Chamber and committees

Okay. Thanks very much.

What can we do to incentivise commercial property owners to bring their buildings back into use?

How successful has the Elgin loyalty card scheme been in supporting independent business, and does it attract business to the town?

You said that you have a low vacancy rate, but do you have an issue with empty properties in Elgin?

On the issue of absentee landlords, if a domestic property is left empty for more than a year, it attracts double council tax. Is there a need to do something similar with non-domestic rates?

Roddy MacDonald, what do you think the barriers are to renovating empty town centre properties?

You talked about the number of empty units in Kirkcaldy and said that 50 per cent of the space above retail units is lying empty. When I looked at your website, I was impressed by you guys’ vision for the area, with a cafe culture, independent shops, market spaces and so on. What barriers are preventing you from making use of those empty properties?

Anthea Coulter touched on the need for accommodation for start-ups. How much demand is there in your area for retail units, and what are the barriers to folk getting access to them?

Let me turn to Phil Prentice. Comparing the rates that are applicable to new builds and to renovations, do you feel that there is a need to change the VAT system?

We have talked a lot about starting to get the right policies in place and about how funding is becoming available so that we can tackle the issues with our town centres, but I am keen to understand what the barriers are to renovating empty town centre properties. Do they relate to the VAT system, the change-of-use regulations, absentee property owners or the need to reform the compulsory purchase system? What practical issues do we need to tackle in order that the policies that we are now putting in place and the funding that is becoming available can be used most effectively?

Before we start, I am interested in a comment that David Grove made in his written submission, where he said that there is a

“culture of neglect around buildings, lands and spaces”.

Can you explain that before we come back to my other questions?