The Argylls

This film of the recent Argylls parade in Dumbarton comes courtesy of local man Tommy Crockett.

Happy New Year To All.

Despite these desperate times for business of all shapes and sizes it is essential we retain a sense of humour. This cartoon from Brian Petrie in yesterday’s Sun I think hits the spot.

Happy New Year Everyone!

High Street Closed this Thursday 11th

All business owners, employees, customers and shoppers please note:

Dumbarton High Street will be closed this Thursday between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. This is due to a parade by the Argylls who have returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Some Councillors STILL in Denial

The following motion was proposed by Councillor Geoff Calvert at Wednesday’s meeting. Thankfully it was defeated 6-3. I have responded below via a press release

Motion to Housing, Environment and Economic Development Committee
>
> – 3 December 08
>
> Agenda Item 9 – Dumbarton Town Centre – Traffic Management and Parking
>
>
> This Committee notes the opinions of MVA Consultancy in that it does not
> believe that traffic management and parking are factors adversely
> affecting
> the performance of the retail operations in the town centre and that there
> are many other factors.
>
> Furthermore, this Committee notes that MVA has concluded that the detailed
> proposals from Business in Dumbarton are neither desirable nor possible
> and
> that the proposed changes to bus operations they suggest, would be
> contrary
> to the Scottish Government’s national transport policy.
>
> On a more positive note, MVA states that, in line with the potential
> success of Markets within other town centres, there is potential for a
> Market in Dumbarton. At a local level, Clydebank is a fine example of how
> a
> market can bring benefit to businesses within the local retail sector.
>
> This Committee believes that the stimulus a Market would bring to the
> vibrancy of Dumbarton is an opportunity that must not be overlooked.
>
> Therefore, in addition to the Recommendations in para 8.1 of this report,
> this Committee agrees that:
>
>   A market day be established in Dumbarton on a weekly basis on Thursdays,
>   so as not to conflict with the Wednesday market in Clydebank, with
>   effect from the beginning of April 2009
>
>   A report be brought to the next HEED Committee outlining the costs, e.g.
>   for road closures etc, to the Council to instigate this exciting
>   initiative
>
> And that
>
>   The Committee makes budget provision for such costs within its financial
>   budget for 2009/10

Response

“Business for Dumbarton welcomes the decision by the Housing, Environment
and Economic Development Committee to readmit car traffic into Dumbarton
High Street. We applaud the acknowledgement by the council that it has been
a failure and that at long last something will be done to improve the plight
of businesses and their customers, particularly the elderly and disabled. We
would of course have presferred that our own proposal be adopted and will
continue to campaign on that front. Dumbarton High Street and Town Centre
has many problems but the fact that 60% of our customers cannot even access
the place is by far the most significant

We find Councillor Calvert’s comments and motion extremely unhelpful and
quite frankly, unbelievable. Let us not forget that the current traffic
management scheme was part of an extravagant Acton Plan designed to “restore
vibrancy and vitality to Dumbarton Town Centre” by 2005. In 2000 I wrote to
the Lennox Herald about the Action Plan declaring that I saw it as a recipe
for continued downward footfall, shop closures and diminishing safety and
security. Councillor Calvert was one of the prime movers of the plan with
then Town Centre Manager Ian Davison Porter. Even now when the evidence is
there for all to see that the Action Plan has spectacularly failed, he
doesn’t have the simple good grace to admit that. To imply that the traffic
management scheme does not impact on the retail operations of Dumbarton is
to seriously misrepresent the true situation.

Business for Dumbarton will support any initiative which seeks to address
the decline in footfall, but we would much prefer to see an attempt to fill
empty shops rather than a weekly market. Clydebank and Dumbarton are very
different animals indeed. The best way to encourage traders back into the
town is to create an attractive trading environment. The tragedy is that it
could have beeen done at a fraction of the cost of the measures which have
put the town on its knees.

