Readers' Best Comments

Councillor Jason Rust has warned the closure of the St James Centre for a major revamp risks turning the city into a "ghost town".

Shop in Glasgow. Simples!

eric

When the redevelopment takes place it will be fantastic, no one can admit that it doesn't need a serious facelift . . . got to give a little to make any gains.

Pepper

The fact is that a downturn is the perfect time to embark on this sort of investment. Shops will be closing branches anyway, because demand will be lower. The point is that we need to be ready with good quality provision when demand picks up again.

Duncan in Edinburgh

The biggest problem, we all ready have a glut of shopping centres (many with empty shops) in the Edinburgh area.

Pond Hall

It will hopefully keep the chavs away from the city centre so the good people can shop in peace. It does however mean they'll most likely converge on Ocean Terminal which incredibly up until now managed to stay relatively chav free – despite its location.

Sparts

Staying on a, eh, positive theme, morale among the team which sets business rates has plummeted as it deals with abusive calls from firms hit by tram works.

While it may appear generous, the 20% reduction in business rates will be applied only for the period during which tram works appeared outside the particular premises. In reality the impact on businesses was much greater than purely the time for which there is a worksite outside the premises – other sites in the vicinity have resulted in general difficulties in accessing businesses, with a perception that certain areas of the city have been 'no-go' areas because of tram works.

Alan D Rudland

The Lothian Valuation Joint Board are not to blame here. Why don't businesses object directly to their local councillor and post anti-tram messages in their windows.

Trams shams

Lots of public sector staff are subject to abuse daily, the valuation board have a cheek moaning about it when it's only been happening to them for a brief period. What about the front line public sector staff who face abusive and violent actions day in, day out!

Chirpy Council Worker

It is not the frontline staff that businesses should be confronting, it is every single politician in the city. They are the only ones who've ever wanted the tram line, no business or individual were ever consulted. Better still don't vote for the parties that continue to throw millions down the tram line money pit.

Rugal

Finally, police are dishing out 20 on-the-spot fines for antisocial behaviour a day.

Why not adopt loan shark tactics – 60 if paid in a week, then 50% compound interest after that. Fail to pay after 3 months means imprisonment and forfeiture of possessions.

Grumpy

600 would be more acceptable then the message would finally be clear.

john3

It seems law enforcement has come down to just money these days. How about a bit of good, old fashioned police work where an effort is made to dissuade people from breaking the law in the first place?

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