage Centre.