An Arbroath councillor has said he believes the town’s much-maligned high street could soon be the envy of Angus.
Martyn Geddes has been heartened by the efforts of a newly-formed group, which has been putting in some elbow grease to restore the high street to its former glory.
He now wants the public to play their part and turn out to help during the clean-up events, while continuing to shop locally when they can.
Members of Arbroath Town Centre Retailers’ Association (Atcra) will be rolling up their sleeves and getting the mops and brushes out to tackle the next phase of the clean-up on Tuesday.
They are urging locals to come out and join them and do something about the state of the high street, rather than just sitting back and moaning about it.
Mr Geddes said: “It’s great to see the retailers working together to improve the look and feel of the high street.
“This will create a sense of community and civic pride that the people of Arbroath and Angus will feel whenever they shop in our town centre. With the retailers working together and the public giving them their support, by regularly shopping with them and turning out for events, such as the clean-ups, I firmly believe Arbroath’s high street and town centre could be the envy of Angus.
“There are lots of great independent and local chains in this burgh and now, with an active Arbroath Town Centre Retailers’ Association, the situation can only get better.”
In recent months, there have been some signs of improvement with new shops opening but there are still many premises lying empty.
The retailers’ association has also been working on other projects and is tackling the owners of the vacant units and those in a state of decorative disrepair.
On Tuesday, the retailers will be tackling the decorative stone bollards that run the length of the high street.
The clean-up gets under way at 5.30pm at the empty Hydro Electric shop and anyone who is interested in helping is urged to turn up with a scrubbing brush.