Cumbernauld voted best town after double 'plook' shame
- Published
Cumbernauld was voted the "most dismal" town centre in both the 2001 and 2005 Carbuncle awards
The Scottish town which 'won' two Carbuncle honours for its ugly shopping centre has scooped Best Town at the Scottish Design Awards.
Cumbernauld has the dubious distinction of winning the Plook on the Plinth title for having Scotland's "most dismal" town centre in 2001 and 2005.
Judges have compared it to Kabul and described its shopping centre as a rabbit warren on stilts.
Now an online poll has seen it top a public vote for civic pride.
Glasgow ceremony
The Scottish Design Awards is organised by Urban Realm - which also organises the Carbuncle awards.
During the past few weeks of online voting, Cumbernauld residents helped the town move ahead of rivals such as Broughty Ferry, Dunkeld, East Kilbride, Eaglesham Linlithgow, Peebles and Pitlochry.
When the polls closed at midnight on Thursday, Cumbernauld had narrowly beaten Peebles.
The prize will be collected by a delegation from the town at a ceremony in Glasgow on Friday evening.
The Carbuncle Awards were created by Gordon Young, now editor of The Drum, one of the sponsors of the Scottish Design Awards.
He said: "The initial complaints against the town concerned the disastrous design of the town centre.
"There has been some investment in that area but the level of improvement is not great.
"However, Cumbernauld's real success story is how it has prospered despite these problems."
Mr Young said "the surrounding countryside, the high demand for housing, rich and diverse suburbs, transport links to Glasgow and Edinburgh and a vibrant community spirit" had all helped make Cumbernauld "a decent place to bring up a family".
He added: "Basically, economic success plus people power have made it a nice place to live."