Submitting.
On the high street, vacancies increased to 13.9 per cent, from 13.5 per cent. Retail park vacancies increased to 12.9 per cent from 11.9 per cent, though it remains the location with by far the lowest rate as more, larger retailers remained open during lockdown.
The high street has seen a string of high-profile failures including department store chain Debenhams.
David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “The maelstrom wrought by the pandemic and the forced closure of stores over the past year is laid bare in these figures.
“The troubling deterioration in the vacancy rate over the past year has affected all types of retail destinations, with the uptick in empty units in shopping centres especially marked. Almost one in six Scottish shop premises now lies empty, above the UK average rate, and it’s far from certain the vacancy rate has crested.
Record number of empty shops in Scotland By Kristy Dorsey Scottish shop vacancies jumped to a six-year high in the first quarter of this year, with the rate of empty outlets highest among shopping centres. In figures said to lay bare the “maelstrom” wrought by the pandemic, the latest Vacancy Monitor released today by the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) shows that 15.3 per cent of all shops are now lying empty, up from 14.4% in the final three months of last year. Compared to the first quarter of 2020, the vacancy rate is up by 2.4 percentage points. One out of five shopping centre units are now unoccupied, with the vacancy rate rising to 20.1% from 18.2% in the previous quarter. Lucy Stainton of Local Data Company, which produces the monitor in conjunction with the SRC, said their lower proportion of “essential” retailing and reliance on declining categories such as fashion, department stores and casual dining has left shopping centres particularly exposed to th
Scottish cycling legend and sustainable travel advocate Mark Beaumont has officially opened the new Highland Home of Johnnie Walker on the famous North Coast 500 scenic route. Diageo hailed the new visitor experience at Clynelish Distillery, which is part of a wider tourism push by the drinks giant. Sited in the Sutherland town of Brora on the famous NC500 route, the transformed distillery adds a “new high-quality attraction” to the Highlands, as Scotland’s tourism sector prepares to reopen.
Barbara Smith and.Mark Beaumont at the distillery. Scottish endurance athlete Mr Beaumont officially opened Clynelish as he called for a sustainable approach to rebuilding tourism and celebrated the completion of the whisky attraction’s multi-million-pound redevelopment and the return of domestic travel.
Cafes, beer gardens, non-essential shops and museums are reopening in Scotland on Monday as lockdown easing continues.
The country moves from Level 4 to Level 3 of the Scottish Government’s five tiers of restrictions on April 26.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced last week that the continued suppression of coronavirus and the success of the vaccine rollout meant some restrictions can be lifted on Monday.
It means gyms, swimming pools, libraries and museums can reopen along with cafes, restaurants and beer gardens.
Swimming pools will reopen on April 26 (Alan Rennie/PA)
Hospitality will need to close at 8pm indoors, with alcohol only allowed to be served outside.