We need to focus on the businesses that can be saved – Kevin Buckle

We have the chance of a new start in the city, but tough decisions will be required, writes Kevin Buckle
Many of the people who have returned to work are packing their own lunches rather than visiting takeaways (Picture: Greg Macvean)Many of the people who have returned to work are packing their own lunches rather than visiting takeaways (Picture: Greg Macvean)
Many of the people who have returned to work are packing their own lunches rather than visiting takeaways (Picture: Greg Macvean)

It is very clear that businesses will not be able to receive support for the entire time the pandemic has an effect on them, which is going to lead to some tough decisions being taken on which businesses are allowed to go to the wall.

The truth is that many that were struggling before are struggling now and this can apply to entire sectors. All that has happened is that the decline has been accelerated.

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Certainly in Edinburgh, which probably had too many eggs in one basket relying on tourism, the council needs to be as proactive in deciding what sort of businesses it wants to see survive as it is with its active travel initiatives.

Obviously the high street has been hit by a double whammy as people were not only unable to shop but were then pushed towards buying online, although this has no more than accelerated something that was inevitably going to happen anyway.

What we do have now is an opportunity for a new start in which Edinburgh Council can make a real difference to how city centre retail looks but they need to be courageous in making decisions.

One of the big losers has been takeaways and it has become very clear how dependent many of them are on those who work in offices.

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The thing is there is no guarantee that even as people do return to their offices that they will go back to their old habits.

I know folk now who have already returned at least for a couple of days and on those days now having got into a routine of making lunch they still do so and take it with them.

On the other hand there is room for expansion in shops offering interesting gifts of all descriptions as certainly some people are fed-up looking online and prefer to get that novel present they are looking for from a shop.

While it is obviously a matter of taste as to what might be called “interesting” the council needs to be as brave as it is in telling folk what is good for them via active travel.

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In my experience they simply refuse to make judgements at all even when answers are clear-cut. For instance there is obviously more merit in somebody making silver rings in their workshop than there is in somebody else importing cheap silver rings by the thousand from India.

New businesses will also need encouragement and again they will need to be the right businesses and not just a case of filling up quotas for new start-ups. My concern is that with a few honourable exceptions there seems to be little understanding of business from Edinburgh’s councillors.

The right businesses are going to need the right help while others will need to be allowed to fall by the wayside and nobody is pretending these decisions will be easy. However, decisions will need to be made as we all know what we will be left with if things are simply left to the market.

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