March 19 2021

A residential masterplan has been put in place for HMRC's Cumbernauld base ahead of a consolidation of services to new government hubs in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Situated adjacent to the B-listed St Mungo's Parish Church the 1970's office campus, to the immediate north of the town centre, would be swept aside by owners Cannon Capital Developments in favour of a mix of family and affordable homes in an accessible location.

An application for planning in principle lodged with North Lanarkshire Council by EMA Architecture + Design sets out how this would be achieved, with a new frontage to St Mungo's Road opening up the gated compound with a network of foot and cycle paths.

"The existing office offers little in the form of addressing the street and creating a positive urban environment along this edge of the site", wrote EMA. "The new buildings should front onto and overlook the street and the associated footpath which connects the adjacent housing in the west and town centre in the east. This positive feature with large windows and active frontages will create a more attractive and pleasant backdrop to St Mungo’s Road."

Key to the masterplan is a new relationship with St Mungo's Church with new homes framing the distinctive pyramid roof of the local landmark.  

3 Comments

#1 Posted by Mary Hill on 19 Mar 2021 at 11:34 AM

Open spaces bordered by back garden fences and gables.....looks more like Cumbernauld of old than what we know now about creating good spaces i.e. overlooking, casual surveillance and connectivity. Suggest reading some Jan Gehl.

#2 Posted by Public Announcement on 19 Mar 2021 at 14:45 PM

This is not a master plan...just a number of housing plots, loosely and incoherently stitched together with a road.

#3 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 19 Mar 2021 at 16:12 PM

Big loss to the town -- probably saved the town financially during the Thatcher slump.

Housing -- pretty low quality design.

Could have done with full definition on the side facing the road -- the mix of flats and houses is a bit weak.

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