One of our regular correspondents draws our attention to the Carbuncle awards. Our correspondent seems to think that Inverness could be nominated for the Plook on the Plinth Award.
'This award is for the most dismal town in Scotland. This year it is Glenrothes - do you know if there is anywhere worse? Past winners include Cumbernauld and Airdrie. If you wish to nominate towns for the most dismal place award this is the criteria you should bear in mind. What sets the Carbuncles apart is that it is not about punishing towns that are ugly through no fault of their own. For any nomination there should be evidence of:
• Unexploited potential
• Unexploited potential
• A lack of vision and ambition by powers that be
• Examples of how things are being mis-managed '
Is it really that bad now? There's also 'The Pock Mark Award' for the worst planning decision and the The Zit Building Award for the worst looking building. The Carbuncle Awards can be found here.
Ooooh, it's tempting.
ReplyDeleteLooks as if Inverness already has a slew of nominations, and with good reason.
Just before its demise, the late-lamented Nairn with a Spin launched an "alternative Nairn" calendar competition and invited submission of pics showing the, um, less-attractive urban features of the town (of which there are many!).
It would not be hard to come up with local evidence proving that Nairn meets the Carbuncle criteria of
• Unexploited potential
• A lack of vision and ambition by powers that be
• Examples of how things are being mis-managed
There are certainly candidates for the Pock Mark and Zit awards too (Bridgemill/Maggot flats, anyone?)
I'd like to think that nominating Nairn might give the Council and the planners a bit of a fright and cause them to reflect on current policies.
But might this be seen as an own-goal? Instead of being welcomed as constructive criticism, would any such suggestion result in popular outrage about disloyalty and about denigrating the town?
How does the old song go...
"Ac-cen-tu-ate the positive,
E-lim-in-ate the negative".
Well, Gurnites - which way to jump?