Huntly town centre health check
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PARTS of Huntly are in desperate need of a spruce-up, according to a ‘health check’ of every town centre in Aberdeenshire.
Duke Street is described as "run down in appearance in places" and two out-of-town supermarkets pose the biggest threat to businesses as they attract people away from the centre.
Aberdeenshire Council undertook health checks of all of its town centres – 12 in total – to identify what is needed to improve or maintain their success.
Huntly is the smallest town in Aberdeenshire. Along with Turriff, Banchory, Banff and Ellon it scored consistently high, but it came neither top nor bottom for retail, activity, physical environment, property, accessibility and community.
Inverurie and Stonehaven scored top for retail and Turriff was ranked first for activity and physical environment. Banff and Macduff were low scorers for retail, property and accessibility.
The results for Huntly were presented at a meeting of the Marr committee this week. The report said the town’s strengths included its busy and attractive square, a good range of cultural and community facilities, quick access by road from the town centre to the A96 and the frequency of bus services.
In response Donald Boyd, Huntly and District Development Trust’s manager, said the town centre would be a priority for the group in the coming year.
"Huntly town centre, like others in Aberdeenshire, faces challenges. As other projects come to a conclusion, HDDT plans to give more time and attention to what needs to be done to improve the town centre and we will work with partners to move it forward."
In addition to the negative comments about Duke Street, other weaknesses identified were the number of vacant units in the street and in The Square, a lack of public open spaces and insufficient landscaping, as extra trees and plants could make it more attractive to visitors and locals.
Huntly is not without its opportunities and the report states that the Huntly Hotel building, which is up for sale, is ripe for redevelopment.
The Square is described as an "opportunity" but the report suggests it could be improved by more green space, plants, flowers and seats.
The report points to a lack of clothes shops, other than charity shops, in the town centre and suggests that if some of the vacant units were filled by clothing retailers, footfall in the town centre would increase.
It also suggests the high number of first floor, unoccupied premises in The Square could be turned into apartments, therefore increasing the number of people who live in the town centre.
A pedestrian count at the Duke Street junction of The Square recorded exceptional levels of footfall based on population and was put down to the variety of specialist shops and community and visitor facilities.
A spokesman for Aber-deenshire Council said: "The results are not to be considered definitive of the wellbeing of a town centre, but rather are intended to provide an evidence-based perspective and assist in identifying actions that could be undertaken to improve their status."
What do you think of the report? What are the challenges and opportunities for Huntly? Write to us at 9 Gordon Street, Huntly or email your letters to mail@huntlyexpress.co.uk
