Once the jewel in every Scottish town's crown, now too few Scots are proud of their high street

SCOTS are becoming increasingly ashamed of the run-down state of many of their once-thriving town centres, according to a new survey published today.

Factors such as a poor choice of shops, high prices and empty retail spaces are driving more shoppers than ever from the main thoroughfares of Scotland's major towns – once the heart and soul of communities – and to the nearest retail park.

And Scotland has topped the list of shoppers who regard their local town centre as "shabby".

The survey – carried out by independent price comparison and switching service u.switch.com in conjunction with research company EasyInsites – reveals that while 61 per centre of the British believe their High Street is vital to their local community, two in ten shoppers have already turned their backs on their local shops."

In Scotland, only 37 per cent of the shoppers surveyed still maintain a pride in their local High Street – the second-lowest rating behind shoppers in Northern Ireland, who took part in the in the nationwide poll. And 18 per cent regarded their local High Street as "shabby" – 5 per cent higher than any other part of the UK.

Almost 40 per cent of the Scots surveyed also said they were no longer proud of their local town centres and blamed the increasing number of vacant shops on soaring rates and rents and the inability of small business to cope with the large retail outlets.

Ann Robinson, the director of consumer policy at u.switch.com, said the picture being painted of Britain's high streets was of a place people wanted to get away from, rather than go to.

She said: "Britain's High Streets should be the lifeblood of the local community – instead they are dying on their feet. High rents, rates and the recession have forced many retailers off the High Street altogether, while preventing new independents or start-ups from taking their place.

"Consumers often blame the larger retailers for the lack of choice on our High Streets, but the reality is that very often it is only the draw of a larger store that is keeping some town centres alive." She added: "The good thing is that 97 per cent of consumers care about their local town centre – they want to see it thrive and they would like to be able to spend their money there. We are living in financially difficult times so anything that can relieve this pressure, such as free car parking for shoppers, will go down well. Yes this would cost local councils money, but we would all see the reward in a boost to civic and community pride."

Richard Dodd, a spokesman for the Scottish Retail Consortium, said he hoped that the need for action to address problem town centres would be reflected in the UK government review, spearheaded by retail guru Mary Portas, which is aimed at breathing new life into Britain's ailing High Streets.

Portas, the presenter of television programmes such as Mary Queen of Shops and Secret Shopper, is due to present her findings in the autumn.

Dodd said: "A number of our town centres are in trouble because of a failure to invest often over the long period in making those town centres into safe and attractive places that people want to go to.

"Tackling the often long-term failure to manage and invest in our town centres needs to be the key focus of efforts to revive them and is something we want to see reflected in Mary Portas' report."

But Dodd admitted that he was at a loss to understand why Scotland had fared so badly in the nationwide survey.

"I can't explain that," he said. "There is no question that there are a number of shopping locations with world-class reputations in Scotland and it's wrong to suggest that the outlook is universally bleak.

"It is the same mixed picture in Scotland as there is in other parts of the UK. There are some really fantastic retail destinations which pull in shoppers from elsewhere, but equally there are other towns which are really struggling and which need to be remedied."

Ross Martin, the policy director at the Centre for Scottish Public Policy, is a leading expert on the state of Scotland's town centres.

He said that most of Scotland's town centres were at best in a state of arrested decay and at worst suffering accelerating decline. The "one-off sticking plaster" of the Town Centre Regeneration Fund has done its best, but much more needed to be done to turn the "rhetoric, and our ambitions, into a reality we can be rightly proud of".

Martin said: "There is a movement in Scotland away from bland High Streets and towards much more distinctive town centres. And I think that when people say they are not in love with their town centres, part of it is that they are not in love with the homogenous High Street you can see in any town centre in any place."

He explained: "There is a very strong movement in Scotland towards a more localised mix and people are starting to think about what their town centre is for – whether it is primarily a retail destination or whether we should be doing more, for example, in developing the night time economy."

Stuart Mackinnon, a spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland, said a major drive was needed to address range of issues affecting Scotland's once busy High Streets.

He said: "Scotland's town centres and high streets matter enormously to communities up and down the country. Independent retailers are of significant importance to these communities. However, we must stop believing that our high streets are just a row of shop units – the mistake this survey has made.

"If we're going to get to turn around our high streets we need more economically active people living and working in our town centres. This means affordable and modern office space and the public sector choosing to use vacant space on our high streets rather than new buildings on the edge of town."

Mackinnon continued: "Further, local government has a big part to play to ensure that these places are as accessible and tidy as the local out of town shopping centre. If we want people in our town centre, people need free places to park, like they get at their local supermarket.

"Lastly, in recent years, we've increasingly seen legislation aimed at modifying consumers' behaviour through the regulation of business. Much of this well-intentioned legislation can end up being costly and confusing for independent businesses – whether that be retailers or the local pub."

A spokeswoman for u.switch said the new survey underlined the importance of the government review, headed by Portas. She said: "The majority of Britons, 97 per cent, care about their local High Street with 61 per cent saying that it is vital to the community. They believe it is the lifeblood of their area because it provides local jobs."

Case studies

Rutherglen

IDENTIFIED in a recent report as one of the five areas in Scotland in danger of becoming a "ghost town". Almost 12 per cent of Rutherglen's 107 outlets in the central shopping area are vacant, with projections for closures showing a possible rise to 17.6 per cent. One shopkeeper said: "The town centre is looking very run down and pretty bleak."

Denny

DESCRIBED by locals as a lovely town that has been ruined by a town centre that looks like Beirut on a bad day. Last year, members of the Denny campaign group Walk Around the Block stepped forward to claim the prize in the annual Carbuncle Awards – after John O'Groats refused the dubious honour – to show their frustration over the lack of regeneration progress made in the town centre. Locals have also set up a Facebook campaign pressing for improvements, claiming that a boarded-up blocks of flats in the town centre are an eyesore that need to be tackled by Falkirk Council.

Cumbernauld

IT HAS been labelled "Kabul of the north", drawn comparisons with eastern Europe before the Berlin Wall came down and is reputed to be the most dismal place to stay in Scotland. Last August, a 33ft sculpture, overlooking the A80, was erected to mark the start of the town's regeneration plans.

Paisley

THE town has the highest rate of vacant shops in Scotland at 24.3 per cent. Over the past year, the number of vacant retail outlets has rise by 9.2 per cent. But Bob Davidson, chief executive of Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce, says: "There is certainly a lot of work going on and the Chamber of Commerce is directly involved in it, trying to get the High Street in a better state of affairs.

"But no high street is ever going to go back to its heyday, when everybody went shopping in the town every day. That is never going to happen. We are working with the retailers, investors, local business and residents to find out what would work well and attract businesses to the town centre. But we are obviously up against stiff competition against the likes of Braehead and Silverburn (shopping malls] and they are never going to go away.

"Paisley has lost both local shops and big stores. But Paisley still has an M&S store, which I believe is one of the most successful in Scotland."

And one high... Falkirk

Local businesses have banded together to pay a levy to spearhead plans for the regeneration of the town centre.

A 2 million fund has been established for improvements throughout the main shopping centre area in a partnership between the private sector and the council. Ian Davison Porter, project director of Business Improvement Districts Scotland, said: "A lot of it is about raising confidence and raising civic pride."