Call to act on empty shops ‘blight’

Angus, Fife and Dundee City are among seven council areas in Scotland with more vacant retail premises than the national average

Angus and Fife town centres are among those worst hit by the “blight” of shops lying empty and unused, according to a report.

Angus, Fife and Dundee City are all among the seven council areas in Scotland with more vacant retail properties than the national average of one in 10.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) paper Transforming Towns reveals Angus is hardest hit, with 15% of shops lying empty and unlet, closely followed by Fife and Dundee City.

The report reveals town centres across the region are reeling from waves of closures, with at least 54 recorded since 2016.

The FSB is calling for a raft of measures to bolster town centres, including £90 million per year in new investment, a government commission to investigate “the blight” of vacant shops and for banks to set up shared hubs.

Angus has already been allocated £1.08m and Fife £4.35m from the Scottish Government’s £50m Town Centre Fund for 2019-2020.

Andrew McRae, FSB’s Scotland policy chairman, said: “More people in Scotland live in towns than cities. That’s why government must make a generational investment in our towns to overcome their current challenges.”

He said investment should come from the Scottish National Investment Bank and the UK Government’s Stronger Towns Fund.

“After the wave of recent closures, we need to rethink how we use our high streets,” he said

“A new commission should investigate the barriers to bringing vacant properties back into use, even if that means turning offices into housing, or department stores into art galleries.

“We need to make it cheap and easy for independent businesses to take up high street property.”

Bruce Robertson, Angus Business and Retailers Association, welcomed the report, but said action is required now to stop the situation from sliding further.

“It is encouraging, but it is all very well talking about what is possible when little action seems to come from it.”

He said he was not surprised the number of empty shops in Angus is among the highest in Scotland.

“It’s a big number, but it is no wonder. There is no encouragement for investment in Angus. At the moment, I wouldn’t invest in Angus retail.”

Vicky Gunn, owner of Millie’s Pet Services in Carnoustie, said she has mixed feelings about the challenges facing local businesses.

She will shortly expand her grooming business into the building vacated when the town’s Bank of Scotland branch closed.

She said: “On one hand it’s given us room to expand, but on the other it’s painful.

“With opening hours, I have to travel to Arbroath or Broughty Ferry to do my banking as many customers prefer to use cash.”

She said business owners should work more closely together to protect town centres and high streets.

She added: “Just standing in the front of my shop, I can see three empty units from here. We are all fighting for ourselves, when the message should be about bringing people together to see where we can support each other.”

An Angus Council spokesman said they will take time to consider the contents of the report.