Many towns and villages in Scotland with small populations are at a big disadvantage with the number of shops that can survive.
If a town doesn't have something to attract locals and visitors — like an attractive, well-maintained high street with shops, good free parking, easy access for shopping, some sort of tourist attractions in town, a good regular market, coffee shops, restaurants and frequent events attracting visitors — even with this it's not guaranteed that businesses and shops can survive. Many are dependent on attracting tourists as the local population is low.
The poor state of many high streets is visible evidence of decline, but if a town or village has good employment with better jobs and wealth they can do better, but not always, as people don't always spend their money with local businesses.
If there is a greater sense of communal solidarity, this makes it easier to organise things and take better advantage of a town's assets and any opportunities available; it will do better than elsewhere.
There's no magic ingredient for saving the high streets: all have problems, from ill-run councils with their own self-interested agendas to MSPs that just wish the problems would go away. They fail to support local businesses and take advantage of local opportunities when they present. The quality of MSPs in the Scottish government varies markedly, as can be seen from previous decisions. Some MSPs are efficient, good, and active; some are not.
People see their high street as important and the centre of the community, a social heart, but only about 50% of people visit their local shops once a week. At the same time people are concerned about their high streets' decline.
The problems are numerous: out-of-town attractions and shopping, online shopping and supermarkets, along with extortionate business rates and costs. People are worried about spending money because of living costs and taxation, and a big problem is the overpriced housing for workers and the young, draining them of funds and deterring them from opening a business of their own locally.
Small independent businesses and high street shops lack clout as they are scattered and don't have a loud single voice.
Patrick Cockburn's article in the i newspaper, 12 June 2026, about Skipton asks the question why a thriving high street is necessary and vital to all our towns.
If you're interested in your local shops and businesses, try to look it up. He raises a good number of questions.
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