The former boss of crisis-hit McEwens has broken his silence and called for major changes to reverse the fortunes of Perth city centre.
John Bullough has spoken publicly for the first time since his company went into administration with the loss of more than 100 jobs.
McEwens’ closure shook the business community and triggered a call for action to protect independent retailers and bring more shoppers into the city.
Mr Bullough revealed that he is quitting as head of a taskforce set up to oversee future growth of Perth over the next 20 years.
He spearheaded the Perth City Development Board when it produced a now-adopted plan to transform Perth into “one of Europe’s great small cities”.
Speaking at a gathering of retailers, Mr Bullough confirmed he intended to step down from the group. “We are meeting again at the end of this month and I have offered my resignation,” he said. “It will be up to the board to decide whether they want me to stay on.
“But clearly, during the darkest days of the last few months, the only glimmer of light has been that potentially the closure of McEwens may be the catalyst for the changes we need to make for Perth.
“And by Jove, we really do need to make some changes in the city centre.”
He said: “I was losing money and I don’t know anyone in the area who was really making any money at all.
“Everyone is working their backsides off, but they are not making money in the city centre and there are two things that need to be addressed.
“First of all, there’s the fact that every one of my customers used to complain about car parking. I’m not saying that car parking isn’t the issue, but I do believe that it has just as much to do with perception and communication than it is to do with the number of spaces.”
Mr Bullough added: “I believe the biggest problem are rates,” he said. “City centre rates are completely disproportionate. I was paying considerably more for rates than I was for rent.
He said landlords struggling to rent out their properties were able to offer cheap deals for charities to set up shop in the city. “The city centre is not for charity shops,” he said. “Rates need to be reduced significantly and we need to stimulate Perth’s property portfolio.”
He added: “We have to realise we have made a critical error with out-of-town retail. If we allow out-of-town retailers to have free parking, the city centre businesses are paying for the privilege of sustaining the town. In fact, they should be subsidised.”
Mr Bullough added that McEwens reported debts of more than £4 million were “completely wide of the mark”.
