Grangemouth Town Centre: Falkirk Council still committed to regeneration plans

Just last week Falkirk Council expressed disappointment at news Farmfoods, in La Porte Precinct, would be closing down for good on Sunday, January 8.

The local authority said it was “sad to hear of Farmfoods’ intention to vacate their Grangemouth site in 2023", stating the council has been supporting the company

since 2017 by charging them a concessionary rent to help them to stay in the town centre.

While it was not possible – for whatever reason – to secure a future for Farmfoods in Grangemouth, Falkirk Council stated it was working with other firms to ensure they remain in the town and revealed the long awaited plans to regenerate the shopping centre were “progressing” and claimed the demolition of the former custom and excise building at 1 Kerse Road was “imminent”.

A Falkirk Council spokesman said: “The vacated unit will be marketed for lease, and we will also be engaging with other national retailers such as Iceland, Boots, Savers, Lloyds Pharmacy and Greggs together with the many local retailers who are critical to the vitality and viability of the town and are committed to its future.

“Moving forward we are committed to regenerating Grangemouth Town Centre and this includes the imminent demolition of a redundant block, as well as progressing existing activity to revitalise the town centre through the £10 million Greener Grangemouth programme funded from the Falkirk Growth Deal.”

Back in summer 2021 the council also stated it was “moving forward” with plans to demolish the block, which had been earmarked for demolition later that year so the section of Kerse Road could be renovated.

At the time organisations and businesses which used the block had been involved in talks with the local authority to find premises to relocate to so the demolition could then take place.

Grangemouth Citizens Advice Bureau, which used a space within the building subsequently moved to a vacant premises in York Arcade on the corner with York Square, further into the middle of the town centre.

Studio IX tattoo studio has also relocated to a much larger premises – the long vacant former Chinese restaurant above York Arcade.

The award-winning La Gondola Fish and Chip Shop had been going to join the mass exodus and was looking to make a move further down La Porte Precinct into the former Portonian Tea Rooms.

However, the chippie is still serving customers at its original premises, in the block that is supposedly going to be coming down.

In June 2021 a Falkirk Council spokesman said: “Following community consultations in Grangemouth, and as part of reported allocation of Scottish Government Town

Centre Capital Programme Funds allocated to Falkirk Council, the council agreed it would allocate funds to explore opportunities to reconfigure Grangemouth town

centre and address longstanding vacant buildings.

“The former Kerse Road offices were identified as a priority and we met with business owners and organisation representatives based there, including CAB, to set out

our vision for the town centre and seek their approval to proceed with relocation planning, where all businesses gave their support to the proposal.

“Since then we have been gathering information from each business on their requirements and in collaboration with each have been matching these needs to vacant property in the heart of the town centre.

“This sensitive work involves various degrees of communication, design and renovation work to prepare the new premises for smooth relocation and business continuity, ensuring important local independent traders are kept and moved within the heart of the town centre."

The demolition is just one part of the Greener Grangemouth programme.

In a community action plan report for the initiative, council leader Cecil Meiklejohn states: “These are exciting times for Grangemouth. Through the recently announced Growth Deal the town stands at the forefront of hugely significant developments that will shape Scotland’s future, economically and environmentally, for decades to come.

"The town isn’t without its challenges, however. The people of Grangemouth experience levels of poverty and inequality that are too high. This Community Action Plan

seeks to address these issues.

"Drawn up by the Community Planning Partnership in consultation with the local community, the Plan captures what Grangemouth people have told us they want to see

improved.”

She added the plan aims to make the town “better, healthier, and more prosperous”.

Priorities have been identified – including regenerating the town, addressing empty units, increasing the variety of shops available and looking at the high business

rates and rents.

Some changes have already been put in place, including the installation of town centre Wi-Fi in 2020.

The community engagement carried out a couple of years ago had people stating the town centre is “dying” and “empty”, with “rubbish scattered everywhere” and saying the town centre is “shocking” with “too many shops closed or closing” and “too many empty shops”.

The plan states Grangemouth town centre will be a much different place in 10 years time, claiming it will be “more active” and an “attractive place for people to spend time”.

However, there is a long way to go to accomplish that eventual aim.

Just last week – in the wake of the Farmfoods news – people were calling Grangemouth a “ghost town” and stating the council was making commercial decisions that were having a negative effect and “putting the nail in the coffin of shops in Grangemouth town centre”.