Town centres decline gets worse in region

HIGH streets in Dumfries and Galloway are declining at a faster rate than the Scottish average.

New figures from the Local Government Benchmarking Framework have revealed that 13.5 per cent of town centre premises in Dumfries and Galloway are now lying vacant.

That’s above the levels seen just a few years ago and higher than the Scottish average of 12.3 per cent.

Following the release of the data, South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth said: “Right across Dumfries and Galloway our town centres have been let down by an SNP Government that talks about regeneration but fails to act. Too many of our high streets are blighted by empty shops and crumbling infrastructure.

“Local businesses are the backbone of our communities – but they are being ignored while online giants thrive. The SNP shamefully refused to fully pass on business rates relief to our shops, cafés and pubs, even though that support was available from the UJK Government south of the border for businesses there, with a share of the funds coming to the Scottish Government.”

He wants to see a reversal in decline, including overhauling business rates, adding: “Put simply, big online firms should pay more for their huge out of town warehouses, with the funds going to cut rates in our town centres.”

Commenting specifically on Dumfries, Mr Smyth urged Dumfries and Galloway Council to match the £20 million in UK Government town centre funding over the next ten years, which is being administered by the Dumfries Town Centre Board.

He said: “The £20 million is a much-needed start—but it won’t go nearly far enough unless the council matches that investment and ambition.

“The council say they back the community-led Dynamically Dumfries regeneration plans, but they haven’t backed that support with hard cash.”

“You only need to walk through Dumfries to see how neglected parts of the town centre are—from crumbling and dangerous paving slabs to a complete lack of parking enforcement. The council are taking far too long to get the basics right including parking, never mind deliver the scale of regeneration needed. There is no clear council plan for our regional capital.”