Falling under the council's East Kilbride West ward,[1] it gives its name to University Hospital Hairmyres, the general hospital for the town and surrounding area which originally opened in 1904, long before East Kilbride was developed as a new town after World War II.[2] The district railway station (on the branch of the Glasgow South Western Line) is at the bottom of the hospital access road; trains are operated on a half-hourly basis by ScotRail to Glasgow Central and East Kilbride. In 2024, construction began on a new station to replace Hairmyres, 600m to the west, which will take the Hairmyres name once finished.
The area now has a small shopping area known as the St James Retail Park. It is easily identifiable by its yellow and orange coloured walls. It hosts a few services such as eateries, a hairdresser and a vet.