People urged to celebrate high street heroes for 2025 Scotland Loves Local Awards
People across Lanarkshire are being urged to celebrate their high street heroes.
Nominations have opened for the 2025 Scotland Loves Local Awards, celebrating the people and organisations who make communities better places to live, work and visit.
And the region's residents are being encouraged to nominate those who they would like to be named as High Street Hero for Central Scotland.
People can also put their home area forward for national accolades including Town of the Year.
The awards are organised by Scotland's Towns Partnership (STP) as an extension of its wider Scotland Loves Local campaign encouraging people to back enterprises and organisations in their communities.
STP chief officer Kimberley Guthrie said: 'Every day, people and organisations go above and beyond to make their communities better and I've been lucky to meet a few of them and see what brilliant work they do.
"The impact of that determination to make a difference should never be underestimated.
'The Scotland Loves Local Awards are an opportunity to recognise and reward that success, celebrating collective and individual achievements. They are a fantastic way to say a special thank you.'
The awards highlight the innovation and collaboration which will make towns and neighbourhoods stronger and more sustainable.
The categories nationally are:
Eight High Street Hero Awards will also be presented - one in each of the Scottish Parliament electoral regions - recognising a person or organisation who makes life better in their area.
Award nominations can be made at www.lovelocal.scot/awards, where full category criteria can also be found.
There, you can briefly share the details of your nominee and why you would like to see them recognised.
The closing date for nominations is 5pm on Wednesday, August 30.
Finalists will be announced in September with presentations made to winners in October.
A special reception will then take place in Edinburgh in November.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
20 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
How St Mary and St Anne's became Glasgow's Tron Church
This led to a church being established at the south side of the street of St Teneu or St Enoch, to bear the name of Mary of Loretto and of St Anne, her mother. With the consent of the patrons, one of the chaplainries of the church of St Roche's was, in about, incorporated with the Collegiate Church of St Mary and St Anne. John Bell Minister of the Laigh Church Glasgow Museums (Image: Supplied) The Chaplain of St Roche was appointed a canon of that church, subject to the obligation to say mass and other offices in St Roche's Chapel for the souls of its founder. The Cathedral and the Collegiate Church of St Mary and St Ann both maintained choirs in pre-Reformation Glasgow. The Cathedral choir will have sung daily at Mass and each of the eight regular prayer times for the Divine Office. Boys in both choirs studied at the Sang School. (Image: Supplied) The Collegiate Church of St Mary and St Ann had an organist who directed the choir and taught the three boy choristers who studied in the Sang School where they learned how to sing plainchant and polyphony, how to sing improvised harmonies, and play the organ. The boys were removed from their post when their voices broke, but there was provision for them to continue their education at the Grammar School for another two years. After the Reformation, the church with its cemetery in the Trongate, fell into a ruinous state. (Image: Supplied) It was sold by the council in 1570 and reacquired by them around 1592. They had it repaired to be used as a Church of Scotland. The church, which for more than a quarter of a century after the Reformation had been in a poor state, was repaired by the town and was used as a place of worship under the name of the Tron or New Kirk, sometimes known as Laigh Church. They then needed to find the means of supporting a minister. The old revenues of the church had been given to the magistrates of the city by Queen Mary's Act of 1566-7 to be used to fund for poor scholars at the college. (Image: Supplied) There were allegations that these bursaries had been improperly applied to the support of the richest men's sons. An Act of Parliament was therefore obtained in 1594, cancelled the bursaries, and instead devoted the revenues "to the sustentation of the ministry within the city of Glasgow". The bell house of the old church seems to have been occupied till the alterations were made, as in 1593 a tenant was allowed a reduction of half a year's rent "in respect the steeple was taken down". In 1594, the Scottish Parliament passed an act in favour of the ministry of Glasgow, referring to a gift which, after the Reformation, had been made to the magistrates of the city of the chaplaincies and emoluments of the "New Kirk of the College of Glasgow," meaning apparently the Collegiate Church of St Mary and St Ann. A little over 10 years later, the Tron Church was repaired and restored as a Protestant place of worship and a fourth minister was introduced to the city. In 1599, the ministers applied to the Town Council to ask that the town be divided into two separate parishes to allow each minister to know their flock. The city agreed to this on the understanding that the citizens should not be burdened with the building of more kirks or the support of more ministers than already existed. The Tron was as a result separated from the High Kirk. Additions were later made to the church, and the steeple which formed such a conspicuous spot in Trongate was built in 1637/8. In 1793, the old Church was destroyed by fire, and the Tron or St Mary's Church was built on the same site.