High Street to Reopen

Posh sign. - derelict High Street

Yesterday at a committee meeting at Clydebank Town Hall the council took the decision at a committee meeting to reopen Dumbarton High Street to traffic. Parking restrictions are to remain in place. I have not yet seen the detailed report by consultants MVA and will refrain from further comment until I do.

However apparently there was an acknowledgement that the current traffic management system had failed over its three years of operation. Business for Dumbarton’s consistent opposition to the changes, have played no small part in yesterday’s decision. The recent decision to reopen streets in Paisley I’m sure played a pert in the council’s thinking too.

This is a time for reflection. Had the council at the time only  listened to the widespread opposition to these plans I’m sure several businesses which have disappeared would still be trading. All the money spent on discouraging customers from the High Street could have been saved.

Changes will not suddenly make the town centre and High Street busy again and I would once again draw the council’s attention to our modest action plan and Traffic Management proposals before any further physical changes are made to the streetscape. However we applaud the acknowledgement that the current system has failed and we look forward with more hope in these difficult times.

Woolworths

Woolworths. Those shops often housed in art-deco buildings, a ubiquitous retailer. I have been a customer of Woolworths for nearly half a century. I used to buy fishing stuff from them when I was a wee boy, when the floor was polished wood and the goods were sold from large rectangular counter/gondola displays. Then when I was a bit older it was packs of five cassettes or the latest album or single. Even now hardly a week goes by without my visiting Woolies in Dumbarton or Helensburgh for a light bulb or a CD or a screwdriver or maybe some pic ‘n’ mix. From a local perspective, Woolworths is almost as much a part of Dumbarton as Dumbarton Rock or the Rivers Clyde or Leven. I’m sure this kind of association will be typical from towns accross the UK. They tended to occupy the same site in towns, often refurbishing, rarely expanding or relocating.

And now the following news from the Times:

“Woolworths, the iconic 99-year-old six-penny retail chain, is on the verge of collapsing into corporate bankruptcy despite desperate last-ditch government efforts to save it.

The board of Woolworths plc, believing it had exhausted all its other options, met at 6pm at the retailer’s central London headquarters to vote on a move that threatens thousands of British jobs.

Here they will agree to put two of Wooworths’ subsidiaries – its 815 store high street arm and its DVD distribution business EUK, which between them employ nearly 30,000 people – into corporate bankruptcy or administration.”

I sincerely hope that a way can be found to facilitate Woolies’ long term survival. I know many of the staff in the Dumbarton branch. It is a great resource and I hope that it, and the jobs it provides, survives.

The Worry of Woolworths

If any proof were needed of the depth of the current crisis in the economy, it is the plight of one of the county’s (and Dumbarton’s) longest established retailers. WE have to assume that Woolies were one of the names on the recent list drawn up by Traynor Begbie on the hundreds of firms with more than a 70% chance of insolvency before the end of January 2009.

Woolworths is a member of Business for Dumbarton and we wish them well in all attempts to find a way of saving the company. The shop is one of the best remaining in our town centre and we don’t want to lose them or the many jobs and customers they bring to the town.

The Guardian report on Woolies current situation is here

Not Worth the Paper?

One note from the planning meeting the other day. I had speculated on whether the economic situation in general and JJB’s perilous financial state in particular (their insurer recently withdrew insolvency cover), meant that perhaps it cast doubt on the leisure aspect of the application. The rebuttal from the applicants to this was that ‘the legals with JJB have been signed’

Perhaps I should have mentioned the legal document I signed with Enron Energy in 2001 offering cheap electricity for 10 years.

Another Good Result for Dumbarton

As stated below, the result of the planning committee meeting at West Dunbartonshire Council this morning was to unanimously reject the application from British Land and Henry Lax for seven retail units at St. James Retail Park.

Great credit goes to the councillors present at the meeting for a courageous and correct decision for Dumbarton.

Whilst there is a strong chance of an appeal from the applicant, today’s result was a significant one in the battle to regenerate the town centre. Jermon Developments and Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce made presentations to the committee.

The following is the presentation I made to the committee before their vote.

