Arbroath retailers are enjoying success in their bid to spruce up the town’s much-maligned High Street.
Since the Arbroath Town Centre Retailers’ Association (ATCRA) was formed just a few months ago there has been no shortage of action and elbow grease being used.
Clean-ups the length of the High Street have taken place over a number of nights and now a prominent unit has also received a lick of paint following the group’s intervention.
One of the major issues the group was looking at was for WH Smith to sort out the outside decoration of their unit on the corner of the High Street, which had suffered from years of neglect.
On behalf of the retailers’ association, director of Specsavers Jamie Buchan approached the property department of WH Smith to discuss the concerns the group had.
He said: “Initially, when I spoke with their agent they had no idea of the state their unit was in and I was quick to take a complete set of pictures for them and emailed them in.
“I think it was fair to say there was an instant agreement that the external decorations were well before par and the agent was very amenable and willing to work with us to get the job done.
“Now the shop has been repainted it makes a huge difference to that section of the High Street and it was very satisfying to get such a positive result for the town.”
ATCRA chairman Chic Grant said: “That’s a big job that needed doing and thanks to Jamie for taking on the job of liaising with the agents and securing a great outcome.
“It doesn’t stop there though. The retailers will be out again on Monday giving all the bits of the street cleaned so far another going over to keep things clean.
“We’ve also applied to Angus Council to allow us to repaint the metal lighthouse bollards along the street, as they’re looking a bit shabby.
“We’ve asked them to supply the paint and we’ll supply the manpower to get the job done. There is no way we can have a Golden Mile along the High Street without first getting it cleaned up properly.”