The award-winning SPECTRA, Scotland's Festival of Light, held in February. Image by Ian Georgeson
Business toolkit – creating a more resilient city centre
The Business Toolkit is a resource for the local business and entrepreneurial community in Aberdeen, devised to signpost resources, guidance and opportunities to support and foster resilience and adaptability in Aberdeen City centre. This resource supports best practice, knowledge sharing and networking, as well as offering a proactive approach to the challenges and opportunities of a changing high street.
High streets across the UK continue to see several factors influencing changing high streets and Aberdeen is no different. Shifts in consumer behaviour, continued pandemic recovery and rising energy and living costs have all impacted why and how often people visit their local high street. This toolkit offers some options as to how high street businesses might adapt and diversify in line with this transformation of consumer habits.
It is increasingly recognised that an evolving and future-proofed high street needs to attract new footfall and cater for more audiences. A mix of high street functions to include retail, hospitality, culture, leisure, work, green spaces and residential, with each prioritising an experiential offering, is required to deliver a truly vibrant high street which attracts locals, visitors, residents and tourists again and again. Embedding local businesses at the heart of the city centre contributes to the sense of place and creates a cornerstone for our city centre economy and local communities. The Council’s City Centre and Beach Masterplan and Union Street Empty Shops Action Plan both align with these goals and set out how they can help.
The Business Toolkit will be an evolving resource and updated through continued continued collaboration with city centre businesses, networks, and partners to support city centre regeneration, revitalisation and resilience. If there is specific resource or training you would like to see offered as part of the Toolkit, please complete our questionnaire.