Where are the jobs here?

Tax office union bosses whose premises will close next year want to know how plans for a new town centre will boost jobs lost in the shutdown.
Cumbernauld Town CentreCumbernauld Town Centre
Cumbernauld Town Centre

Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union have stated they already have misgivings about the North Lanarkshire Council’s Town Vision plans which have the potential to re-draw the longstanding map of this central point – potentially with new housing and series of demolitions of key buildings that have yet to be confirmed.

Representative John Miller who is also speaking in his capacity as Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Trades Council secretary said: “I am interested in establishing from the planners where there is going to be long-term permanent and part-time employment

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"The question I would like answered in any future public consultation is where are the jobs that are going to sustain a vibrant and local community in their plans? The end result of the tax office closure is the loss of more than a thousand jobs which has provided employment in the local community for over 40 years.”

A council spokesperson said: “This long-term plan aims to reflect the structural changes which are likely to arise as a result of the changing way our communities engage with town centres as retail contracts and the growth of online services reduce the long-term need for physical service facilities.

"The town vision for Cumbernauld tries to deliver a planned response to these long-term socio-economic trends and forecasts and, although no decisions have as yet been made in relation to the replacement of out-dated and increasingly obsolete buildings within this centre, it proposes the opportunity for the development of a modern and fit-for-purpose Town Hub which would incorporate the services and facilities which are offered by these within one centralised and accessible town centre location.

“Reshaping how these facilities are provided would not only help create a more attractive town centre and sustain many of the jobs which they support, but it would also free up available town centre land for alternative uses such as residential development. Whilst employment opportunity arising from housing development would be temporary, it also supports residential town centre footfall.”

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