Town branded ‘worst in Scotland' set for major £3million revamp
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A TOWN branded the "worst in Scotland" is set for a major £3million revamp.
Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, was hailed as a vision of the future when it was built in the years after the second world war.
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Cumbernauld was voted "most dismal" town centre in 2001 and 2005
Credit: Alan MacGregor Ewing
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The town is to undergo a five-year wildlife restoration
Credit: Alan MacGregor Ewing
But it has repeatedly been handed the title of Scotland's worst eyesore due to its "spirit-sapping" brutalist architecture.
It was voted "most dismal" town centre in the 2001 and 2005 Carbuncle awards, which were scrapped in 2017.
Now the town is to undergo a five-year wildlife restoration which will see thousands of trees planted and tens of thousands of wildflowers sown.
Planned works include managing over 330 hectares of woodland, enhancing over 20 hectares of wildflower meadows and removing invasive non-native species and garden escapees that threaten Cumbernauld's native wildlife.
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The National Lottery Heritage Fund has now confirmed £2.6million support for the project.
The initiative will create six full-time jobs and a further six trainee opportunities over the life of the project.
Councillor Helen Loughran, Convener of our Environment and Climate Change Committee, said: "This is an exciting project for Cumbernauld and North Lanarkshire, and we are delighted the National Lottery Heritage Funding will enable us to build on the excellent work done through the Cumbernauld Living Landscapes Partnership.
"Some of the work we'll be carrying out with our partners involves planting 2,000 new trees, improving access at Westfield & Cumbernauld Community Park, enhancing grasslands and managing woodland at Abronhill and Palacerigg Country Park.
"As a result, we'll see improvements to local biodiversity, habitats for wildlife and sustainable development of woodland."
Some residents of Cumbernauld say it's a wonderful place to live and a magnet for fans of hit TV series Outlander.
Our posh village is now ghost town strewn with empty homes
Criticism has often been directed at the Centre Cumbernauld, the commercial hub of the town, which was built in the Sixties and housed shops, apartments, a hotel, an ice rink and a police station.
As well as helping the town be a double winner of the Carbuncle, it was voted 'Britain's most hated building' in 2005.
But some locals say the criticism is unfair.
SNP councillor Adam Smith said: "We've got Wardpark Studios where Outlander's been filmed. And people come from across the world because of Gregory's Girl.'
SNP MSP Jamie Hepburn added: "As someone who not only represents the town but who lives there I can say I am incredibly proud of Cumbernauld. Of course we have issues to deal with, but what town of 50,000 people doesn't?
'The albatross around our neck is the town centre. Everyone knows it is outdated and has been run down over the years but finally there are plans to replace it with something new.
'But Cumbernauld is much more than its town centre. With amazing greenspaces, superb community organisations and great people it is a wonderful place to live.'
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