‘How bad does it need to get before something is done?’

Chancellor of Exchequer Philip Hammond’s decision to cut business rates south of the border prompted a political row between Tories and the SNP in last Friday’s Observer (November 2, 2018).

Stirling MP Stephen Kerr called on the Scottish Government to introduce a similar measure to stem the tide of retail casualties in the city centre. The SNP said ministers had already removed business rates liability from 2500 small business in Stirling. Here is what our social media commentators had to say.

Brenda Kay : `Typical Stephen Kerr. Give us a solution Stephen, instead of just blaming SNP, again.’

Christopher Hill: `High Streets in the old format are over and the internet is king these days. Move with the times or get washed away. People want experiences not out of date, over-priced shops.’

Grant Robertson: `Because we’re not as much of a `ghost town’ as some other towns near by, it’s not a problem? There’s not a single street without a handful of empty shops in Stirling. The list of shops to close this year alone should be enough to make the council wake up and recognise there’s a problem. They need to be more proactive than reactive as shops are already disappearing on a monthly basis. Debenhams was last featured in Stirling as being at risk and just yesterday New Look was said to be closing up to 100 stores in the UK. So how bad does it need to get before they do anything?’

John J Bennett posted : ` McAree’s closes down citing business rates as the main reason. The SNP response `there’s no problem here’. Head in sand?’

In last Friday’s Observer , we also reported that Stirling Council had confirmed plans for a 20mph zone through Kippen.

Villagers were worried about the speed of cars passing the village school.

Paul Campbel said: `It’s a bit hard to drive faster than 20mph anyway with all the cars abandoned everywhere in the main street.’

Neil McAllister: `The problem isn’t the people doing 30mph, it’s the ones that are doing 40mph and above and I can’t see them changing the speed due to a sign saying 20. As for the school, due to cars parked there it’s pretty hard to do more than 20mph anyway.’

Sara Maria: `It would be nice if speed was reduced in the Carron Valley as it’s 40mph past houses with no pavements. Frequently, I have asked the council for it to be 30mph but nothing has been done.’