FROM THE ARCHIVES

1997

There was a gas scare in Cumbernauld Village after a fire-engine lost control and crashed into a chemist, bursting a main gas pipe. Nearby residents demanded that North Lanarkshire Council address the road where the accident took place, with one villager saying: “Something like this was always going to happen. The road isn’t built for heavy traffic. Someone could have been killed.”

1987

Having campaigned for four years, mums in Balloch finally got their wish after work started on the new Balloch/Eastfield primary school. Along with the help of MP Normann Hogg, the mums managed to convince council bosses there was sufficient demand for a new school in the area.

1977

Areas were chosen specifically for school-children to have a chance to meet the Queen. on her four hour visit to Cumbernauld. Her imminent arrival had prompted a major tidy-up and £40,000 revamp of the town centre, and the route chosen was done so in the hope that as many people as possible, particularly children, would get to meet the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.

1972

Following a 12-day fight to save 1000 jobs at the Cumbernauld factory of Burroughs Machines Limited, workers finally gave up and accepted redundancies.