A new report has called for an overhaul in business rates, major investment in connectivity and devolved immigration powers for Scottish cities.
The study - commissioned by Brodies and Anderson Anderson and Brown, along with the Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh Chambers of Commerce - found that the pandemic, climate crisis and Brexit have combined to create a potentially “toxic” cocktail of change for urban Scotland.
It therefore called on businesses and all levels of government to collaborate to let cities overcome the challenges they face in this period of profound change.
Among the findings, the report noted that the built environment, which is believed to contribute around 40% of the UK’s carbon footprint, is a “major barrier” to reaching net zero targets and retrofitting on an industrial scale is required.
Also, in terms of city centre commercial space, as many are spending less time in the office during the week, this will impact footfall and the viability of businesses servicing such workers.
The report recommended devolving “meaningful tax raising and fiscal powers” to cities, in order to let them fund investment and deliver programmes that help the local area.
Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh must work collectively to decarbonise, with the warning that required retrofitting on an “industrial scale” will require strong tax incentives.
The research also suggested that a new rates system will be needed to “reflect changing property needs locally and incentivise new businesses to emerge and grow in our towns and cities”.
Professor Brian Evans, head of urbanism at the Glasgow School of Art and an advisor to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, led the research team and estimates that city inhabitants will soon outnumber rural dwellers for the first time in human history.
He said that Scotland needs the city regions “at the top of their game” if it is to remain globally competitive. “Cities need to be dynamic, or they decline,” he warned.
Despite accounting for just 22% of Scotland’s land mass, these city regions house 68% of the population and account for 73% of the country’s gross value added.
Speaking on behalf of the three city chambers, Russell Borthwick, chief executive of Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “We ask Scotland’s policy makers to urgently work together with business communities to make the necessary interventions that will shape the next chapter for our cities – and it must happen at pace.”
Elaine Farquharson-Black, partner and co-head of planning at Brodies, added: “The recommendations set out in the report come at a critical time for our cities and provide useful direction to encourage economic recovery at a time of unprecedented change.”
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