Edinburgh Reporter
2 days ago
- Edinburgh Reporter
Looking back in time with The Old Edinburgh Club
This is the list for July: 1 July – In 1505, the Barber Surgeons of Edinburgh were formally incorporated as a craft guild of the city, and this recognition is embodied in the Seal of Cause (or Charter of Privileges); the organisation is now known as the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. And in 1999, Queen Elizabeth officially opened the new Scottish Parliament in its temporary home in the Assembly Hall on The Mound. 2 July – In 1919, in the early hours, the biggest airship in Britain (the 643ft-long R34) left its hangar at the airfield at East Fortune, took off and headed west; after a journey of four and a half days that encountered poor weather and engine problems the dirigible landed in the USA completing the first east-to-west aerial crossing of the Atlantic. 4 July – In 1505, the provost, bailies, and council announced that they had given Thomas Glendunwyne the post of burgh Bellman with the task of ensuring the High Street was kept clean. And in 1785, James Hutton, geologist, publicly read an abstract of his theory of uniformitarianism for the first time at the meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Also in 1884, the Theatre Royal burnt down. William John Macquorn Rankine 5 July – In 1560, the Treaty of Edinburgh (also known as the Treaty of Leith) was signed, the purpose being that French and English troops would withdraw from Scotland; and Mary and François were to agree to give up any claim to the English crown and recognize Elizabeth as the rightful Queen; the treaty was never ratified by Mary. And in 1820, scientist William John Macquorn Rankine was born in Edinburgh; Rankine specialised in thermodynamics and his detailed knowledge of the workings of steam engines was sparked by work he carried out as a teenager during study breaks, at the Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway where his father worked. Also in 1847, the final run of the Edinburgh to London mail coach took place; henceforth mail would travel by train. 7 July – In 1548, the Treaty of Haddington was signed between the French and the Scots at the Nunnery of Haddington in which Mary was betrothed to the Dauphin of France; (See for full text.) And in 1559, John Knox became the first Protestant minister appointed in Edinburgh. Also in 1675, the council granted to Mr James Sunderland, a herbalist, a nineteen-year tenancy of the yard and gardener's house at Trinity College with the obligation that he keep the roof and yard walls in good repair. 8 July – In 1823, the death of Sir Henry Raeburn at his house in St Bernard's, Stockbridge, was announced. 9 July – In 1940, the first major air raid on Edinburgh began with five 250-pound bombs and six incendiaries falling near Craigmillar Castle, a 1,000-pound bomb fell beside Albert Dock, Newhaven, three bombs fell on railway lines at Leith and 48 incendiaries at Seafield Road; 38 civilians were injured and 8 died. 10 July – In 1633, the sailing ship 'Blessing of Burntisland' carrying gold, jewellery, and silver plate belonging to King Charles I, sank in the Firth of Forth; only two of its thirty-five passengers and crew survived. 12 July – In 1698, a fleet of five ships set sail from the Port of Leith for the Isthmus of Darien in Panama; the ships were launching the Darien Scheme, a project which aimed to establish a Scottish overseas colony in the New World to rival those of England and Spain; the scheme was to prove a disaster and caused the ruin of dozens of businessmen and landowners who had invested in the project; the main consequence was the subsequent Union between Scotland and England. And in 1838, the Reverend John Jamieson, lexicographer, philologist, and antiquary, died in a house in George Square. ⚓ 16 ships; only 1 returned 💀 2,000 deaths 📉 1 damaged economy The Darien Scheme was Scotland's failed colony. Explore this & other stories from the bookshelves of @welovehistory's Trinity House: 👉 🖼 Glasgow University Library. Licensor @Scranlife — Historic Environment Scotland (@HistEnvScot) December 22, 2022 14th Scottish National War Memorial 15th Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Queen Street,Edinburgh. National Galleries of Scotland. 14 July – In 1798, the United States' Consulate opened in Edinburgh. And in 1927, the Scottish National War Memorial opened in Edinburgh Castle. 15 July – In 1693, Mr James Sutherland, keeper of the Physic Garden, submitted a petition to the council explaining that he had paid his rent punctually but over the past 2 years the Gardener's House has become completely dilapidated. And in 1889, the National Portrait Gallery for Scotland opened in Edinburgh. 16 July – In 1859, the Prince of Wales arrived in Edinburgh to prepare for his entrance to Oxford. And in 1901, at around 12:30 an ear-splitting explosion broke out at the Tod Brothers flour mill in Baker's Place, Stockbridge, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake and claiming the lives of six people. Also in 1970, the 13th Commonwealth Games opened in Edinburgh. 