Weneedanewvisionto saveourcitycentre
As a former Debenhams store director I was particularly saddened by the news that the Perth store is set to close (‘Come all ye Faithful’ PA, December 4).
Whilst I applaud the rallying call to support local shops, sentiment alone is not going to be enough.
Without radical action Perth city centre faces a potentially grim future.
We are experiencing momentous change in the way people shop, what they buy and how they buy it.
This change, accelerated by COVID, means that the traditional core of the high street, larger multiple stores, will all but disappear, never to return.
The chair of Perth Traders Association Dawn Fuge rightly points out that small traders can play a big part in the future success of the city centre.
Indeed, in the absence of multiples, small traders are likely to be the mainstay and may hold the key to the future of city centres.
The challenge is enormous. Tinkering with parking and the odd street market won’t be enough.
A new model for the city centre is needed urgently, beyond anything hitherto imagined.
This will require vision, expertise and investment.
I hope Perth’s leaders will be able to provide these.
I would urge government to form a taskforce to support local authorities and businesses to effect the changes that will be required to meet the challenge.
Mike Finlayson Stormontfield in Perth on ungritted pavements and paths, three that were memorably painful.
Winter underscores the inequity between drivers and pedestrians.
Who endures ungritted pavements and paths (including on both Inches) while cars sail by on gritted roads?
Who falls and breaks limbs, unprotected by tons of metal?
Who endures vehicle pollution standing for long minutes at crossings?
This is also an issue of social justice. Who becomes housebound in icy or snowy conditions?
Who struggles more with a buggy and dependent children or a wheelchair? Who can’t afford a car?
In short, those oldest, those in