Denny, Falkirk

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Denny is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland, and formerly in the county of Stirlingshire. It is situated seven miles west of Falkirk, and around 6 miles east of Cumbernauld. Denny has a population of 7,385 (2001).

Denny encompasses several housing estates dotted around a small central shopping area. The Local secondary school is called Denny High School and caters for children typically between the ages of 12 and 18. Denny and the surrounding areas are important commuter towns, feeding larger towns such as Falkirk and Stirling.

The building of several new housing developments (notably by Stewart Milne, Bellway, Robertson Homes and Bett Homes) has seen a marked increase in the local population, and the proposed building of a new high school and a major retail redevelopment of the town centre (at around a cost of £15 million) is set to improve the whole area still further. No plans have yet been announced however for an improvement in the local transportation links.

Until the early 1980s, Denny was a centre for heavy industry, including several iron foundries, brickworks, a coal mine and and paper mills.

Famous sports personalities from Denny include Niall McKenzie, the 1996-98 British Superbike Champion, Samuel (Sammy) Shields who played for Cowdenbeath F.C., Liverpool F.C., Airdrieonians F.C. and Darlington F.C., and Sir Matt Busby (Sir Alexander Matthew Busby, CBE; 26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994), who played for now defunct amateur football team Denny Hibs before having a successful career which culminated in him managing Manchester United in the 1968 European Cup tournament, beating Benfica 4 -1. Manchester United were the first English club to win the European Cup, and the second British club to do so after Celtic F.C. in 1967, when they beat Inter Milan 2-1 in the final.