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New Report Shows Scottish High Streets Among The Hardest Hit

Alexander Demands Urgent Action After Five Years Failure to Halt High Street Decline

The Local Data Company – a leader in the retail sector – has released a report this week which highlights that local Scottish towns, like Paisley, are being hardest hit by the high street downturn.

The report shows a decline in shoppers visiting high street shops with retail spending expected to fall from 50% (in 2000) to below 40% in the next two years and towns like Paisley are suffering the most from this decline.

These figures make for worrying reading as they show the vacancy rate in Scotland is now at 15.4% a figure above the UK national average.

Local MP Douglas Alexander said:

"This report is just further confirmation of what we see when we look at Paisley High Street.

“I have consistently called for action from both the local Council and the Scottish Government to promote investment opportunities in our local area but they have repeatedly failured to bring forward a real strategy to tackle this problem.

“The failure over the last five years of the SNP-led local Council to encourage investment in our local town centre is resulting in empty shop units and a decline of local business.

"Before Christmas, the analysts GVC Grimly released a study showing that our local retail rental rates are now lower than any other large town centre in Scotland.

“But despite rental rates being slashed it has not been enough to bring back the businesses to our High Street that have been lost.

“Following that report and on the back of Wilkinsons pulling the plug on its plans for a Paisley store, I demanded strong action from the local Council. This has yet to happen.

“Town centre events featuring celebrities are not enough to tackle this decline. The Council have to reassess and broaden their approach to reverse the present decline.

"Over the five years that the SNP leadership have been running the Council, many, many local residents have approached me to share their anger at the condition of the town centre.

"Paisley's High Street deserves better than more decline and more empty shops.

"This latest report is another confirmation that urgent action is needed now to halt further decline on our High Street.

/The full LDC report can be downloaded from here http://www.localdatacompany.com/news.php

Coverage in Financial Times can be found here http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1562f4a4-50de-11e1-939d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1li5eCOc1

 Feb 2012