It’s time to work together for Perth

Last week John Swinney and I hosted a public meeting in the Royal George Hotel in Perth to discuss the challenges and issues currently confronting our city centre.

Primarily for traders, it was open to all with an interest in the future of our high street.

We decided to host this meeting following the recent spate of shop closures; primarily Gap and the Disney Store, but particularly the threat posed by the prospect of Beales closing down. This is the biggest pace of closures we have seen in years and it was important to bring together those on the front line to see what could be done and how this situation should be handled and reversed.

We also wanted to assess our strengths and discuss how we can build on the things that are currently working and see how they could be brought together for the well-being of our city.

The issues which emerged probably wouldn’t surprise anyone with any cursory experience of our city centre. Frustrations over the rates burden, parking and accessibility to businesses, the migration of many businesses to out of town retail parks and the change of consumer behaviour, with so many people now doing much of their purchasing on-line.

Our strengths are also familiar to the people who live in and visit our city - our beautiful riverside setting and wonderful built heritage within minutes from some of the most dramatic scenery in Scotland. Our unique independent shop sector is about the best in Scotland, and our many fine restaurants which regularly feature as amongst the best in the country.

There is also the prospect of a redesigned City Hall and the real prospect that we will have a genuine‘tick box’ attraction with the return of the Stone of Destiny.

There is also the many events that are organised by the council to bring people into the city, even though there was much discussion about the timing of these events and engagement with businesses.

Last time John and I hosted a meeting, McEwan’s was closing and there was a real sense of crisis.

We did manage to find a buyer for McEwan’s and the then concerns about parking were taken up by the bringing in new council parking arrangements and bringing the private parking cowboys under control through soon-to-beintroduced legislation.

After the comments from last week, much more needs to be done on this.

We will now take up these issues and report back to those who turned up. We will be seeking meetings with stakeholders and the council. Solid suggestions like a resource to advise businesses and ensure that support is given to those seeking to bring their business to Perth will be developed.

Our city centres are in flux with major changes in shopping behaviour.

The night time economy will be increasingly important, as will be events and attractions. We will work with all to make Perth a fantastic place to live, work and visit.

Please get in touch if you have any suggestions.