A TOTAL of 61 shops in Dunfermline city centre are currently shut or awaiting a change of use – and Fife Council and Dunfermline Delivers are failing to stop the slide.

That’s the claim made by business consultant Claudio Ingrosso, who carried out a quick survey last week by counting the number of properties lying empty in the city centre, including the Kingsgate shopping centre.

And he claims many more businesses want to leave Dunfermline, or “simply run down their obligation to final closure”.

Mr Ingrosso, who runs business portal dunfermlinebiz.us, said Fife Council and Dunfermline Delivers had failed to address “grave concerns”, including high business rates and rents.

He told the Press, “When businesses like McDonald’s and Argos close, you know there’s something really wrong.

“Business rates in Dunfermline remain higher than Edinburgh. Many businesses are already contemplating migration of their branches.

“Inflexible policies are pushing out even the strongest of businesses.

“Rents continue to rise despite warnings from the Government and financial institutions. Many landlords have chosen to push out their tenants and prefer to pay 90 per cent of the rates or generally rent-free to charities to avoid paying rates.” Parking is also a major issue, as Claudio explained, “The last meeting I attended was an almost two-hour presentation by four council representatives, entitled ‘Parking, a balanced view’, listing all the objections imaginable that prevent the council from addressing this problem in Dunfermline town centre. No solutions were offered. In contrast, all present offered a number of solutions. None were addressed.” He said proposals included a multi-storey car park at the bottom of the High Street, with entrance from the bus station; redirection of traffic flow; and abolition or reduction of parking fees as a downturn countermeasure.

Mr Ingrosso was also dissatisfied with Dunfermline Delivers and Dunfermline First, which he described as “no more than a quango”.

He added, “The money spent to date on administering these organisations is simply scandalous.

“That money could have been spent on real issues like parking, one of the greatest diminishers of footfall in the town centre, especially at the bottom end.” Dunfermline area services manager Joe McGuinness listed several Fife Council developments to improve the city centre. These include: £1.25million to restore and refurbish Pittencrieff Park.

£12m in partnership with the Carnegie Trust and Big Lottery Fund in the new Dunfermline Museum and Art Gallery.

£15,000 in a bus to shuttle cruise ship passengers from Rosyth to the city centre.

£1.2m to refurbish the City Chambers, to provide a one-stop council service centre.

£90,000 in digital signage at key city locations including the bus and train stations.

£2.24m to improve the cycle network.

He added that working with Dunfermline Delivers, the council had also invested in providing improvements to vacant shop units by introducing window vinyls and promoted the redevelopment of gap/redundant sites across the city centre.

Mr McGuinness added, “Fife Council is carrying out a Fife-wide review of our parking policy in an effort to provide more flexible access to our existing car parking spaces.

“We did also fully consider the rerouting of traffic flows within the town centre area but this was seen as a backwards step in our efforts to provide our town-centre users and visitors with a safe and welcome environment.” Bill Fletcher, the new chair of Dunfermline Delivers, said he would set out a new vision and direction for the business improvement district company within the month.