Scottish government measures may be 'insufficient' to save town centres, says report

Dumfries town centre received a package of funding to breathe life into disused buildings earlier in the year. Credit: ITV Border

Measures to tackle derelict buildings are "insufficient", according to MSPs investigating the decline of town centres.

The Economy and Fair Work Committee has called for more action to halt the further decline of town centres across Scotland.

Dumfries was among the towns committee members visited during their research. The town was given £7 million to help regenerate its Midsteeple Quarter in July.

The report blames a lack of council resources that leads to a reluctance to enforce actions involving the repair of derelict buildings. It asks that planning rules be reformed to ensure no new developments unfairly compete with town centre provision.

The report said: "The committee is of the view that the Scottish government's actions may be insufficient and that more may need to be done to address this problem."

Claire Baker MSP, head of the Economy and Fair Work Committee said: "This report should signal a line in the sand for how we support, develop and prioritise investment in our town centres. We all know a town centre that has empty shops, a lack of investment and few thriving businesses.

"Throughout this inquiry we heard that although the pandemic accelerated trends towards online shopping, people really care about the future of their town centre and what is on their doorstep.

"The positive benefits that a thriving town centre can bring are clear - not just economically but socially and culturally as well."

Community wealth minister Tom Arthur said: "The Scottish government welcomes the committee's findings and will carefully study the detail of the report. We are working with businesses to deliver strong and sustainable town centres through our £80 million Covid Economic Recovery Fund, our £6 million City Centre Recovery Fund, the Place Based Investment Programme and the Town Centre Action Plan.

"The Scottish Budget 2022-23 ensured more than 95% of non-domestic properties continue to be liable for a lower property tax rate than anywhere else in the UK."

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