Former Cumbernauld Cottage Theatre damaged in fire
Firefighters tackled the blaze, eventually extinguishing it; however, the category C-listed structure - which is owned by North Lanarkshire Council (NLC) - had suffered 'significant' damage, with much of the roof destroyed.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed no one was injured during the incident.
Following the fire, councillor Adam Smith, who represents Cumbernauld East, stated that residents are 'rightly angry' that the theatre, which was built in the 1700s, was left vacant for so long.
Councillor Smith added that he remains hopeful that the Braehead Road building can be saved, but is disappointed that measures were reportedly not taken to 'better protect it'.
He said: 'The fire at the former Cumbernauld Theatre building in the early hours of Friday morning was devastating to see, particularly as I secured the listing of the building and was the chair of the organisation previously working to take ownership of it as a community facility.
'As a listed building under the ownership of NLC, the council has a duty of care to the former Cottage Theatre and it's disappointing that measures were not taken to better protect it.
'The building is almost 300 years old and the external structure appears to have withstood the fire well, although much of the roof has been lost.
'I await the building survey report, however and hope there will not be a requirement for demolition.
"People are rightly angry that the building had been vacant for so long and that the previous Community Asset Transfer request was rejected by North Lanarkshire Council, despite them having no plans for the site and having declared it surplus to their requirements.
'I remain hopeful that the building will survive and can have a positive community use in future.'
READ NEXT: Glasgow youth project in desperate bid for new building
NLC stated that it is engaging with other authorities to make a full assessment of the site.
It has since been fenced off, and people are being asked to 'stay away' for safety reasons.
The local authority also confirmed that a community asset transfer request for the former theatre had been made in 2022.
This was refused; however, it was not stated why.
An NLC spokesperson commented: 'A fire occurred at the former Cumbernauld Theatre in the early hours of Friday, July 25, which was attended by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
'There is significant damage to the building, particularly to the roof, and we are engaging with other agencies to make a full assessment.
'The area has been fenced off, and the public is asked to stay away from the building for safety reasons.
'A community asset transfer request was submitted in 2022 for the former Cumbernauld Theatre building.
'This request was considered by the Education, Children and Families Committee in 2023 and refused.'
Police Scotland confirmed that enquiries are ongoing to establish the cause of the fire.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Glasgow Times
Former Cumbernauld Cottage Theatre damaged in fire
Emergency services rushed to the former Cumbernauld Cottage Theatre following reports of a fire within the derelict building shortly after 2am on Friday, July 25. Firefighters tackled the blaze, eventually extinguishing it; however, the category C-listed structure - which is owned by North Lanarkshire Council (NLC) - had suffered 'significant' damage, with much of the roof destroyed. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed no one was injured during the incident. Following the fire, councillor Adam Smith, who represents Cumbernauld East, stated that residents are 'rightly angry' that the theatre, which was built in the 1700s, was left vacant for so long. Councillor Smith added that he remains hopeful that the Braehead Road building can be saved, but is disappointed that measures were reportedly not taken to 'better protect it'. He said: 'The fire at the former Cumbernauld Theatre building in the early hours of Friday morning was devastating to see, particularly as I secured the listing of the building and was the chair of the organisation previously working to take ownership of it as a community facility. 'As a listed building under the ownership of NLC, the council has a duty of care to the former Cottage Theatre and it's disappointing that measures were not taken to better protect it. 'The building is almost 300 years old and the external structure appears to have withstood the fire well, although much of the roof has been lost. 'I await the building survey report, however and hope there will not be a requirement for demolition. "People are rightly angry that the building had been vacant for so long and that the previous Community Asset Transfer request was rejected by North Lanarkshire Council, despite them having no plans for the site and having declared it surplus to their requirements. 