Antonine shopping centre, Cumbernauld, 15 May 2009

The Antonine Centre is a

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

in the Scottish

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...

. The centre has of retail space including a

Tesco Extra Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

(in a separate building to the main centre, attached by walkways) and a

Dunnes Dunnes Stores is an Irish multinational retail chain that primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain also has operations in Spain, and formerly in England and Scotland. The fo ...

which closed in 2018,This was replaced by a

TJ Hughes T. J. Hughes, registered and styled as TJ Hughes, is a British discount department store brand which first emerged in Liverpool in 1912 The business grew to become a national chain with 57 stores by 2011 but shrank to just six locations after e ...

in 2019. The centre was expected to open sometime in May 2007, but instead opened on 6 June 2007, following delays caused by planning disputed over the pedestrian walkways connecting the complex to existing buildings. The name is a reference to the Roman

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall, known to the Romans as ''Vallum Antonini'', was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twe ...

, which passed through nearby

Westerwood Westerwood is an area in the north-east of Cumbernauld in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Historically it was the site of a Roman Fort of which a video reconstruction has been produced. In the past two decades, new housing developments have been bu ...

Historical background

Cumbernauld Town Centre, developed in the 1950s, has been considered one of the ugliest in Britain, twice winning ''

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mining ...

'' magazine's Carbuncle Award for the most unpleasant town centre in the country; in 2001 it was described as "The

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

of the north" while the entire town centre was nominated as Britain's ugliest structure in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

programme ''

Demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

''. Despite these criticisms, much of the surrounding area contains sought after residential property and is located for ease of access to the major conurbations. The £40 million Antonine Centre project was launched in 1995 as part of a plan to change the nature of the town centre and public perception of the town. However, some have remarked that the new centre seems to have been designed to complement the architecture and look of the existing structures, which are so disliked by the majority of local residents.

Construction

St Enoch's Station Clock in the Antonine Centre, Cumbernauld

After over ten years of delays, construction began in April 2006.

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also ...

council Deputy Leader Jim Smith stated that the aims of the centre were to "Bring new jobs, new opportunities, new investment and new life into Cumbernauld (and) help make sure local money stays local by encouraging people to stay in the town instead of heading for Edinburgh, Stirling or Glasgow". The building incorporates the historic clock from

St Enoch railway station St Enoch station was a mainline railway station in the city of Glasgow, Scotland between 1876 and 1966. The hotel was the first building in Glasgow to be fitted out with electric lighting. The station was demolished in 1977. History Locate ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, made famous in the 1981 film ''

Gregory's Girl ''Gregory's Girl'' is a 1980 Scottish coming-of-age romantic comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth and starring John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn and Clare Grogan. The film is set in and around a state secondary school in the Abronhil ...

''. The former Tesco (connected to the new development by a network of walkways) was also subdivided into smaller retail units.

Shops and projected effects on the local area

As well as the Tesco Extra, the centre has 42 other retail outlets including

River Island River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online. Best known for its trend focused womenswear offering, River Isla ...

and

Next Next may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare * ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage * '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film Lit ...

. It is projected that the centre will increase expenditure in the town by 84%, while total retail spending in the town is projected to rise by 166%, transforming the local economy. The centre contains four "civic spaces" for community use, and a commemorative artwork commissioned to mark the 50th anniversary of the town of Cumbernauld.

References

External links

Antonine Cumbernauld
developers of the Centr

TJ Hughes opening information {{coord, 55, 56, 51, N, 3, 59, 23, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Cumbernauld Buildings and structures completed in 2007 Shopping centres in Scotland 2007 in Scotland