Letter from the Editor: Great to see the improvements in Denny

Denny town centre has benefited from some public art

I made the town my home when I moved to take over the reins of The Falkirk Herald early in 2001 and only recently moved away.

While at first it was just a convenient place to live, I soon enjoyed becoming part of the community, especially after my son was born.

I took many happy memories with me from what was a very community-orientated town - just witness the fantastic reaction to the revival of the Denny and Dunipace Gala Day.

But there is no doubt that the old Church Walk blocks were a huge blot on the landscape.

I drove past them every day on my way to work and I always wondered what visitors to the town must have thought when they were met with this monstrosity.

Over the years, the regeneration has been dogged by controversy.

The economic problems which have hit the whole country left the council with a massive headache and the huge challenge of funding the project themselves.

Within the community there was understandable frustration at the length of time the process was taking as well as some concerns over the scale and design.

You can’t please all of the people all of the time, but I don’t think anyone can argue that what we have now is not a massive improvement on what went before.

And I look forward to many more trips to Denny, if only as a visitor this time!