A Scottish Parliament committee will visit Hamilton this month as part of an inquiry into town centres and retail.
The Economy and Fair Work Committee will seek views on the realties of ecommerce and the impact it has in shopping locally.
It will work to establish and understand the policy needed to create living and resilient town centres which are up against the challenges faced in this sector across the country.
In recent years, Hamilton has been bearing the brunt of the decline of the high street as much as anywhere with the devastating closures of shops such as M&S.
However local groups such as Hamilton Our Town, Business Improvement District (BID) have remained pro-active in finding ways to support businesses and increase footfall in the town.
That's seen initiatives such as the Christmas and Easter street markets which proved to be a huge success in providing family entertainment and engagement back to the town centre while helping local firms.
And it's Hamilton BID who will be hosting the Scottish Parliament committee visit. They will provide a walking tour of Hamilton town centre to MSPs in attendance, tasked with tackling issues faced in the country's high streets.
The event on May 16 will see Deputy Convener Colin Beattie, and two other members including MSPs Gordon MacDonald and Colin Smyth will be visiting Hamilton as part of the inquiry.
Other members of the committee will also be at a similar event in Fraserburgh to learn about the issues facing their town centre too.
Hamilton Our Town (BID) manager Malcolm Thomas-Harley looks forward to the event and sees this as a positive step in improving shopping in the town.
He told Lanarkshire Live: "We’re delighted that the economy committee has chosen Hamilton and ourselves as hosts for their visit to the town.
"The work of this committee could help shape the future of Scotland’s towns, therefore this opportunity to meet the members and feedback the challenges and opportunities from a Hamilton perspective is welcomed."
The inquiry was launched due to the changing nature of retail and it aims to uncover what can be done to rejuvenate town centres across Scotland
Members look to tackle the challenge of ecommerce and the impact the pandemic has had on local shops.
They hope to understand what a successful town centre looks like in the coming years and what can be done to help local organisations achieve this .
The walking tour takes place at 10.45am and will be led by Hamilton BID, before a round-table discussion takes place with local stakeholders.
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