Glenrothes was today handed the unwanted title of the most dismal place in Scotland.
Glenrothes was today handed the unwanted title of the most dismal place in Scotland.
The Fife new town beat competition from Motherwell and New Cumnock to win the Carbuncle Award, dubbed the Plook on the Plinth.
Judges felt Glenrothes had failed to move with the times and said the town's Kingdom Centre shopping mall felt like a 1980s "timewarp".
Gordon Young, one of the award's organisers, said: "There is nothing wrong with the town itself.
"But the people who live there are being badly let down by its depressing town centre, which could and should be better.
"The place is crying out for more civic space. Instead what is offered is a drab shopping mall, surrounded by depressing car parks.
"Inside, shoppers are subjected to a threadbare 1980s interior.
"The centre is busy, but this is because of a lack of competition in the region."
Glenrothes was constructed in 1948 under the New Towns (Scotland) Act and is home to an estimated 40,000 people.
It lies just a few miles from Prime Minister Gordon Brown's home town of Kirkcaldy, and its Westminster MP, Lindsay Roy, was the headteacher at Mr Brown's old school.
Mr Roy, who won the Glenrothes seat in a closely-contested by-election last November, said that the award was the result of "poor planning".
He added: "People make towns, not buildings. The people of Glenrothes are well aware of the inadequacies of the town centre.
"Glenrothes Futures Group has asked the council to consult with the public about how Glenrothes can be revitalised.
"Planners and architects will be involved in moving things forward, so it looks like something constructive will come from that."
The Carbuncles competition was set up in 2000 to provoke debate about the quality of development in many of Scotland's towns and cities.
The three shortlisted towns were all visited by a panel of experts, with the public also urged to help pick the winner of the award.
Previous recipients include Cumbernauld, Airdrie and last year's winner, Coatbridge in Lanarkshire.
Mr Young said: "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.
"We believe the truly depressing places are the ones that are being stifled by a lack of attention, creativity and ambition.
"Glenrothes certainly fits these criteria."
Another Carbuncle Award went to the decision to grant planning permission for Donald Trump's £1 billion golf resort in Aberdeenshire.
And the conversion of Glasgow's Plaza Ballroom into a block of flats was named Worst New Building.
