Cumnock

Cumnock (Scottish Gaelic: Cumnag) is a town and former civil parish located in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The town sits at the confluence of the Glaisnock Water and the Lugar Water. There are three neighbouring housing projects which lie just outside the town boundaries, Craigens, Logan and Netherthird, with the former ironworks settlement of Lugar also just outside the town, contributing to a population of around 13,000 in the immediate locale. A new housing development, Knockroon, was granted planning permission on 9 December 2009 by East Ayrshire Council. The town is home to the Robert Burns Academy, a new educational campus housing the main Robert Burns Academy secondary school following the merger of Cumnock Academy and Auchinleck Academy, Lochnorris Primary School and Cherry Trees Early Childhood Centre. The campus is the largest educational establishment in Scotland. The 2011 UK Census revealed that the Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock constituency, of which Cumnock is part, had an above-average unemployment rate at 5.6% compared to the Scottish average of 4.8%, with a significant proportion of residents living in local authority housing at 20.2% compared to the Scottish average of 13.2%. The constituency also had a high proportion of retired people and Church of Scotland Protestants at the Census relative to elsewhere in Scotland, with 19% of those living in the constituency retired (14.9% across Scotland) and 43.3% of constituents recognising their religion as Church of Scotland (32.4% across Scotland). 90% of residents identified their ethnicity as White British, with 99% recognising their ethnicity as White. On indicators such as health, educational attainment, income and social class however the area is more deprived than the national average. The origin of the name "Cumnock" has been debated over the years and several interpretations have been offered. Com-cnoc, (hollow of the hills) Com-oich, (meeting of the waters) Cam-cnoc, (crooked hill) Cumanag, (little shrine) This part of Ayrshire has seen human settlement for over 5,000 years.