Plans to breathe new life into Main Street
Business improvement bid for Cambuslang
A business improvement plan will be created to identify ways of boosting the economic fortunes of Cambuslang Main Street.
Initiated by Cambuslang Community Council, the plan is a direct response to the recent Main Street Business Survey which revealed one in five shops have considered quitting the town completely.
Collated by the community council, the survey also shows 40 per cent of firms on the road have experienced declining business performance over the past three years.
The plan, the community council says, will aim to reverse this trend and provide the basis for regenerating the town centre.
John Bachtler, treasurer of Cambuslang Community Council, said: “The business plan will have three levels, with short, medium and long-term aims.
“In the short-term there are things that can be done to improve the current situation. Early action on parking, for example.
“South Lanarkshire Council has been given funding to complete a feasibility study for a park and ride, which would help. But also we think creating street festivals to raise the profile of the Main Street is something that can done quickly.
“There are other measures that have been successful in towns throughout Scotland and the UK that could be tried in Cambuslang.
“An important contribution to the business improvement plan is a commercial assessment of the Main Street, with the help of the banks,to identify gaps in the market.
“Could the Main Street support a town centre supermarket, or could it support that on a smaller scale? Are there gaps in shops and services on the Main Street that could be developed with funding or other support?
“There are also funding pots that we could tap into, either ourselves, or in conjunction with the council or other partners.
“It is critical that we find a way of improving the attractiveness of the Main Street to increase footfall or trade otherwise decline will continue. We can’t do this alone, but with public sector bodies, local businesses and the community working together, there is much that we can do.
“Other towns have been successful in regenerating themselves: Cambuslang can too.”
The community council is hoping to launch its Cambuslang Town Centre Regeneration Group once the local elections are completed and a series of meetings are held with key stakeholders.
This includes the council’s director for economic regeneration, the Scottish Government and major employers in the town.
The community council is also looking for members of the community with commercial or economic development experience to join the regeneration group. Letters have also been written to the three banks, which have either closed, or proposed withdrawing from the town. A positive meeting was recently held with senior officers of RBS and another is being organised with Clydesdale Bank. The TSB is yet to respond.
In the long term Cambuslang Community Council would like to see the town centre remodelled to create a more vibrant Main Street, but recognise funding is not currently available for such a large project.