Have you read The Courier’s investigation into the health of our high streets?
Since it was published two months ago, I find myself searching for the link in quiet moments, always finding something new to digest.
With meticulous data on almost 500 businesses, lengths of vacancies, occupancy rates of individual streets and shopping centres – as well as interactive street maps, it is a brilliant collation.
The question journalist Lesley-Anne Kelly and team ask in the article is: Is Dundee a ghost town or winning the battle to survive?
I thought of the report as I took the boys to Perth last week – a final fling before school started.
“It feels a bit broken down,” my eldest said as we wandered the high street.
And it did – a tiredness has long crept in, accelerated by lockdown, with empty units commonplace and sense of decay in buildings once well maintained. Pipes dripped and mould spread.
That’s not to do down Perth, which still has many gems – like the newly refurbished theatre, the odd charming boutique store.
Every city has its day and Perth’s will return.
It used to be that Dundee was the poor relation and Perth boasted McEwens with its perfume, tweeds and car parks full of four by fours splattered with mud from country estates.
But for now, as the young man who served us coffee said: “All my pals are applying to study or get a job in Dundee. There’s so much more going on.”
Aberdeen presents a similar story. Three weeks ago, I filmed a Homes Under the Hammer property, former offices bang in the city centre.
Statistics tell the science of a high street but what you can’t beat is a feeling and Aberdeen felt sad.
A quietness seeping into a city never fully recovered from lockdown or bust in oil prices.
It’s not forever but it is now.
My TV work affords me the opportunity to wander the high streets of cities and towns all over the UK and I can’t help but study and compare them to Dundee.
An afternoon off in Carlisle was deflating – with an every silence and huge units like Debenhams vacant with whitewashed windows – a sight common to most cities.
Finding an outfit for a do was challenging – I was thankful for the presence still of River Island for a red dress and M&S for nude shoes.
In Costa, I asked the barista what her city centre was like. Months ago, she said, she was spraying Chanel perfume and advising on high end lip glosses in Debenhams.
Then suddenly with its closure, it was an ugly scramble for a job in Poundland or Costa, both hiring staff at the time.
“I don’t even like coffee. I love make-up,” she said.
“But I was lucky – at least I got a job.”
Then Dundee, which has its problems.
Some units are vacant, recent losses of institutions like Clark’s shoes are sorely felt and small independents often haven’t been able to continue.
But there are so many buds of hope when compared to other centres – the Overgate is attracting and keeping good names. Empty units like Patisserie Valerie are being taken over – in its case by highly rated Black Sheep Coffee.
The Murraygate has new tenants too, from Tesco to Ramsdens.
Meanwhile, some independents like Frasers on the Perth Road, profiled in the Courier investigation, offering fruit, veg and even craft beer, thrive because they are brilliant and fully interactive with each customer.
Back to the feeling. Of all the cities and towns in which I’ve meandered, Dundee at least has a skip in its step.
Ours is comparatively busy to others. Some feel like ghost towns but we do not. Our waterfront and the V&A are almost part of the centre and they are splendid – as is the arrival of Slessor Gardens as a great gig venue.
We still meet in our centre. It still has a pulse.
In tough conditions which make it hard everywhere, we should be proud it’s our turn to shine as best we can. We can do even better and at this rate, we will.
Conversation