Town traders face 'big problems'

Mr Smith said Dumfries had seen shopping numbers fall by a third

Trade in Dumfries town centre has hit the "very bottom" according to the head of its retailers' association.

Rab Smith said shopping levels had fallen by at least a third as a result of out-of-town supermarkets.

It comes after a survey claimed that the public was shunning town centres in Dumfries, Alloa and Dingwall.

Mr Smith said the south west Scotland town had "big problems" and said that new businesses trying to establish themselves had "no chance at all".

The Federation of Small Businesses survey was published ahead of a Competition Commission inquiry into the supermarket industry.

We are down to the very bottom level, that is the way I believe Dumfries town centre is just now Rab Smith Dumfries Retailers' Association

It found that more than 70% of shoppers in Alloa, Dumfries and Dingwall said they now shopped less on the high street.

In addition it reported that 93% of retailers in Dumfries and Dingwall said they had been negatively affected by new developments.

Mr Smith said the survey only highlighted what traders had been saying for some time.

"At least hopefully it will make people realise there is a big problem," he said.

"It is not just little shopkeepers moaning."

He said small stores across the country were "dying a death".

New businesses

"We are down to the very bottom level, that is the way I believe Dumfries town centre is just now," he said.

"We have lost the cream, the icing and most of the cake as well."

He said more established businesses without major debt were better off than new stores.

"The people who are just starting out have no chance - absolutely no chance at all," he said.

"Footfall in Dumfries town centre alone is down by at least a third since the big supermarkets opened on the outskirts."