West Lothian Council has to do all it can to support town centres as local communities face the bleakest winter in decades, a councillor has warned.
Bathgate has fared better than many other town centres both locally and across Scotland by retaining businesses and encouraging and drawing in new traders.
As with all town centres these businesses took a hit during the lockdowns of the pandemic.
Bathgate’s vibrant night time economy was probably the hardest hit and is only now just starting to recover.
Speaking at the recent Bathgate Local Area Committee, long-serving SNP councillor Willie Boyle said the latest figures showed the town remained robust, but he feared for the future.
He said: “We have always bucked the trend [in Bathgate] but vacancy rates are likely to slip with the sheer costs being involved in heating and keeping the lights on.”
Businesses do not have capped charges for utility bills and some have eye-watering estimates for coming charges for supply beyond October.
A report from the council Business Improvement District (BID) team said: “The town centre is subject to a quarterly occupancy survey as one measure of its relative vitality and viability. In July 2022, the occupancy rate was around 92 per cent (vacancy eight per cent).
“To provide some context this remains favourable to national averages of above 10 per cent, published by Springboard, and is an improvement from Bathgate’s recent peak vacancy level of nine per cent in July 2019.”
Councillor Boyle said: “I think it’s a reality that stores will struggle and we have to think of strategies to try to support them, not just in Bathgate, but right across West Lothian.”
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