Share Your Views On Cumbernauld Town Centre

From 12 May to 12 June 2022, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) asked people about the potential special architectural or historic interest of the 1960s Cumbernauld Town Centre.

We did this because  we were asked to consider designating the 1960s Cumbernauld Town Centre as a listed building. We launched the public consultation to help to inform our listing assessment.

Built 1963-72, the building in the town centre was designed as a ‘megastructure’ – a single structure with a range of different uses – and included shops, offices, civic buildings, a bus station, hotel and apartments. At the time of its construction, it won recognition as an outstanding example of town centre planning and modern innovation.

In more recent years, the building has divided opinion and has been altered extensively. Now there is a proposal to regenerate the site currently occupied by the megastructure to provide a multi-purpose town hub and other community and commercial developments.

We were delighted to have over 2,000 responses to our consultation. We were very pleased to hear from local residents with over three quarters of respondents noting they were from Cumbernauld.

The responses included views about the special architectural and historic interest of the Town Centre and you also told us about how you valued the site and whether you think it should be recognised and protected in the future. You also told us about your aspirations for the redevelopment of the town centre.

Some comments from respondents include:

• "While I acknowledge that perhaps it was at one stage of architectural significance, the building is no longer fit for purpose, it’s in very poor state and just unsightly." 
• "I feel like the town centre is a famous landmark. It was built for a specific reason and has been allowed to fall into disrepair over the years by the owners. I feel that the main part of the town centre should be kept and repaired and the new hub should be built around the existing building. I have lived in Cumbernauld for 40 years and the centre has always been a talking point. It's also important to protect the architecture of the original new town central hub."
• "It’s an eyesore, not attractive, doesn’t support safe-access to shops and other facilities, it’s a carbuncle."
• "The building is a ‘mega structure’ which was considered to be a leader when it was built. It is a concept which has only failed because it has not been properly managed and maintained. It still has fantastic potential given that it is such a powerful structure with many years of life ahead of it."

We are now considering the case for listing and will analyse and publish a consultation report as part of this process. We expect to reach a view on listing in early autumn 2022. 

Link to our Portal: http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/decision/500003493
Link to our Designation Policy and Selection Guidance
Find more information on how we make our decisions at: https://www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support/listing-scheduling-and-designations/listed-buildings/listing-process/#overview_tab.