Three towns are in the running to be declared the most dismal in Scotland in this year's Carbuncle Awards, it was revealed today.

Three towns are in the running to be declared the most dismal in Scotland in this year's Carbuncle Awards, it was revealed today.

Motherwell, Glenrothes and New Cumnock have all been shortlisted for the award, dubbed the Plook on the Plinth.

The decision to grant planning permission for Donald Trump's golf resort in Aberdeenshire is also in the running for another Carbuncle award.

It is one of four decisions being considered in the worst planning decision category.

The Carbuncles competition was set up in 2000 to provoke debate about the quality of development in many of Scotland's towns and cities.

But Gordon Young, the editor of Prospect magazine, said: "We are not interested in simply criticising deprived areas which are dismal through no fault of their own. We believe the truly depressing places are the ones which could be great, but are stifled by a lack of imagination, creativity and passion."

He added: "A primary criteria of the Carbuncles is that the towns shortlisted must have real potential, which local leaders for one reason or another are failing to exploit."

The three shortlisted towns have all been visited by a panel of experts, with the public also urged to help pick the winner of the Plook on the Plinth award - which Coatbridge won last year.

Award organisers said despite New Cumnock benefiting from excellent rail links and a heritage that links it to Robert Burns, the town's population had halved in recent years.

Mr Young said: "One senses that only the valiant efforts of a few members of the local community are preventing this town's total collapse."

Motherwell suffered from "bland housing estates going up near the town centre", he said, arguing these could "interfere with the natural rhythm of the place and perhaps threaten the town's future development".

He added: "It feels like somebody has simply dropped Motherwell. It has some nice fragments, but lacks logic in terms of how the whole thing fits together. The residents are being badly let down."

Judges felt Glenrothes, unlike other New Towns, had failed to move with the times and said the town's Kingdom Centre felt like a 1980s timewarp.

Mr Young said this was "an example of how poor shopping centres used to be".

He added: "The real failing with this town centre is the lack of civic space."

The four contenders for the worst planning decision are the approval of the Trump golf development, the decision to build 16,000 homes at Leith Docks, the Glasgow Harbour waterfront housing decision and Aberdeen's Union Square retail and travel hub.

Mr Young said: "The planning awards in particular are interesting, as the planning decisions made now will impact on the Carbuncles of the future."

The winners of the Carbuncle Awards will be announced on Thursday.