Residents in towns across Aberdeenshire will be given the chance to directly comment on their town centres.
It’s what Aberdeenshire Council has described as “health checks” – to assess the town centres’ strengths, vitality and viability, weaknesses and resilience.
It means businesses and people living within the area will be able to directly comment on a number of aspects affecting their town centres – helping to build a clear picture of the “health” of a particular town.
It comes following the success of a trial in Inverurie which project lead Suzanne Rhind says provided the council with “a tremendous amount of useful data”.
Now, residents in Banchory, Banff, Ellon, Fraserburgh, Huntly, Peterhead, Stonehaven, Turriff and Macduff will have their say.
They’ll be able to share their opinions on the vibrancy, range of shops, services and opening hours within their towns.
Footfall will also be monitored in the survey of public opinions, which they hope will give an insight to the economic, social and environmental factors affecting the vitality of town centres.
The scheme was last undertaken in 2017, when 12 towns were analysed. Plans had been underway to revisit the project in 2020 but were delayed as a result of Covid-19.
If you visit any of the towns involved in the project to either shop, work or learn – you can participate by clicking here.
People are asked to take part for every town that plays a part in their life before the closing date on Friday, October 15.
Project lead Suzanne Rhind said: “The Inverurie pilot project has provided us with a tremendous amount of useful data and that has given us the confidence to proceed with the health checks in these nine towns.
“It is really important that every community use this opportunity to tell us how they feel about their town centre which will help us to better understand its needs and requirements and where change can be planned and developed in the future.
“Collaboration was a key part of the Inverurie pilot, adding a new dimension to the data collection.
“Moving forward to the other towns we will require every support from business and community groups and any help that can be given in sharing the surveys will lead to richer information being collected.”