No better time for the City Deal
Recently the historic £90.2m Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Deal was signed and I would like to take this opportunity to put on record my thanks to both the UK and Scottish Governments, Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils and those officials who worked tirelessly to ensure that the deal got over the line.
This is undoubtedly a good deal for the people of this area and will drive economic growth across the region.
World-class innovation and research being pioneered at the University of Stirling is one of the cornerstones of the deal.
Last week I visited the Institute of Aquaculture at the university to see first-hand the business and trade opportunities that will come from the significant investment that the City Deal will provide. The institute is a global leader in this area and is forging close economic ties with a number of countries around the world.
Initiatives such as the National Tartan Centre, Digital District and hubs in Callander and Alloa will also drive the local economy, improving productivity and creating jobs for generations to come.
These significant investments in the region could not come at a better time for Stirling’s businesses as they struggle to cope with a challenging combination of increasing business rates and declining footfall on the high street.
As readers will be aware, Stirling has recently been hit with a number of business closures and I am deeply concerned with the situation that traders face in the town and the impact this is having on the local economy.
I know from speaking to many business owners in the town, that one of the major issues they face is the fact that the existing business rates system is not fit for purpose.
Recently published figures have shown that in the Stirling Council area alone, 1577 businesses who appealed their April 2017 rates revaluation are still waiting to hear about a decision on their rates.
These businesses employ thousands of people across the Stirling region and, for many, the outcome of their rates appeal will be the difference between survival and being forced to close shop.
This delay and uncertainty is clearly unacceptable and is causing huge uncertainty and distress for a number of small businesses and their employees.
In addition, the continuation of the SNP’s so-called“Large Business Supplement”is also hitting Stirling’s larger businesses with the still empty McArees building in King Street a clear illustration of the effects that this policy has had on the high street.
In short, for many businesses the existing situation in regard to the state of the city centre is untenable.
It is clear that the SNP has lost control of this issue and are content to sit back and allow Stirling’s high streets to be decimated. When I raised these concerns about the situation in Stirling in the Scottish Parliament last week, the response from the SNP minister did not even recognise that there are real issues in Stirling city centre.
Stakeholders must now come together to push the Scottish Government and Stirling Council to give Stirling’s large and small businesses a break and to protect what is left of the city centre, before it is too late.
The simple fact is that if the shops are full and the high street is full, then everyone wins.
I am always available to talk to constituents about any issues they may have and encourage people to contact me directly by email on dean. lockhart.msp@parliament. scot.