17th Adam Smith 17 July – In 1790, Scottish economist Adam Smith died in Edinburgh at the age of 67; Smith is regarded as one of the founding fathers of philosophy and economics; his portrait has featured on both Scottish and English banknotes and he is commemorated by a statue at St Giles Cathedral. 18 July – In 1898, actor John Stuart was born in Edinburgh; he appeared in more than 150 films including The Loves of Mary Queen of Scots (1923), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1932), Escape From Broadmoor (1948), Sink the Bismarck (1960), and Superman (1978). And in 1940, bombs fell on Leith and Newhaven. 19 July – In 1911, the Foundation Stone of the Usher Hall was laid. 22 July – In 1913, Edinburgh Zoo opened for the first time. And in 1940, more bombs fell on Leith and Newhaven. 23 July – In 1637, the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (often referred to as the English Civil War) began by footstools being thrown at the preacher in St Giles in Edinburgh in protest against the new prayerbook proposed by Charles I; tradition has it that Jenny Geddes shouted 'Ye daur say Mass in ma lug!' and threw her chair at the pulpit. 27th – The Royal Scottish Academy 29th – James Craig's plan 27 July – In 1760, the Scottish School of Design was founded in Edinburgh; it later became the Royal Institution and finally the Royal Scottish Academy. 29 July – In 1565, the widowed Mary, Queen of Scots, married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Duke of Albany, in the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland. And in 1767, the Town Council presented James Craig's plan of Edinburgh's New Town. 30 July – In 1335, a body of Scots led by the Earl of Moray at the Battle of Boroughmuir defeated an English force en route to join Edward III and his army at Perth; the English king had invaded two years earlier, marking the start of the Second War of Scottish Independence. And in 1496, Mr William Forbes, provost of the Collegiate Kirk of St Giles granted the land and chamber of the curate and the school below to the burgh in order to enable the city to enlarge the churchyard and parish burying-ground. Also in 1588, the Earl of Bothwell killed Sir William Stewart in Blackfriars Wynd. 31 July – In 1871, the Emperor and Empress of Brazil, Dom Pedro II and Theresa Christina Maria, visited Edinburgh. Compiled by Jerry Ozaniec, Membership Secretary of the Old Edinburgh Club, [email protected] Like this: Like Related
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
The ugly buildings we secretly love
When news came last week that Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King – colloquially known as 'Paddy's Wigwam' – had been granted Grade I-listed status, it marked a long-awaited vindication for a building that has weathered its fair share of criticism. The design by Sir Frederick Gibberd, selected from 300 entries worldwide, took shape over five years (1962–67) and sits atop Mount Pleasant, overlooking the city with views stretching to the Mersey estuary beyond. Built quickly and cheaply – as many post-war buildings were – it has been described as 'a gargantuan concrete aberration from the Apollo space programme'. Even as recently as 2013, CNN named it one of the world's ugliest buildings. Inside, of course, the story is very different. Bathed in coloured light from the kaleidoscopic stained glass, the cathedral is an extraordinary space – one that has come to be cherished by Liverpudlians, Catholic or not. It is the latest in a long line of buildings that, though they didn't receive universal acclaim at first, have endured nonetheless. Scottish Parliament Building, Edinburgh The 1997 vote for Scottish Devolution meant a new parliament was needed, but its birth was, to put it mildly, a car crash. Ten times over budget and years behind schedule, Holyrood's construction became a dream story for the press but a nightmare for MSPs and civil servants, whose mistakes were broadcast daily. The image of the dour, thrifty Scot clashed with the flamboyance of the building's cost and design, hardly endearing it to the public when it opened in 2004. Questions were also raised about the practicality of the joint design by RMJM – one of the world's largest architecture and design firms – and Barcelona-based architect Enric Miralles, who avoided much of the controversy by passing away midway through the project in 2000. Yet opinions shifted after it won the 2005 Stirling Prize, the highest honour in British architecture. Scots, embracing a new era free from Westminster's control, came to see the building as a symbol of a renaissance north of the border. Today, visitors flock to marvel at its outré design. Hillingdon Civic Offices, Uxbridge Hillingdon Council's Ford Granada-driving apparatchiks wanted a new HQ, and what they got ended up defining over a decade of suburban style in Britain. If the Hillingdon Civic Centre reminds you of a supermarket, you wouldn't be far off – this became the signature look of Tescos and Safeways across the south. The bulky Civic Centre was designed by Andrew Derbyshire of RMJM and opened in 1979. 