By Alexander Smail

Copyright dailyrecord

The “most dismal” town in Scotland has been named. While it was described as having “good bones”, its “haphazard and misdirected investment” was criticised. Following a decade-long hiatus, the Carbuncle Awards have returned for 2025. The controversial awards bestow the ‘Plook on the Plinth’ prize to the ugliest town in the country. The recipient of the 2025 Plook on the Plinth award has been revealed as Port Glasgow in Inverclyde , which is currently celebrating its 250th anniversary. The second-biggest town in the council area, it has a population of around 14,000 people. Urban Realm, the architecture publication behind the Carbuncle Awards, said Port Glasgow had “squandered potential”. The journal described the town as having “grey walls, rubble and boarded-up windows”. Port Glasgow is home to the Clune Park housing estate, which has been referred to as “Scotland’s Chernobyl” . Urban Realm criticised the decision to demolish the estate, stating that it was “solidly built and once home to a thriving community”. Elsewhere, Urban Realm noted that Port Glasgow is “dominated by a retail park and dual carriageway that dulls the senses while sucking life from the town centre”. It also said that the town has neglected its waterfront, which was once dominated by bustling shipyards. Carbuncle Awards organiser and Urban Realm editor John Glenday commented: “Port Glasgow is a town of squandered potential. Look beyond the grey walls, rubble and boarded-up windows to long vistas and you can see the inherent beauty of the place, still punctuated by the grandeur of the library. “Unfortunately, the built environment at large fails to do justice to what could and should be a jewel in the Clyde’s crown. “Clune Park was solidly built and once home to a thriving community. With investment, it could have done so again. Issues around population decline and deprivation are real but are best dealt with by working with established assets, not sweeping buildings aside in the hope that the underlying problems will go away.” Following the announcement, Provost of Inverclyde Drew McKenzie has defended Port Glasgow. He also criticised the Carbuncle Awards, stating that the “so-called award couldn’t be further from the truth”. McKenzie said: “It’s ironic that Port Glasgow has been bestowed this ‘honour’ at a time of transformation and celebration for the town—and in the town’s 250th anniversary year, which saw record crowds gather to celebrate the past, present and future of the town. “However, as Oscar Wilde famously said, ‘there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about’, and this provides an opportunity to highlight how this so-called award couldn’t be further from the truth. “Sadly this ‘study’ focuses on a few very specific areas but Port Glasgow is so much more. The fact that these ‘awards’ have been missing without notice for a decade speaks for itself.” He added: “There aren’t many places that boast a town centre with award-winning businesses, a recently restored building from the 1700s, a successful retail park, a castle, the last commercial shipyard on the Lower Clyde, a famous sculpture, first-class transport links by road, rail, air and sea, a swimming pool, new housing, and wonderful outdoor spaces all surrounded by breathtaking views—and that’s just one area.” Previous winners of the Plook on the Plinth award include Airdrie, Glenrothes, and Aberdeen. As reported by the Daily Record , Cumbernauld in North Lanarkshire is the only destination to have received the prize twice. More information can be found on the Urban Realm website .