2009 Nominations

Current nominations below, skip to: Pock Mark Award, Zit Building Award

Plook on the Plinth Nominees

Most Dismal Town

alexandria

Area: town centre-degrading,downgrading.

Reason: derelict,open space,a windy bridge,a station in a roundabout,a tin shed the old co-op,wheres the new health centre,the so-called heart of the vale more like the ripped out heart of the vale.thats the council for you.mind you where ma mum stays is nice.

Nominated by: rough kid

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Ayr

Area: The Harbourside development

Reason: A damnable eyesore. The coucil continues to allow these dismal little boxes to clutter up the skyline of Ayr and continues to add to the hellish leisure centre complex whilst completely ignoring the near derelict buildings that sit by the New Brig.

Nominated by: Sam McKeand

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Cardenden

Area: wasted potential

Reason: Cardenden is struggling to forge a distinctive identity under the shadow of larger neighbours and the loss of the coal mining industry which sustained it. A lack of ambition has seen a wealth of natural and geographic opportunity squandered, this should be promoted for Cardenden to embrace the future with confidence not surrendered to suburban sprawl.

Nominated by: alan watson

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Cumbernauld

Area: Town Centre

Reason: North Lanarkshire's Total disregard for the people of the town. Addition of half empty retail shed (Antonine Centre) is a cynical attempt to exploit shoppers of Cumbernauld whilst providing no badly needed social facilities.

Nominated by: Iain Buchanan

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dalkeith

Area: town centre

Reason: ver costly facelift to the centre was carried out a couple of years ago and has cased the centre now to look like bom site.

Nominated by: kevin thomson

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Dalry

Area: Town Centre

Reason: What town centre? Its more like a terrorist training camp for down-and-out jake balls.

Nominated by:

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dumbarton

Area: town centre

Reason: a mess,hardly any shops,misplanned mess of a precinct

Nominated by: rough kid

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Dumbarton

Area: The Artizan Shopping Centre

Reason: The Artizan Shopping Precinct in Dumbarton has the the singulary most unattractive entrance to a town centre anywhere!

Nominated by: Victor Engador

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Edinburgh Waterfront

Area: Western Harbour and Granton Harbour

Reason: A great location, ripe for developoment that's a missed opportunity to create something innovative and of quality and is currently being filled with architectural spam

Nominated by: Seb

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Fort William

Area: Waterfront

Reason: A pointless dual carriageway scythes past Fort William's greatest asset, it's waterfront. Segregating what ought be a pleasant amenity by lanes of traffic and ill advised service bays for a soulless shopping centre fronting the high street. Image by rassac of flickr.

Nominated by: Mary Scanlon

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fort william

Area: sea front

Reason: it should be really senic but has been badly planned and executed. it could be fantastic, the Rivera of the north, but no. Costa del Nupty instead

Nominated by: Patrick

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Glenrothes

Area: Tanshall

Reason: It really is a concrete jungle,hardly any green open spaces and has a lot of Neds

Nominated by: Alexander Paste

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Gowkthrapple

Area: all of it!

Reason: Contaminated wasteland next to the most run down primary school I have ever seen. Houses next to a huge power sub station. Squatter plates up on all empty housing and smashed windows everywhere. No shops or anywhere to go. Huge disused delapidated factory. No people walk the streets, eerily silent.

Nominated by: Lyn Sedgeworth

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Greenock

Area: Town Center

Reason: The redevelopment of the Town Center was done with idea of adding the worst aspects of strip malls and Big Box Retailers and plunking it down in the middle of Victorian Town. The redevelopment cuts the community of from one of its best natural features, the waterfront. The town does have many Natural Features that could have used to create an inspiring place to live, such as the old drydocks which could have been turned into marina's, but the planning department seemed to be so desperate for any development that they have allowed some of the worst modern architecture in Scotland to be built. The Oak Park mall is an absolute eyesore from outside and not much better inside. The New Tesco's with its enormous car park creates a giant barrier for anyone wanting to visit the waterfront. The councils neglect of planning is also reflected in the complete indifference the police show over the town center. Only the brave or fool hardy will remain in the town center after dark, when it becomes the home of roving bands of drunken Neds.