'I remain hopeful that the building will survive and can have a positive community use in future.' READ NEXT: Glasgow youth project in desperate bid for new building NLC stated that it is engaging with other authorities to make a full assessment of the site. It has since been fenced off, and people are being asked to 'stay away' for safety reasons. The local authority also confirmed that a community asset transfer request for the former theatre had been made in 2022. This was refused; however, it was not stated why. An NLC spokesperson commented: 'A fire occurred at the former Cumbernauld Theatre in the early hours of Friday, July 25, which was attended by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. 'There is significant damage to the building, particularly to the roof, and we are engaging with other agencies to make a full assessment. 'The area has been fenced off, and the public is asked to stay away from the building for safety reasons. 'A community asset transfer request was submitted in 2022 for the former Cumbernauld Theatre building. 'This request was considered by the Education, Children and Families Committee in 2023 and refused.' Police Scotland confirmed that enquiries are ongoing to establish the cause of the fire.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Telegraph
What Edinburgh University's campaign of self-destruction says about modern Britain
Edinburgh University, that most genteel of institutions, is not all it seems: the ancient facades provided cover for white supremacism in the past and continue to harbour racism today. At least, that is, according to a new review of the institution's 'historic racial and colonial injustices'. Apparently, the prestigious university played an 'outsized' role in developing 'racist scientific theories' at the same time as profiting from the transatlantic slave trade. This devastating critique was not commissioned by Edinburgh's rivals but by the university itself. Led by academics, the investigation into the university's historic links to slavery and racism is being lauded as one of 'the most ambitious, wide-ranging and sustained consultations of its kind'. The result is 130 pages of self-flagellation. A light is shone on horrors such as buildings funded by donors who had links to the slave trade and the British empire; a room containing 300 skulls reportedly used in the study of phrenology; and student notebooks from the 1790s that suggest philosopher Dugald Stewart taught that white Europeans were superior to other races. At Edinburgh University, widely recognised the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment, the past itself is now on trial. Fingers are pointed at great scholars such as the aforementioned Stewart, Adam Ferguson, David Hume and Adam Smith. The legacy of these intellectual giants has been assessed by today's pygmies and found to be that most heinous of all things: 'damaging'. What's seemingly missed by the review's authors is that scholars of the past, just like today, reflect the attitudes and values of the era they inhabit. Phrenology, for example, has been so thoroughly debunked that few current students are likely to have ever encountered the word. Taking potshots at long dead scholars for going along with the prejudices of their time overlooks nuance and progress. The Edinburgh review, in its determination to uncover white supremacism, is forced to rapidly brush past the inconvenient fact that Stewart was also an abolitionist. The desperate search for racism ends up discrediting the entire Enlightenment project. Yet, in reality, the intellectual gains of this important period in time benefitted everyone, not just white men. And as a nation we should be proud of this legacy. For example, the work of philosophers such as John Locke was truly revolutionary in promoting the idea that all men (and later women) are created equal. The Enlightenment's scientific advances sowed the seeds of the industrial revolution which lifted people around the world out of poverty. And, ironically, the academic methods developed at this time made modern universities possible. Compared to the astonishing advances in thought made by the Enlightenment philosophers, the academics who compiled the Edinburgh race review are engaged in an anti-intellectual act of self-harm. Their report inevitably leads to calls for reparations in the present. The authors want formal apologies to be issued, buildings to be renamed and scholarships set aside specifically for black students. Scholarships are an important means of making higher education more accessible. Indeed, the money wasted on what's been heralded as 'the most extensive investigation of its kind carried out by any university in the UK' could have been better spent funding current students. But scholarships should be awarded on the basis of economic need or academic merit. Doling out money based on skin colour reintroduces racial categories into the university, turning back the progress the Enlightenment made possible. The Edinburgh review reveals that researching the legacy of slavery now has nothing to do with the past and everything to do with the concerns of today's cultural elite; especially in universities, but across other areas of culture and learning, from museums to galleries. Edinburgh University should celebrate its great philosophers and scientists. Academics cannot stand on the shoulders of giants they have kicked to the ground. This attitude is not only bad for universities, but for Britain as a whole.
