Ghost Town Leith

This week Leith received an accolade no neighbourhood would want. The Local Data Company released a report that identified Leith as the town centre with the highest number of empty shops in Scotland. With a vacancy rate of 23.4%, Leith has a lot more empty shops than the next town in the league table for Scotland, which is Ayr on 16% - and Edinburgh itself which has a vacancy rate of just 9.6%.

Scottish Ghost Town League Table

Across the UK, the report shows that most town centres are experiencing higher vacancy rates, and that nearly all the town centres that have improved over the last six months are in the South East. So, why is Leith such a comparative ghost town?

In a related article in The Sun, a number of local business men were quoted:

George Bowman, who runs one of two independent butchers on Great Junction Street, said "I've been here since 1961 and there has been a decline over the years. This was one of the busiest streets in the city, but sadly no more. We can't beat the superstores."

Fishmonger Brian Gilchrist said: "It's a combination of the credit crunch and the trams messing up parking. Our trade is 50 per cent down." 

Keith Withitt, 45 - boss of secondhand store Cash In Hand, - says the area no longer appeals to shoppers.

He added: "Parking restrictions are ridiculous and the streets are filthy. It's not a nice area to go shopping. No wonder no one comes here."

Artist Alastair Cook, who lives in Leith, has posted a slide show of photographs of empty shops to Flickr.com - most of them are in the Leith area. He puts the blame firmly on the bankers, "We may have a UNESCO World Heritage site here, but it's also being ravaged by the bankers spree with our borrowed future. We live here, and they will not be forgiven."

Can you imagine negotiating this crossing with poor mobility or eyesight?So, it would seem that small Leith traders are being hit from all sides. They've got to contend with:

• Chain stores like Asda, Tesco and Lidl, hoovering up more and more local trade.
• Waterfront regeneration plans that seem to favour an expansion of Ocean Terminal and even more chain store led retailers.
• A credit crunch that makes it hard for businesses to invest and grow.
• The collapse of Woolworths, Threshers, and the closure or merger of some of the local branches of banks.
• The uncertainty and upheaval of the tram works - which leads to a poor quality public realm. This in turn deters people from walking to their local shops.
• And lastly, they've got the internet to contend with. 70% of Leith Walk retailers don't have their own website - and yet the internet is now one of their biggest sources of competion, and a fantastic marketing opportunity.

But it's not all bad news

Behind this non descript facade lies a temporary art gallerySo what can be done to remedy the Ghost Town effect? Local blogger Fay Young reckons part of the solution could be more creative uses of emtpy shops and derelict spaces - even if they're temporary "pop-up" affairs. This requires both a flexible attitude from landlords, and lots of people with great ideas. And just off Leith Walk there's an example of just the sort of thing she's talking about. Across the road from Boda Bar at 4, Lorne St, the Sun Bear Gallery has been open from Thursdays - Saturdays for the last 8 weeks.

A group of enterprising artists simply approached the owner who was using the shop as a store room for junk and secondhand furniture. The window was broken and the shop was generally a bit run down - and so they did a deal. In return for clearing the shop, and fixing it up they got 10 weeks free rent over the festival to exhibit their art. 

Tim Le Breuliiy, one of the artists involved, told us that the gallery has been a great success, with local folk coming in, and even making the occasional purchase. In fact they want to stay in the shop, so they're hoping to persuade the landlord to give them another 10 weeks free rent in return for clearing out the huge basement downstairs. To help raise funds for the gallery they're planning to run a fundraiser on the 19th of September, were Leithers are encouraged to come and buy bric-a-brac, art, home made cakes and coffee.

Of course, local residents can become ghost town busters themselves. Last year we set out to test the popular perception that chain stores are cheaper than independent shops, and discovered that the independent stores in Leith are 15% cheaper, with more choice, than the local chain stores. You can support your local shops by using your We Love Leith bag when you go shopping in the neighbourhood. Lots of local businesses will give you a discount to thank you when you shop with it.

There are other discount schemes going on too. For example, The Leith Business Association have recently set-up the "Leith Shoppers" facebook page, with the aim of helping local businesses to promote special offers to local residents.

But, it isn't just about spending your money cleverly. If you see litter, grafitti, dumping, potholes or other public realm problems, don't ignore them! Report them to www.fixmystreet.com - and not only will they automatically be referred to the council to do something about it, they'll also appear on our Fix My Leith page.

And of course there's the I Love Leith partnership - that brings together folk from the council, TIE and other agencies (sometimes even Greener Leith) to help promote the area. Apart from the banners along Leith Walk, this groups most high profile initiative is the Leith Business Hub in the McDonald Road Library - this provides free training courses to help traders upskill and compete.

It's worth bearing in mind that new shops are opening up in Leith all the time too. Perhaps in a few years time, when the tram is finally built, we've got out of the worst of the credit crunch, and Leith Walk has been restored to its former glory, Leith won't even be in the 'Ghost Town' league table at all?

Of course it might not work out that way. Certainly we may need to ask some tough questions. The toughest one of all is posed by Mathew Hopkinson, of the Local Data Company. He asks, "In light of these new and fast growing ‘off the high street’ channels [internet shopping etc], will we ever need these vacant shops again?"

Recently Leith Central Community Council discussed a planning application from a developer who wants to convert a series of shop units on Easter Road into flats. We hear opinion was divided.

Update on September 14, 2010 by Ally

Linda Tarbuck from the Leith Links Residents Association and Cllr Munro discussed this issue on Radio Scotland. At the moment you can listen to what they said on BBC I-player: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00tptyz/Call_Kaye_13_09_2010

Comments

[Annette O'Carroll]

Leith Central Community Council objected to the planning application mentioned above - for 177-185 Easter Road - on the grounds that the application was contrary to the Local Plan (section 8.38) which states that "To maintain the vitality and viability of town and local centres, proposals for residential use at ground floor level or other uses which do not positively contribute to the role of the centre in meeting the needs of local residents and visitors will not be permitted".

We maintained that even if these shop units were to be found to be no longer commercially viable for retail use there were other functions they could better serve (as suggested in Local Plan Section 8.42) where the Small Business Study, undertaken on behalf of the Council in 2005 is mentioned as recognising the potential role that vacant shop units can play in providing opportunities for small businesses - 'such uses contribute to the local economy and to urban vitality by fostering a greater mix of uses and providing locally accessible services".

We were glad to see that the application has now been withdrawn.

LCCC is very concerned about preventing urban blight in the Leith Walk/Easter Road areas in the aftermath of the curtailment of the tram route. The planning sub-committee is currently discussing community-led ways to encourage renewal - such as the Sun Bear Gallery mentioned above - and would welcome ideas for future action.
Annette O'Carroll
Planning Convenor Leith Central Community Council

[Ally]

Annette,

Thanks for the clarification.