Nominated by: Callum Roxburgh

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GREENOCK

Area: THE COUNCIL

Reason: THEY LIVE IN THEIR OWN LITTLE WORLD,THEY TAKE AWAY PUBLIC PARKS AND REPLACE THEM WITH FLATS AND SCHOOLS WITH NO PUBLIC AMENITIES

Nominated by: R McCOWAN

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invergordon

Area: cromarty firth port authority fishemal shed

Reason: the CFPA as a port authority do not need planning permission. the CFPA Chariman who was also chair of the Council planning committee erected a huge fishmeal shed which now blocks the panaramic back drow of our town high street. the fishmeal now blows over the town and the smell is horendous. the town is now covered in fishmeal residue. the port of invergordon attracts 25,000 visitors per year on the luxuary cruise ships. the town is up in arms but the CFPA have stated that they did not need planning permission or community consultation. The CFPA have distroyed something that belonged to the community.... a stunning view from our highstre.

Nominated by: WENDY CLARK

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Inverness

Area: The Longman

Reason: Mostly reclaimed land which has been given over to thinly-disguised drive-in retail, and a potentially spectacular waterfront, where leisure facilities and parkland could have complemented the football stadium, instead populated by builders' suppliers and kitchen warehouses.

Nominated by: DM

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Kilmarnock

Area: All Over it's a dirty run down eyesore

Reason: Kilmarnock has never been a beautiful town but it's unkept look that it has now is simply down to local council decisions and a vast lack of spending and under skilled council tradesmen, every second or third shop is a charity shop, mobile phone shop or an opticians,

Nominated by:

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Kilmarnock

Area: Central shops, bus station

Reason: Yet another historic town centre, rich in links to the Covenanteers, ruined by poor quality 1960s and 1980s design. The centre is dominated by a one-way race track and a recent multi-story carpark, and is an oasis of drab, boarded-up shops, lacking even cafes. Empty at night, the town centre is prey to vandals and petty crime. It's all the more depressing set against Kilmarnock's attractive 1920s green suburbs, and recent successful regeneration of villages in the Irvine Valley.

Nominated by: Mark

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Kilsyth

Area: Main Street

Reason: With one hand they are forcing conservation and with the other they did the main street with stainless steel bollards and stainless steel trees. So now it looks like some sort of odd time rift where old and new have smashed together.

Nominated by: David McLuckie

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kilsyth

Area: main st

Reason: burned out buildings for at six years and gap sites lack of modernisation because of antiquated ideas about conservation status which has held back any real development of town centre for years although a lot of money has been spent tarting up the place and the latest grant of nearly 1/2 million pounds to tidy up the shop fronts without altering them. G dailly

Nominated by: G. Dailly

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kirkcaldy

Area: templehall

Reason: one of these places where you check for 4 wheels after pulling away from give ways. Took 2 of friends children home home passing through there they pleading me don't stop

Nominated by: Robin

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Motherwell

Area: Urban planning

Reason: Motherwell is a sprawling succession of dead spaces dominated by the point and slab blocks. God knows what impact Ravenscraig will have on the place.

Nominated by: Brian Henderson

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Motherwell

Area: Shopping Centre

Reason: Shops have gone downhill and the old Asda store is STILL lying empty.

Nominated by: Caz

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Motherwell

Area: Town Centre

Reason: The town centre is probably the worst in Lanarkshire and that\'s saying something. Most big names have closed down and Woolworths will soon join them.The old ASDA building is now some horrible charity furniture store and the same fate has happened to the building that used to house WH Smith.I\'m guessing more of the names will move out leaving the town centre no more than a pass through.Horrible architecture and littered streets leads to the most depressing town centre ever(and i lived in Coatbridge for years but even that is not as bad). Please make Motherwell the winner of this award so the council get a kick up the arse.

Nominated by: John Anderson

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newmains

Area: asda

Reason: most poorly planned and under used new build i have seen in years

Nominated by: ross suttie

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Nitshill

Area: Abandoned properties

Reason: Derelict homes are a target for vandals and arson, semi cleared sites are evocative of Beirut.

Nominated by: Mark Field

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North Lanarkshire in general

Area: the local authority

Reason: The council seem to have about as much love for this area as Hitler had for Poland. They had a chance for a clean break back in the ninties and all the council has done is create a series of stupid, evil looking, and downright depressing planning decisions. For example, Cumbernauld town centre; designed as if the architects were on acid. Coatbridge; in need of a new beginning but left on the operating table to bleed out. The same comment can be used for Airdrie. As for the southern half of North Lanarkshire (known as the money black hole) I would just ask the USAF to carpet bomb the place. At least that way the ruling elite of this area MAY improve; don't hold your breath, though.

