‘URGENT action’ is needed in order save our town centres, according to South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth.
And he highlighted Dumfries and the excellent work of the Midsteeple Quarter during a speech in the Scottish Parliament, saying: “In 50 years, no one will look back at a historical photo of an out-of-town development, and no one will ever reminisce about which supermarket was in a development before the current one, whereas we look back on the shops, theatres, cinemas and homes that once brought us together but are so often now lost to our high streets.
“If we do not take urgent action soon, there will be even less to bring us together, never mind look back on.
“That does not mean that our town centres do not need to change. They are already changing. However, we need to do far more to support them in that change.
“Retail will be crucial. It has changed. It has reduced in our town centres. However, the Scottish Retail Consortium reminded us that retail still employs 233,000 people in Scotland and contributes £5.8 billion to the economy.
“If we want to better protect our town centres, the time for tinkering at the edges is over.”
Mr Smyth has supported calls for a moratorium on out-of-town developments where there is space and opportunity to develop in a nearby town centre setting.
He added: “If there is not to be a moratorium, we need to see, at the very least, a meaningful town centre first approach.”
Discussing Dumfries, he described seeing the town centre decline as ‘heartbreaking’.
“The town centre really matters to me and to all my fellow Doonhamers,” he said: “They are convenient places in which to access services, shops, jobs, entertainment and places to live.
“However, they are more than that. They are part of the very fabric of our communities: our history, our culture and our sense of place. They are about who we are as a community. That means that the focus, the investment and the protection that they receive should go beyond the strict economic value that is placed on them.”
