Hawick High Street's decline: the facts

Local businesses will be meeting in the coming weeks to try and come up with a strategy to halt the decline of Hawick High Street.

Almost one in three shops in the town lie empty, and it has more than double the percentage of vacant retail premises than the national number.

Between 2007 and the latest figures in 2013, footfall to the town has fallen by more than a third.

It could be argued that some of this is the result of the growth in internet shopping, but businesses in Hawick say they've been hit harder than the other Scottish Borders towns.

Last October, they formed a group called "Future Hawick".

It's been given £30,000 from Scottish Borders Council to fund improvements, and will be meeting to decide how best to spend the money.