Scottish council elections: Fury in Falkirk as town centre’s fate is left hanging in the balance
The boarded up windows and ‘to let” signs dotted along Falkirk High Street are a familiar sight in town centres across Scotland as the country emerges from Covid.
The pre-pandemic crisis in the retail sector has escalated in the two years thanks to a surge in online shopping.
In the historic heart of Falkirk, businesses in the once-bustling town centre are battling for survival.
But there is more anger than dismay at its current plight after a controversial decision by councillors to put on hold a £45 million culture-led development which had been hoped to trigger a revival of the town centre.
Over the last decade, the town centre's future had become inextricably linked with proposals to replace the existing run-down council headquarters and its adjacent town hall, two 1960s buildings long said to have fallen into disrepair.
When a long-time eyesore block at the west end of the High Street was announced last summer as the proposed home for a new multi-purpose arts centre, library, offices and studio spaces, there was genuine optimism it would help shift the town centre away from its traditional reliance on major retailers who have largely relocated.
Those hopes were dashed within months when the minority SNP administration failed to win the backing of Labour and Conservative councillors, who demanded officials return to the drawing board and look again at the case for refurbishing the existing buildings after raising concerns about the cost of the new development and a shortage of parking facilities.
Margaret Foy, chair of the Healthy High Street campaign, said: “The retailers in the town centre got together a few years ago because of the inaction over its.
“Falkirk always had a thriving town centre because of the mix of independent and national businesses.
"But it’s been badly affected in recent years by online and out-of-town shopping, including the departure of a lot of national retailers.
"The major issue in the town centre has been a real lack of investment. Everyone is aware that town centres need to change from being predominantly retail to a mixed use of retail, leisure and offices if they are to survive. In Falkirk, the council has more or less abandoned it.”
There are concerns that unless the High Street development can be salvaged Falkirk will lose out on a promise of around £10 million in funding from the UK and Scottish governments to help create a new “regionally significant arts centre,” part of an £80m package of support announced last year.
Another Healthy High Street campaigner, Douglas Cameron, director of the Eden Consultancy Group, said: “All the evidence from official reports suggest that there would be minimal savings in pursuing redevelopment of the existing sites, without any of the benefits you would get with the High Street site.
The boarded up windows and ‘to let” signs dotted along Falkirk High Street are a familiar sight in town centres across Scotland as the country emerges from Covid.
The pre-pandemic crisis in the retail sector has escalated in the two years thanks to a surge in online shopping.
In the historic heart of Falkirk, businesses in the once-bustling town centre are battling for survival.
But there is more anger than dismay at its current plight after a controversial decision by councillors to put on hold a £45 million culture-led development which had been hoped to trigger a revival of the town centre.
Over the last decade, the town centre's future had become inextricably linked with proposals to replace the existing run-down council headquarters and its adjacent town hall, two 1960s buildings long said to have fallen into disrepair.
When a long-time eyesore block at the west end of the High Street was announced last summer as the proposed home for a new multi-purpose arts centre, library, offices and studio spaces, there was genuine optimism it would help shift the town centre away from its traditional reliance on major retailers who have largely relocated.
Those hopes were dashed within months when the minority SNP administration failed to win the backing of Labour and Conservative councillors, who demanded officials return to the drawing board and look again at the case for refurbishing the existing buildings after raising concerns about the cost of the new development and a shortage of parking facilities.
Margaret Foy, chair of the Healthy High Street campaign, said: “The retailers in the town centre got together a few years ago because of the inaction over its.
“Falkirk always had a thriving town centre because of the mix of independent and national businesses.
"But it’s been badly affected in recent years by online and out-of-town shopping, including the departure of a lot of national retailers.
"The major issue in the town centre has been a real lack of investment. Everyone is aware that town centres need to change from being predominantly retail to a mixed use of retail, leisure and offices if they are to survive. In Falkirk, the council has more or less abandoned it.”
There are concerns that unless the High Street development can be salvaged Falkirk will lose out on a promise of around £10 million in funding from the UK and Scottish governments to help create a new “regionally significant arts centre,” part of an £80m package of support announced last year.
Another Healthy High Street campaigner, Douglas Cameron, director of the Eden Consultancy Group, said: “All the evidence from official reports suggest that there would be minimal savings in pursuing redevelopment of the existing sites, without any of the benefits you would get with the High Street site.
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