Nominated by: David Kilmartin

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shotts

Area: all

Reason: not enoghth shops

Nominated by:

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TARBOLTON

Area: That area within the full set of '30' Limits

Reason: Total lack of commitment from successive Local Authorities to recognise the deprivation therein , their failure to exploit commercial designated areas for developmentand, through lack of foresight in housing development, they have effectively removed the majority of the 18 to 35 year old inhabitants.

Nominated by: J DALLING

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Tarbolton

Area: All of it

Reason: To regenerate the town after the demise of the deep coal mining industry, South Ayrshire Council took a different tack to all other tried and trusted methods of regeneration employed by every regeneration practitioner and local authority in the world, and decided to ignore the situation in the hope that it would disappear before anyone noticed. If not for local volunteers this brave and innovative plan may well have worked.

Nominated by: Sheila

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Wishaw

Area: Town Centre

Reason: No civic pride. Poor planning decisions. Destrucion of historic buildings like St Ignatius School, Wishaw Academy, Wishaw High. Shame on North Lanarkshire Council and its predecessor Motherwell District.

Nominated by: HAMCK

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Pock Mark Nominees

Worst Planning Decision

'Southern Distributor Road

Area: West Inverness

Reason: Already horrifically expanding town gets a new road to aid even more soulless modern housing estates because, er, they can.

Nominated by: DM

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'Squiggly' Bridge

Area: Glasgow

Reason: Over budget, over schedule, over the Clyde! All this wouldn't be too bad if the actual bridge itself looked good.

Nominated by: Lee

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A80 upgrade

Area: Cumbernauld

Reason: With all this talk of improving public transport the Scottish Government decide that a lovely new motorway should be ploughed through a town that already has an image problem.

Nominated by: David Kilmartin

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artizan centre

Area: dumbarton

Reason: 5 shops in it how sad how depressing it is ,ugly,a tip,degrading no wonder shoppers go to clydebank and the vale coz a do.

Nominated by: rough kid

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Caltongate

Area: Edinburgh`s Old Town

Reason: too numerous to mention, the name sums it up!

Nominated by: Al Baines

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cromarty firth port authority fishmeal shed

Area: invergordon

Reason: as ABOVE

Nominated by: WENDY CLARK

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Everything

Area: all over

Reason: Kilmarnock has some fantastic places to visit, but the unkept look of the place must be a distraction for visitors and tourists

Nominated by:

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Glasgow On Ice

Area: George Square

Reason: Cheap Santa tat despoils an already impoverished square with faux chalet shacks, low quality rides and sub par attractions.

Nominated by: Daniel Hutcheson

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Pub and club in former underground station

Area: Botanic Gardens, Glasgow

Reason: Okay, this has not got full planning permission yet - but it would be a disaster for one of Glasgow's best parks. This oasis of calm in Glasgow's West End would be well and truly breached. And anyway, does this area really need more pubs?

Nominated by: Angus

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Zit Building Nominees

Scotland's Most Disappointing Building

CROMARTY FIRTH PORT AUTHORITY FISH MEAL SHED

Area: INVERGORDON

Reason: AS ABOVE

Nominated by: WENDY CLARK

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George IV Hotel

Area: George IV Bridge Edinburgh

Reason: Its awful

Nominated by: Al Baines

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Glasgow Harbour

Area: Clydeside

Reason: Like a large brown turd floating along the clyde

Nominated by: Zoiberg

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Inverness Retail Park 2

Area: Inverness

Reason: The Inverness Retail Park is the worst planning decision ever (strangely ignored by Carbuncle judges, who seem distastefully interested in kicking places like Airdrie and Coatbridge when they are down). The recent additions - including, er, a gym, add insult to horror. The car park is a vast windblown tarmac prairie covered in discarded Tesco bags. Coatbridge and Airdrie have suffered industrial decline - what's Inverness' excuse?

Nominated by: DM

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st enoch centre

Area: glasgow

Reason: leave it alone stop putting bits on it

Nominated by: rough kid

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The Plaza Apartments (old Ballroom)

Area: Pollokshaws Road, Shawlands, Glasgow

Reason: I drive into work along Caledonia Road and catch site of the ill considered massing of the back of the Plaza which depresses me greatly! I would love to say that all the design efforts were concentrated on teh front elevation to the detriment of the rear elevation, however, this is sadly not the case and Shawlands now has a lump of a reminder that GOOD DESIGN IS MORE IMPORTANT than squeezing in numbers!

Nominated by: Craig Heap

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