Carbuncle Awards: What is Scotland’s ugliest town?

THE search is on for Scotland’s most dismal town, with the annual Carbuncle Awards seeking nominations.

So far Broxburn in West Lothian, Leslie in Fife and Newmilns in Ayrshire are among the towns to be put forward for the controversial prize.

Urban Realm magazine, which organises the prize, have issued an appeal for more suggestions from “residents, commuters and tourists with tales of their own forgotten spaces”.

Previous winners of the dubious honour, which is known as the “Plook on the Plinth”, include Glenrothes (2009), John O’Groats (2010) and Linwood (2011).

Whlie some residents have criticised the negativity of the Carbuncle Awards in previous years, John Glenday, editor of Urban Realm, believes there is a worthwhile purpose to pointing out Scotland’s ugliest locations.

He said: “Our towns are under greater pressure than ever before, suffering continued dissipation of resources and fragmentation of once close knit communities. From flagging retail, to an exodus of the young and a planning and legal system that often seems perversely designed to throttle rather than nurture.

“The Carbuncle Awards are an antidote to this insidious decline which has hit our towns since the onset of recession in 2008 acting as a doorstop for decay and a springboard for future prosperity.”

A shortlist will be drawn up in the New Year, with the 2012-13 winners announced in March.