Regeneration plan for Dumfries

By Gilly Mathieson
BBC Scotland's Politics Show

Dumfries has been awarded a £2m regeneration package

It is now the longest recession for over 50 years. So, what will that mean to our town centres that are already experiencing tough times?

After pressure from the Conservatives last year, the Scottish government announced a £60m regeneration package.

The first tranche of the new town centre fund will see 48 towns across Scotland benefit.

Dumfries has been awarded £2m but will it be enough to bring life back to the town centre?

Out of town shopping

The scenic town of Dumfries was once the place to shop for locals and tourists alike.

But like many small towns in Scotland, the effect of out of town shopping and changing consumer patterns has led to empty shops across the High Street.

The town centre is now a run of empty shops

They say that in the last five years, the number of shoppers in the town centre has been cut by a third.

Rab Smith from the Dumfries Retailers Association does not want the town to be littered with empty shops:

"We have to ask ourselves questions about our town centres, if we want them to exist or do we want them to become ghost towns?

"Dumfries town centre is a run of empty shops leading to the biggest one of the lot, Woolworths."

Tidying up

Dumfries Civic pride are tidying up the town and targeting many empty properties in an effort to make the town centre more appealing. Dorothy Wise from the organisation wants to keep the town clean.

"In some of the boarded up shops we have put up lovely murals. There's two beautiful murals in Dumfries that Civic Pride organised and paid for.

"We also paint over some of the boarded shops to keep them clean."

But for many locals, much more is needed to be done if they are to continue to support their local high street.

Staying in town

Several large retail park superstores operate nearby, offering easy parking, and competitive prices.

Businesses like Barbours, who have been trading for more than 150 years, says it makes it almost impossible to thrive if more incentives are not given to businesses to stay in town.

The high street isn't geared up for sole traders, it's over priced Niki Whannel, manager of Opulence Gifts

Colin Barbour wants support from the local council: "The market is tough and retailers are looking at every cost.

"If the council offered incentives we could try and pull retailers to the town which would help stop the flood of people to Carlisle, Edinburgh and Glasgow."

For Niki Whannel, who runs an independent gift shop, the appeal of relocating to the High Street is just not what it used to be.

"I don't want to be in the high street, people come to find me which I'm very grateful for. The high street isn't geared up for sole traders, it's over priced".

Regeneration package

Dumfries is one of 48 towns who are benefiting from £60m regeneration package from the Scottish government.

The package aims to spruce up our most run down town centres.

Empty shops are now a feature across many of our high streets

For it's council and chamber of commerce, the £2m they have been awarded is allowing them to pursue a new regeneration strategy.

But is this investment alone enough? The local retailers association believe more creative thinking is needed.

Dumfries town centre is not unique. Empty shops are now a feature across many of our once loved high streets.

The government says many more towns will benefit from the next £20m of regeneration funds to be shared out in November.

But with the longest recession in 50 years, ensuring the future prosperity and survival of our high streets could be more difficult to achieve.