When will public get their say?

A select number of community groups have already been asked for their views on the shape that the all-new Cumbernauld town centre should take in a process which will not involve the public until later this month.
The centre which the council is talking about replacingThe centre which the council is talking about replacing
The centre which the council is talking about replacing

The matter came to light last week after it emerged that a group from the Public and Commercial Services Union had not been invited to an online workshop held by North Lanarkshire Council, despite the fact they represent members of the town's biggest employer HMRC which is based in the town centre.

Ultimately, a last-minute invite was issued to them after members argued that they wanted to see what provisions would be made to create new jobs.

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This is because the centre is of course scheduled to close in March 2022 with a move to a ‘superhub’ in Glasgow pending.

However, this newspaper wanted to know when the public would finally be involved in the so-called Town Visions programme which was supposed to start in December but was put on hold at the eleventh hour after the pandemic, with even Brexit was cited as a concern.

However, we were told that the matter was in hand.

A council spokesperson said: “Draft Vision documents were developed last year for all towns in North Lanarkshire, and are designed to provide concept designs for how towns could look in 10 to 15 years based upon a range of research and information.

"The documents aim to support town centres to adapt and thrive and help attract new investment, residents and employment to North Lanarkshire while providing high quality amenities and services.

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“We recently organised online workshops for the Community Boards, with key stakeholders, known partners, community groups and third sector organisations invited to attend, including a representative of the PCS.

“The main publicity and consultation programme for the draft Town Visions starts this month and runs to the end of March, when the public will have the opportunity to provide comments or ask questions directly to officers of the council through an online virtual consultation for each town.

"We will encourage as many individuals, organisations and businesses as possible to take part.”