Major problems to overcome
Sir, – I raise a cheer – but only one cheer – at the news of Robertson’s proposed expansion of the St Giles Centre. It is a good vote of confidence in Elgin and its surroundings, but before I can give three cheers, there are a couple of major problems to overcome.
Moray Council is in the act of vacating 20 premises. Others are vacant because of the economic downturn, and there will be more shop closures before there is a real recovery. If the expanded centre succeeds in attracting a good selection of shops, that would in some degree reduce the "leakage" of trade to Inverness and Aberdeen, and perhaps draw in some trade from these centres, but most of the trade for the expanded St Giles will come from diverted purchasing from existing shops in Moray. The same applies to the proposed Sainsbury’s, or any other supermarket development.
Effective steps must be taken to increase the total retail turnover in Moray by at least as much as the turnover of any new retail developments before these new developments will prove a nett gain.
The St Giles development would need to include two more floors of parking, much enhanced toilet provision, and all ground-level parking made free of charge for up to two hours. All-day parkers should, I regret to say, still have to pay, to avoid the town centre being blocked and to encourage car-sharing, use of public transport, cycling and walking.
The proposed panacea is tourism. We have a long way to go before we can claim to be a tourist centre, but there have been some encouraging developments. If the proposed conversion of Coleburn Distillery to a hotel goes ahead, that would help. I was visiting Preston (Lancashire) at the weekend, and picked up a ‘Sunday Post’, which is popular there, and found a four-page spread, half about Galloway and half (two pages) about Moray. Someone did a good job there! There is a bus company in Preston which regularly runs tours to the Highlands, has used Nethy Bridge as a base and included a day with a stop in Elgin. Is there an hotel in Moray which wants this demanding type of trade? If not, now that each main town in Moray, except Lossiemouth, has some form of development manager, is it not time to talk to the trade and see what it would take to persuade a chain expert in this business to locate here, either by converting existing premises or building from scratch?
One thing they would need would be more tourist shops. We had a branch of an Orkney manufacturing jeweller’s, but they closed their branch for lack of trade. If we can show a credible plan to attract real numbers of tourists, perhaps we could do a deal to get them back? Would someone with a carving hobby like to set up in business making and selling small carved ornaments under the name ‘Elgin Marbles’? Johnston’s, Baxter’s and Walker’s and the Whisky Trail are the international part of the scene, but since their products are marketed so widely, they are more for factory visits than just a High St souvenir purchase.
Since our number of tourist beds is limited, and can only be increased in step with demand, we need to encourage all kinds of day trippers. Apart from Aberdeen, Elgin is the biggest city in Grampian, and apart from Inverness, the biggest city in Highland. We should arrange with bus companies there to run tourist/shopping day trips here, and if that does not work, invite pensioners to come here on their bus passes for a (paid) sightseeing trip, lunch, and an hour of ‘free time’ for shopping.
When a local club has a home game, either Elgin City or a Highland League side, we should have a leaflet setting out the attractions of Moray for people to fill their supporters’ coaches, giving cost sharing to the visiting clubs and reducing marital strife by giving WAGs something to do on match days. We should send leaflets to schools and churches, setting out the attractions of the Cooper Park for an outing. These should include information on when the boats are available on the pond, tennis courts, hire of racquets etc, and a large shelter in case of rain, with barbecues for hire if wanted.
In Lossiemouth we need to work on the coastal trail, including, if all goes well, the Lighthouse, and a back-packer’s hostel.
Such things, in addition to the BID attractions, could build an image which would get our foot in the door to attract the attention of the serious players in the national tourist scene. – Yours etc,
John Smart,
38A Kinneddar St, Lossiemouth.