'Like any suburban orgy, it was more comical than sexy,' said the architecture journalist Jonathan Meades. 'It was the architectural equivalent of Benny Hill or Sid James: coarse, matey, blokeish, undemanding, unthreatening, accessible.' This building felt like the starting point of a backlash against the progressive and exciting modernism that had flourished during Britain's ' Les Trente Glorieuses'. Over the following 30 years, there was little but disdain for modernist achievements and a widespread retreat from ambition, with brick vernacular becoming especially fashionable in this new, cautious era. Nowadays, modernism and postmodernism have found a warmer welcome. While Hillingdon Civic Centre might not immediately evoke the wild, pastel-coloured tropical postmodernism of John Outram and others, it's certainly an uncle to those buildings. Now listed, it enjoys a bit more affection from the people of Uxbridge. University of East Anglia, Norwich The serpentine teaching block, dubbed the Lasdun Wall, snakes along a ridge where University of East Anglia (UEA) students study, while the eye-popping ziggurats tumbling down towards the River Yare are where they sleep. Space-age chic seems entirely at odds with sleepy Norfolk; architectural historian Elain Harwood called it 'the boldest architecture of any new university', and it became the backdrop to Malcolm Bradbury's novel The History Man. It's heartening that, despite the UEA's stark 1960s campus, it has gained more fans as it has reached middle age. It's not without problems – issues with the fireproof reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), widely used as a cheap material especially in roofs, have led to the closure of the ziggurats during remediation work. Meanwhile, new extensions to the university have sparked thorough debate. Architecture fans visiting can also explore the Sainsbury Centre next door. Designed by Lord Foster, it opened in 1978 and was hailed as revolutionary for its lightweight, high-tech design, influencing many airports and office buildings throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Southbank Centre, London London's Southbank Centre has long been at the heart of various culture wars. When Churchill's Tories won the autumn 1951 snap election, they sought to dismantle the remains of the Festival of Britain, viewing it as a thoroughly socialist project by Labour's Herbert Morrison – which, of course, it was. The futuristic Skylon was removed, but the Royal Festival Hall survived. The Southbank Centre was expanded in a brutalist style during the 1960s. Its maze of passageways and high walkways confused visitors, while its gruff exteriors offended many sensibilities. In 1988, the then Prince Charles famously likened Denys Lasdun's National Theatre (NT) to a nuclear power station. Today, attitudes have shifted. We now recognise the stark beauty in its complexity and surreal sculptural forms, and the restrained harmony of the theatre complex in particular. John Grindrod wrote in his 2013 book Concretopia that 'Lasdun's interiors have a rather cosy aesthetic,' echoing theatre critic Michael Billington's 1976 view that the NT is 'a superb piece of sculpture.' The entire Southbank complex was designed the way it was because planners insisted on roads and car parks, and even proposed building a heliport next door – hence the Queen Elizabeth Hall's thick, austere walls. Today, the terraces are bustling with diners, while the undercrofts have become a beloved haunt for skateboarders. Moseley Road Baths, Birmingham The residents of Balsall Heath in south Birmingham were certainly grateful when the baths on Moseley Road opened in 1907. Back in 1890, Birmingham was hailed as the 'best-governed city in the world' by Harper's Magazine – a claim that might raise a wry smile from today's locals still waiting for their bins to be collected. Its trams, housing, utilities and public baths were all part of a civic effort to lift the city from industrial slum to modern metropolis. But the baths were not universally loved, and have only narrowly escaped demolition, more due to luck than design. As the 20th century wore on and more homes welcomed bathrooms and washing machines, fewer people needed the bathhouse. And Birmingham (city motto: 'Forward'), spent much of the 1960s demolishing its Victorian and Edwardian architecture, including the grand Central Library and the original New Street Station, as tastes turned against the ornate. In recent years, however, a dedicated campaign has saved the