AS Port Glasgow continues to celebrate its 250th birthday, it has ‘triumphed’ in the Carbuncle Awards as a town of “squandered potential” that should be “a jewel in the Clyde’s crown”.
The awards — run by architecture magazine Urban Realm — have returned after a 10-year break, and have named Port Glasgow as Scotland’s most dismal town. Other towns nominated were Airdrie, Arbroath, Hamilton and Ayr.
Read Inverclyde Council’s Response
Award organisers state: “Over recent months, the award that everyone has heard of but nobody wants has been shining a torch onto some of the darkest corners of the land in a search for the most dismal town in Scotland. Of all the nominees, one town has fallen furthest, however, leaving us with no choice but to award Port Glasgow with the infamous Plook on the Plinth trophy.
“The saddest part about Port Glasgow is that it is a town built from great bones, but recent investment has been haphazard and misdirected. Money has been spent here in the shape of the ‘Skelpies’ sculpture and high-quality public realm, but this leads nowhere in a town that still turns its back on the waterfront, dominated by a retail park and dual carriageway that dulls the senses while sucking life from the town centre.
“More recently, the demolition of the Clune Park estate represents a squandered opportunity to build on the town’s rich heritage. By ignoring today’s retrofit priorities, Port Glasgow risks falling further with the B-listed Clune Park school and church being particularly egregious losses.
“The dilemmas affecting Port Glasgow haven’t occurred overnight and won’t be resolved tomorrow, but with this award, we hope to show that it’s never too late to turn things around.”
Urban Realm editor John Glenday said: “Port Glasgow is a town of squandered potential. Look beyond the grey walls, rubble and boarded-up windows to long vistas and you will see the beauty of the place, still punctuated by the grandeur of the library. Unfortunately, the immediate environment fails to do justice to what could and should be a jewel in the Clyde’s crown. Clune Park was solidly built and once home to a thriving community and with investment, it could have done so again.
“Issues around population decline and deprivation are real but are best dealt with by working with established assets, not sweeping buildings aside in the hope that the underlying problems will go away.”
