Traders are urging Alexandria residents to get their Christmas shopping locally, with a nightmare six months of roadworks set to end this week.
Works as part of regeneration plans saw the heart of the Vale turned into a building site, with traders left counting the cost of footfall that dropped by up to 50 percent.
As part of a £12million masterplan to transform the Vale, the iconic Smollett Fountain has undergone restoration, the Main Street has been reprofiled and the eyesore Mitchell Way shopping precinct is set to be demolished.
Major works to the Main Street are set to end this week, with Sian Wilkie of Alexandria Traders Association urging people to shop local – or risk losing the independent stores that make the Main Street unique.
Sian, who runs Wilkie and Ryder, said: “We’re now on the run-up to Christmas and we’re really keen that people don’t forget about their local Main Street.
“We’ve got plenty to offer and with the cost of living crisis shopping locally can make a lot of sense.
“We’re really excited to get back to normal.
“We’re trying to encourage people whose shopping habits may have changed as to why Alexandria Main Street should be somewhere they choose to shop.
“Hopefully this is the start of a positive era for Alexandria.
“The place is starting to improve, money is being spent on it so let’s make sure it’s been worth everyone’s while by encouraging everyone back in to shop in the places that are here.
“We really need people to do that rather than bypass us and go into Dumbarton.”
And with traders having received little support for the duration of works, Sian has warned that they face a pivotal festive period.
She continued: “If you were a West Dunbartonshire Council tenant then there was support, but you had to jump through quite a lot of hoops, and I think a lot of people were quite reluctant to jump through those.
“If you were a private tenant then you got absolutely nothing. I think that’s been the biggest issue.
“The last six months have seen any money businesses have saved up eaten away by these works.
“There’s no buffer there anymore. If the next two months aren’t good enough then we will see places close.
“That’s why it’s imperative that we remind people that, if you’re going to shop, then we really hope that you consider shopping locally.
“It will save people money on travel and support local people and local jobs. But if people want their Main Street to be there this time next year then we’re going to need your help because of the obstacles we’ve faced up until this point.”
Businesses in the Vale did face a further setback last week however, with work to demolish the former St Andrew’s Church getting underway.
And Sian admits that it provided a further blow after a difficult two years for traders.
She continued: “The St Andrew’s Church saga put a bit of a dampener on it, but we want to make sure that we put out that the Main Street is still here.
“We spoke to West Dunbartonshire Council and we understand the urgency of the matter, but the contraflow hopefully won’t be in place for the full time.
“People play a huge part in the Main Street, however you can’t expect us just to survive and always be there if people aren’t visiting.
“We’ve been hit with some severe circumstances over the last two years; from the pandemic, the roadworks and now the cost of living crisis. After we came out of lockdown we got a boost, and that’s now what we need again from local people.
“It’s obviously a shame that the building is being pulled down, but the news for Alexandria as a whole is positive.”
