THEY are famous for being the birthplace of Scotland's most famous fictional detective, producing world-class steel and setting records for obesity.
But now Cardenden, Motherwell and Nitshill are in the running for the national award that no one wants to win.
Scotland on Sunday can reveal that the Fife community, which is the birthplace of Inspector Rebus and his creator Ian Rankin, Lanarkshir
e's former "steelopolis," and the much-maligned Glasgow suburb are in the running to land the unenviable title as the country's most "dismal" community.
Newmilns and Darvel in Ayrshire are also in the running to be officially crowned as the nation's ugliest place of residence in the annual Carbuncle Awards.
The judges from Architecture Scotland magazine have named and shamed the six communities for being blighted by neglect and civic complacency.
But the shortlist has been labelled "unfair and spiteful" by residents of the towns named in the list of housing horrors.
Awards spokesman John Glenday felt the nomination of Cardenden (a former mining town) was fully justified.
He said: "At the moment the best you can say for Cardenden is that it has got decent transport links to Edinburgh and Dundee. The whole raison d'etre for the town has gone and it is stuck in the past.
"It has suffered from a lack of investment and has really fallen by the wayside.
"On the plus side the only way is up and its geographic location has potential."
Rankin sprung to the defence of his hometown yesterday, but acknowledged it did have problems.
He said: "Cardenden is a resilient and friendly town which has been blighted by the collapse of the coal industry in the 1960s and with housing stock which could certainly be a lot better. The people, however, remain its real strength, and some improvement schemes have been very successful."
Cllr Ian Chisholm, who represents the area, feels the judges failed to acknowledge the community's never-say-die camaraderie.
He said: "What makes Cardenden such a great place to live is the incredible sense of community spirit.
I will challenge anyone who thinks Cardenden is a carbuncle to come and pay us a visit."
In 2006, Nitshill, in the greater Pollock area of Glasgow, hit national headlines when it was named as Scotland's obesity capital, with a quarter of residents more than two stone overweight.
Glenday said he took little pleasure in shaming the inner city area once again.
"Unfortunately bad architecture goes hand in hand with unemployment and other social ills. It is a sad fact that the sort of deprivation that exists in communities like Nitshill is allowed to exist in 21st-century Scotland."
Another high-profile contender is the ailing Lanarkshire steel town of Motherwell.
Glenday said: "I don't think anybody would contradict Jack McConnell's assertion that Motherwell town centre is a bit of a pigsty. It is stuck in a 1960s concrete timewarp and desperately needs to attract new businesses and make a fresh start."
Gordon Stewart, who represents Motherwell North in North Lanarkshire Council, believes the town needs urgent regeneration.
"Everything is going from Motherwell and all we are being left with is a collection of pound shops. The problem is so bad that people use the shopping centre car parks and then jump on the train to do their shopping elsewhere."
Newmilns was labelled a "historic wee place which has been allowed to fall down the back of the political sofa and become forgotten", while the new estate of Newton, near Cambuslang, was labelled a "soulless US-style residential ghetto with no heart".
Heather Taggart, of Newmilns' Loudon Arms, said: "It is totally unfair to brand Newmilns a carbuncle.
"It is a really pleasant wee town and I wouldn't live anywhere else."
The Ayrshire community of Darvel was said to be lacking in identity and focus, with judges labelling it "a town that is beyond commuting distance which really needs to get its act together."
An award spokeswoman said: "We are not having a laugh at the expense of frustrated residents, but trying to provoke a debate about how we move forward."
The "winner" will be announced early next year.
The full article contains 698 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
