The devastating impact of the pandemic on town centres in Dumfries and Galloway has been laid bare in a new study.
Close monitoring of footfall activity in towns shows that visitor numbers are down by almost half compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Meanwhile, there are no signs of recovery following the removal of lockdown restrictions – sparking a warning from council chiefs that quiet streets and low levels of face-to-face trading could be the “new normal”.
The council spent £25,000 on using a town centre footfall monitoring software called Calibrate, explained Steve Rogers, the authority’s head of economy and development.
The results are bad news for the region’s town centres which have already been struggling in recent years.
In a report to be tabled at next week’s economy and resources committee, he writes: “Covid-19 has significantly reduced all mobility – 48 per cent lower visits in 2022 (quarter two to quarter three) compared to pre-pandemic levels with footfall in all towns significantly lower in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic.
“Early estimates suggest no recovery to pre-pandemic trends as Covid-19 restrictions ended in March, 2022 – this may be the ‘new normal’.”
The downwards trend accounts for all forms of mobility, including people travelling to their workplace, the town centre, night time, retail, transport journeys and events.
The report points to loss of travel-to-work for 9-5 office workers, fewer night time activities and large behavioural changes such as online shopping as main reasons for footfall reductions and businesses being impacted.
It is feared that the cost-of-living crisis will further impact the economic recovery of towns.
However, council chiefs insist that the regeneration of town centres continues to be a priority with a plan for 2017-22 committing to invest £1m a year in the town centre living fund (TCLF).
Councillors are being asked to allocate an additional £100,000 from the council tax on second homes budget to the 2022/23 TCLF.
The aim is to provide more affordable homes within walking distance of existing local services which will have a positive knock-on effect on town centre footfall.
Councillor Katie Hagmann, chairman of the economy and resources committee, said: “Our council will do all that it can to revitalise our town centres, boost the local economy and to help people remain in their own communities.
“High-quality accommodation is a key driver to create footfall and support vital regeneration.”
