Civic and business leaders have been warned urgent action must be taken to prevent the heart of Crieff from slipping into irreversible decline.
Dire warnings have been made in the wake of Tesco’s decision to withdraw from the town, which is the latest blow to its retail sector.
It has shelved plans to create a new superstore on Broich Road, which was to have been one of the main elements of a 10-year masterplan.
Empty units and mouldering historic buildings have already become a blight upon the market town, though it remains an immensely popular place to live.
Though the community is taking significant steps to address some of the issues, a senior politician has called for the establishment of a multi-agency taskforce to reverse Crieff’s slide.
Gordon Banks MP described the ailing supermarket giant’s decision as “a further kick in the teeth” for the town.
“I want the council to work with me to establish a retail and trading taskforce to look at ways of rejuvenating Crieff and offering support to existing and aspiring businesses in the town,” he said.
“Intervention is needed to provide further support to Crieff, to tackle the blight of empty and derelict properties in the town centre, which continue to have a negative impact on the town.”
Mr Banks added: “The recent decision by Tesco to walk away from its promise to establish a new store in Crieff is a further kick in the teeth for the town.
“The news, together with the number of empty properties in the town, the closure of the centre at Penny Lane and the long-derelict Drummond Arms Hotel, is a further example of the decline in Crieff town centre.
“I recognise that the community is trying to move matters forward and I am supportive of this but with the decision from Tesco, there is a real need and perhaps even an opportunity to raise the profile of the town’s challenges.
“Action needs to be taken to develop a strategy that will tackle Crieff’s issues and raise it back up to the level it once was at.”
Tesco’s announcement on Thursday that it would not proceed with plans for a supermarket on a site at Duchlage Farm was also greeted with dismay, but little surprise, by Roseanna Cunningham MSP.
She said: “Despite Tesco’s repeated insistence that they were committed to building this supermarket and bringing new jobs and investment to the town, this announcement comes as little surprise to me.
“The lack of any actual progress on the project, coupled with the reports we have been seeing of wider difficulties for the company, pointed very clearly towards this conclusion.
“This brings to a pretty unsatisfactory end what has been a very long-running saga, which began with two competing supermarket giants promising a lot in terms of jobs, amenity and investment in the community. Now, several years and a lot of legal wrangling later, we are exactly where we were at the outset.”
mmackay@thecourier.co.uk