arts-and-crafts building. Now Grade II-listed and undergoing careful restoration, the Moseley Road Baths are protected at last. Scarborough Grand Hotel, North Yorkshire Scarborough's grande dame was originally conceived as the Cliff Hotel, built at a time when the town was establishing itself as a premier seaside resort following the arrival of the railway on the Yorkshire coast. Visitors came to take the waters, and a grand hotel was needed to accommodate them. But throughout its life, the building has been a victim of its own scale – beset by fires, outbreaks of illness, and now, by its current management. Run as a tired, cut-price hotel, it was dubbed 'the shame of Scarborough' by Tory mayoral candidate Keane Duncan last year. When it opened in the 1860s, it was one of the largest hotels ever built – so large, in fact, that some wondered whether it was all a bit much for the once-sleepy fishing town. The Grand's story is closely tied to that of its architect, the exquisitely named Cuthbert Brodrick. A Hull native, Brodrick also designed Leeds' monumental Town Hall and Corn Exchange – buildings with a distinctive size and swagger that often clashed with the era's more restrained architectural tastes. Brodrick's overblown Oriental Turkish Baths on Cookridge Street in Leeds were unceremoniously demolished in the 1960s – by then, he had well and truly fallen from favour. That changed in 2007, when Jonathan Meades made a film about him for BBC Two, sparking a reappraisal of his work. Today, the Grand is a much-loved landmark on the Yorkshire coast. Blackpool Tower, Blackpool The Eiffel Tower is perhaps the most famous example of a building once heavily derided that has only grown in popularity with age. Blackpool's imitation, by contrast, was long dismissed as a poor copy aimed at entertaining the lower classes. Like Brighton's more recent i360 seafront tower, it was seen by some as overly tall and something of a white elephant. Today, it's a listed building, and its kitsch swagger has come to define the Blackpool seafront. We'd never dream of demolishing it now – nor its ballroom, the spiritual home of ballroom dancing. Yet in the 1920s, there was serious talk of tearing it all down. It may seem far-fetched, but that's exactly what happened to the similar-looking New Brighton Tower on the Wirral. Despite being even taller than Blackpool's, it had few defenders when it was demolished in 1919 after just 20 years. Its ballroom – where the Beatles played no fewer than 27 concerts – met the same fate in 1969, following a major fire. Strawberry Hill House, London A gothic wedding cake by the Thames, Strawberry Hill House is a singular and delightfully eccentric creation – perfectly in keeping with its owner, Horace Walpole. An unmarried enigma and gothic novelist who puzzled polite society, Walpole built his fantastical home in Twickenham as a whimsical homage to medieval cathedrals and castles. It was a world away from the architectural fashions of the mid-1700s and, at first, had few admirers. Slowly but surely, people began to visit, drawn in by the fairytale interiors and jaunty gardens, and Strawberry Hill House grew into an attraction. A century later, gothic revival (an architectural style) had become a full-blown Victorian obsession – just look at the Houses of Parliament – so Walpole's creation no longer seemed quite so outlandish. Architecture critic Ian Nairn once remarked that 'Walpole's stucco fancy' was 'prettier and less finicking than you'd expect'. A high-profile restoration in the 2000s, featured on TV, brought a new wave of admirers. Today, the house welcomes around 25,000 visitors a year. Buckingham Palace, London Like the face of an ageing celebrity, Buckingham Palace has had more alterations over the years than you can shake a Botox syringe at. Throughout its life, it has endured feelings ranging from antipathy to outright hostility from its residents. The original house, built in 1703 by William Winde, was – using the polite parlance of stately home design – 'improved' countless times. It was so often disliked that entire sections were torn down and rebuilt. John Nash's lavish 1820s redesign nearly bankrupted the Royal household, and he was promptly sacked. When Queen Victoria made it her primary residence in 1837, the palace still failed to charm – particularly Prince Albert. Albert tried to modernise it with plumbing, lighting and even toilets for servants. But, like many of his descendants, he preferred to be elsewhere. His own pet project, Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, was met with a lukewarm response thanks to its oddly Italianate style. The late Queen favoured Windsor and Balmoral; the current King prefers Highgrove and Clarence House. Yet today, tourists flock to the Palace's current form, fronted by Aston Webb's century-old Portland stone façade. More state venue than family home, it may have finally found its purpose.
