Published: Thursday, 3rd July, 2008 09:20
Dunfermline city centre is the dirtiest in Fife
By Ally McRoberts
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Pic by: Dunfermline Press
DUNFERMLINE city centre is the dirtiest in Fife with the worst shops – but it’s fine if you want takeaway food or to visit a bank.
That’s the view of businesses and visitors in the city centre who took part in a Fife Council survey and slated the cleanliness and mix of shops.
Litter, vandalism, traffic congestion and too many vehicles parked in shopping areas were also highlighted as negative aspects of those who work and shop in Dunfermline.
According to the survey, there are also not enough public toilets, seats, facilities for the disabled or car parking spaces while access by car is viewed as a major headache.
On the plus side, Dunfermline’s provision of cafes, restaurants and take-aways, as well as other services such as banks and solicitors, was highly rated.
Councillor Tony Martin, chair of the environment and transportation committee, said, “We are aware that there are areas where work needs to be done to improve people’s experience and this allows us to pinpoint those areas.”
At the time of the survey, building work for the new bus station and extended Kingsgate centre were under way with major upheaval in East Port and other areas of Dunfermline.
It was conducted in August and November of last year with 283 people and 103 businesses in the town centre – including shops, supermarkets, offices, pubs, restaurants, cafes and hotels – taking part.
Visitors (47 per cent) and businesses (42 per cent) were unhappy with the cleanliness of the town centre with 61 per cent and 88 per cent also slating the mix and quality of shops.
On both counts, this was the worst in Fife compared to the other towns surveyed – Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes and St Andrews.
Leisure and visitor facilities were scored as “very good or fair” by 56 per cent of visitors while 70 per cent were pleased with the overall appearance of the town centre.
This contrasted sharply with the businesses as 71 per cent said the overall appearance was “poor or very poor” although 56 per cent praised the nightlife offered in the city.
Businesses, rather than visitors, felt there were significant problems with vandalism, graffiti and rundown and derelict buildings.
Almost half rated litter and vacant shops as problems but traffic congestion and the number of parked cars in shopping areas were the main bugbears of both visitors and businesses.
Visitors said Dunfermline should lose or reduce the number of charity shops and consider trams to improve transport in and around the town centre.
The High Street should be cleaned up, chewing gum removed, the shops given a facelift, pedestrian areas improved and more colourful floral displays introduced, according to those survey.
They also said free car parking should be introduced – as it is in Glenrothes – and that better pubs and restaurants should open.
Most businesses said customer numbers had fallen in the past year and a third had less than 100 customers in a typical week.
Their wish list to help entice shoppers back included more specialist shops, more short stay parking, multiple stores and fewer vacant premises.
Dunfermline city centre manager Susah Hughes (pictured) said, “There was nothing in there I didn’t expect.
“I see it as quite positive in a way as we’re going through the Business Improvement District Scheme process at the moment so it’s all relevant.
“There was lots going on in Dunfermline at the time of the survey, there was a great deal of unhappiness with the upheaval so in some ways it was a good time to ask.”
She added, “The Kingsgate will go some way to addressing some of the concerns about shopping but we’re not there yet and getting the retail mix right won’t happen overnight.
“However we’re working to deliver the more positive aspects.”
Councillor Martin said that getting local people involved was a major part of the Local Plan process and that West Fifers were currently bering asked about their views on future development issues and options for the area.
“It’s our vision to position Fife as one of the top Scottish destinations to live, work and visit,” he said.
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