Cumbernauld: from ugly duckling to swan

EVEN on a day when persistent rain and memories of recent ridicule conspired to dampen the mood, it could not stop Cumbernauld regaining its pride as a treasure of late 20th-century architecture. Official!

A United Nations heritage body, which identifies modern sites of world significance, designated the town as one of the top 20 in the UK today.

It is the biggest comeback since Lazarus opened his eyes and said: "Now, that’s what I call a kip!"

A year ago, the annual Carbuncle architectural awards, sponsored by a Scottish business magazine, condemned Cumbernauld as the dreariest in the UK, a "plook on the landscape", and comparing it to Kabul.

However, the town managed to impress Icomos-UK - the International Council on Monuments and Sites and official adviser to UNESCO.

Icomos, which was advised by the Twentieth Century Society and the Association of Industrial Archaeology as well as Scottish, English, and Welsh heritage, identified 18 heritage sites in the UK.

Four are in Scotland. They applauded the designs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh in Glasgow, the Forth road and rail bridges, the DFR Sphere - "dome" - of Dounreay power station and the Cruachan hollow mountain hydro-electric power station in Argyll.

Cumbernauld was recognised for "architecture and housing" by Icomos, which was founded in 1965 under the 1964 Venice Charter, a benchmark for world conservation. A spokesman for the Paris-based organisation, said: "Cumbernauld reflects the rewriting of the urban landscape that took place in the last century. It is among the most important innovations.

"Our aim is to play a leading role, where the creation of new cultural world heritage sites is concerned, and to encourage high quality, sustainable custodianship. Cumbernauld New Town, Phase 1, built between 1963 and 1968, is worthy of that."

Work began on Cumbernauld in the 50s to help rehouse Glasgow’s population, but most of the area was built between the 60s and 70s.

Recognition from such a prestigious organisation delighted local residents and officials.

Margaret Garrod, 51, who has lived in Cumbernauld since childhood, said: "Carbuncle Awards! Where are they now?

"Plook on the landscape? Kabul? This should show them exactly the value of their sneering."

Alex Massie, 48, added: "I don’t think anyone in their right mind would call Cumbernauld beautiful, but I recognise it was cutting edge, and once something is built, you can’t just knock down the bits that don’t work so well.

"However, the criticism last year put our backs up. It was so negative.

Penny Lewis, the Carbuncle Awards organiser, was unrepentant yesterday.

She believes the opinions of her judges - comprising artists, local architects and PR people - who drew up their hit list over drinks in a posh Glasgow eaterie, are on the same level as a world class heritage organisation.

She said: "I think there is a trend to list too many heri-tage things. It betrays a lack of ambition."

Asked if her judges might consider realigning their views, in the light of such an accolade from Imocos, she added: "No, I don’t think they would change anything."

Last year, the Carbuncle Awards were dismissed as "superficial" by Peter Wilson, an architectural journalist, and criticised by politicians, local residents and officials of North Lanarkshire Council.

David Porch, the director of planning and environment, said yesterday: "We are not surprised by this. In its day, Cumbernauld was an internationally recognised example of best practice in architecture and the world’s first multi-level covered town centre.

"Cumbernauld also has some beautiful historic buildings, recognised by Historic Scotland as among the finest examples of the modern movement in post-war Scottish architecture.

"The town has suffered negative publicity - it’s nice that it is being recognised for unique architecture."

Archie Fleming, the editor of the Cumbernauld News, said: "Whatever people think of Cumbernauld’s outward appearance, it was experimental architecture. Okay, some parts of it haven’t worked, but the bits that did, such as a layout which separates people and traffic, is unique.

"We have to walk a fine line between being critical and giving credit."

Imocos identified 14 other sites in the UK, which included the Barbican, in London, Boots’s packed wet goods factory in Nottingham and Letchworth Garden City in Hertfordshire.

Three churches are included: the Catholic Church of St Michael, Coventry, Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral and the nearby Catholic Cathedral of Christ the King.

Fond memories of a green and pleasant landscape

A GRIM place, a joke even, according to its critics. A delight, says a United Nations outfit, to even more hoots.

We moved to Cumbernauld in 1966, just after THAT game, when I was aged three. It was brilliant, reflecting the aspirations of ordinary families in the full employment mid-Sixties. So optimistic a time was it that sectarianism simply passed us by. It was only later that I realised how unusual that was in the west of Scotland.

It was perfect for youngsters: green places everywhere, a road system divorced from the walkways and, importantly, lots of other kids. It was only on returning after 20 years that I realised how limited it was for adults. There were no nearby shops, the closest pub was 30 minutes’ walk away, and, in the Seventies, there was just the one restaurant in the whole town.

Something else had changed: The council painted each of the houses in MacTaggart Road, every second year, orange, green, then yellow. Now they were in private ownership, and each was a different colour, with its own windows and a different front door. Some had ugly gas pipes snaking in and the communal fencing was in ruins. The right-to-buy legislation had diminished the sense of community, though not the affection for the place.