“Business for Dumbarton represents 58 member businesses in Dumbarton Town Centre, and like the Scottish Government guidelines we are keen to see development and regeneration take place in Dumbarton Town Centre. It is our belief that
the proposed development at St James would have the opposite effect and this is acknowledged in the Retail Impact Assessment. Let me assure you that even if the
figure of a 7% reduction in trade was accurate (we believe it would be
considerably more) then this would not, as your document seems to suggest,
be any small matter for our members.

In fact a 7% reduction could be the final straw for many. This is particularly true in the current financial climate where all businesses are already faced with massively increased costs and generally falling turnover. Lord Clarke quite rightly criticised the lack of clarity in the previous retail impact assessment. What has changed other than figures conveniently ducking under the 10% ‘acceptable’ level? (from 12%)

Your report also gives the impression that these units would be more
attractive to potential tenants than the proposed Jermon redevelopment of
the Artizan Centre. I would be interested to know how this assertion can
be made arbitrarily. Jermon has stated that they will start work on their
units in 2009 and yet you estimate that it will take over five years for
them to be ready to let. Other than references to land assembly issues in the
masterplan, no concrete data is cited as back up to this opinion. In any case in the current economic climate what is the hurry? Why not wait for the better option?

In 2006 the council felt it necessary to protect the town centre by permitting two units only. Now we are told because of commercial difficulties faced by B&Q this condition should be removed and seven units should be built. Two of them are I believe to be occupied by JJB Sports. Given that company’s current well documented financial problems what pleading will we hear next? 15 units? Will JJB Sports will occupy these two units if built? Who knows?

Our members and the other businesses in the town centre employ in the region of 500 people. What would the council do to attract 500 jobs to the town? What will they do to protect the proportion of these jobs which will disappear should this development proceed.

For anyone to imply that St James Retail part forms a natural part of the town centre is wrong. Glasgow Rd. divides the two centres. I know of no-one who could reasonably conclude that these two separate entities are one.

It is surely time for West Dunbartonshire Council to back up their and
their predecessor’s (Dumbarton District Council) words over the last
quarter of a century and finally deliver on the promise of the
regeneration of Dumbarton Town Centre. The continued development at St
James mitigates against this and could be the final hammer blow for the
heart of Dumbarton’s community.

The good people of Dumbarton were told in 2000 that the EDAW Action Plan Rediscovering Dumbarton would lead to, and I quote, the regeneration of Dumbarton in five years. Yet here we are eight years later with a document that not only admits the failure of that action plan but uses that failure as an excuse for further decay, further loss of civic pride and further loss of the character of this town. The people of Dumbarton deserve regeneration of their town centre, not the further de-generation that this development would inevitably bring.

Ladies and Gentlemen, today you can deliver the final death knell to Dumbarton Town Centre or you can begin to live up to your and your predecessors’ promises by starting on the journey of really regenerating this once great town. If you want vitality and viability for Dumbarton Town Centre you must vote against these applications before you.”

Robert Ryan (Chairman) Business for Dumbarton.

Historic Day for Dumbarton.

On a global scale, with today’s election in the USA, a planning meeting at West Dunbartonshire Council my not seem the most important of events. However for the future of the town and any possible hope of regeneration it is vitally important. The consideration for permission for seven more units at St. James Retail Park goes to the vote today. I will be there to put Business for Dumbarton’s case that the granting of this permission could be the final blow to the heart of the town.

I hope that the councillors at the planning meeting today will do the right thing and vote against this proposal. Such a vote would be consistent with the guidelines laid down in the Scottish Government’s SPP8 Planning Policy document.

It would also be, I believe the first crucial step in the regeneration of Dumbarton Town Centre which has been promised for quarter of a century.

The people of Dumbarton want the REgeneration of their town centre, not its further DEgeneration.
I will be speaking at today’s meeting. There are councillors on all sides who I know are sympathetic to BfD’s concerns. Please today express that concern properly and vote against the application.

EDIT: 4/11/08 12:20 pm

I’m delighted to say that the application was unanimously refused.