Business rates need to be slashed in order to restore a prime Dundee shopping areas to health, it has been claimed.
Reform Street was one of the main retail locations in Dundee but the number of empty units in the street now almost equals the number of thriving businesses.
The director of one of the street’s, and Dundee’s, best known shops has said high rates may be preventing new businesses from surviving.
Grant Mitchell, director of Cooper and McKenzie, said shops face bills of up to £30,000 a year before they even begin trading once rates and other charges, such as rubbish collection, are taken into account.
Cooper and McKenzie has been trading on Reform Street since 1874 and Mr Mitchell said it needs a mix of independent retailers to return it to its former glory.
But he said only national chains and charity shops can cope with rates charges.
“Reform Street is a quality street it was Dundee’s Savile Row,” he said.
“The building quality is exceptional and it runs from the High Street to the High School. The problem is not the rental rents can be negotiated it is the rateable value that is so high.”Comment:Teamwork could be key to reviving Dundee city centre fortunesMr Mitchell said rates had been set before the financial crash of 2008 and so remain too high.
He added that city leaders cannot sit by and hope the creation of the V&A will rejuvenate the city centre.
“Dundee is a city in waiting,” he said. “The waterfront is a huge positive people talk about it across the UK and know what is happening.
“But it is nearly three years away and there is a feeling the entire town centre is being overlooked.”
The Time Lifestyle Boutique has been forced to close after just months trading.
Owner Nicola Donnelly, 32, will close the shop for good this weekend.
She said: “Reform Street is quite an attractive street but the number of empty shops makes it very difficult to trade here.
“I just don’t think people have the money to spend.
“I’m a huge fan of the waterfront and the V&A and think it will bring visitors to Dundee but it is a few years away.
“You fear the rest of the city centre falls into decline.”
Saif Zaveri, the store manager and owner for News Shop, said lowering rates would make a “massive difference” to the street’s prosperity.
He said: “That’s what is stopping this street becoming a really busy one.
Dundee City Council city development convener Will Dawson said the council is working to make Reform Street a more attractive thoroughfare to attract greater visitors and more businesses, as well as offering advice on rates relief.