The National
21-07-2025
- The National
Yet another triumph of money over people disrupted Beauly's gala day
He says the original journey date for the second transformer was Friday July 4, leading the reader to be perhaps more understanding that SSEN was only a day late with their delivery due to 'necessary maintenance and additional safety checks'. However, the transformer was scheduled to travel through Beauly on the day before, according to SSEN's own notification to residents: 'The second unit will be transported on 3rd July 2025 between 18.00hrs and 20.30hrs. The time and date of this transport have been selected to reduce the impact on roads.' READ MORE: Extra safety checks led to delayed transportation of SSEN transformer There followed a short-notice update of travel for the Saturday gala day: July 5th between 8am and 10.30am. They got the day right the second time, but missed their timings by some margin. A modicum of research would have told SSEN they should have delayed again until late on the Saturday evening when the village would have been quieter but no, money over people won again and the promised effort to 'reduce impact on roads' was thrown out of the window. Mr Smith refers to the scoped-out topics that SSEN has seemingly repeated across all of their planning applications, topics that they DO NOT have to address in their Environmental Impact Assessments. It is only fair that people understand exactly what those topics of most concern are: 1. Population and Human Health, 2. Electric and Magnetic Fields, 3. Radio Frequency Interference 4. Major Accidents and Disasters, 5. Air Quality and Climate and 6. Disposal and Recovery of Waste. A slide listing these topics was shown at a public presentation by SSEN regarding the 868-acre substation site at Fanellan within the rural community of Kiltarlity and was met with horrified gasps from the audience. It was swiftly taken down. READ MORE: Timing of disruption by SSEN demonstrates lack of regard for locals It is the opinion of those fighting for their health and wellbeing within this unprecedented electrical experiment that all these relevant subjects should be included and scrutinised in SSEN's planning applications and satisfactory answers given before any approval is considered. Mr Smith then takes the opportunity to attempt to justify what SSEN is doing and dangle the rotten carrot of community 'benefit'. Unfortunately, without a full, independent cost/benefit analysis for Scotland and justification as to why our rural communities are being sacrificed to export electricity out of the country, with no guaranteed customers and for the enrichment of their shareholders, his 'explanations' are at best inadequate. Ed Miliband is hell-bent on industrialising England with renewables plus nuclear and new gas generation, and it is entirely possible they won't even want to buy what the global investment companies here in Scotland have to offer. Lyndsey Ward Communities B4 Power Companies, Beauly THANK you to The National for publishing the revised route for the Palestine protest demonstration in Edinburgh on Saturday. I am guessing that this change was enforced following discussions with police. One consequence for my friend Alex in his wheelchair and myself in my scooter was to rule out our participation from St Giles'. Neither of us can manage cobbles, so this starting point was impossible for us. We were both keen to add our protest against the continuing genocide of the Palestinians people in Gaza by the Israeli Defence Force and the continuing implicit support from our UK and Scottish governments. The UK Government for refusing to recognise the state of [[Palestine]], for continuing to assist the attacks by arms exports, by providing surveillance information and by proscribing a protest group and by using the new law to attack those who object to this proscription. Our Scottish Government for their non-recording of meetings with Israeli officials and the continued subsidies to our defence companies who are supplying military equipment to the Israeli government. READ MORE: I was at the national Palestine protest in Edinburgh and saw hope So, guessing the travelling time from St Giles', we met on Waverley Bridge to join the protest as it passed at our estimate of 1.45pm. We waited for more than one hour in heavy rain after our estimate before the march arrived. Apparently there were speeches before they started. Had this information been released, we could have avoided getting such a drooking. We were, however, pleased to participate. Come the time to man the barricades, could some consideration be given please to provide a ramp for those of us less mobile but equally committed? Campbell Anderson (self-appointed correspondent for the ancient society of disabled Old Age Protesters!) Edinburgh
