Fife town ‘best in UK’ as number of vacant businesses cut by more than half

Cupar town centre with its historic buildings (Photo by Dave Scott)

A Fife town has cut the number of empty business units by more than half - a success hailed as “ground breaking” and possibly the best in the UK.

The accolades went to Cupar where vacancy rates dropped from 18.2% in 2019 to just 7.6% last year. It is believed to be the biggest drop of any town in Scotland, if not the UK.

Jim Hair, who chairs ABCD, the town’s business association, said the figures sent “a very positive message to all businesses - especially to those looking to invest in our vibrant 21st century market town.”

Cupar was recently featured on BBC’s My Kinda Town programme, and one of the reasons was because it is home to Scotland’s only digital improvement district, CuparNow, whose various platforms show the town’s active community and vibrant businesses.

The digital improvement district was created in 2018 as a demonstration project and was formally launched the following year.

Bill Pagan, who chairs the town’s Development Trust, said: “A critical part of CuparNow's remit has been to show how managed, integrated digital communication and support services enable new, strategic collaborations and improve digital participation and skills. There can be no doubt CuparNow has delivered on these fronts and the day-to-day engagement with their 80,000-strong digital audience is helping to deliver sustainable economic benefits.”

The latest data, published by Experian GOAD, showed Cupar is outperforming every other location in Fife with the largest percentage drop over the last three years. Through the same period, Anstruther, Glenrothes and St Andrews - together with Dunfermline and Inverkeithing - all saw the proportion of vacant units rise.

Councillor, Margaret Kennedy, who sits on the CuparNow steering group, adds: “Throughout the last three years, including all lockdowns and their resulting restrictions, CuparNow’s services were delivered day by day – uninterrupted. Although we remain in very uncertain times, it is clear CuparNow’s daily support for the town’s businesses and wider community is delivering a very positive impact.”

CuparNow is hosting an open day on Wednesday, March 1 at Castlehill Community Centre in Cupar to share more on what has been delivered in the last 12 months as well as plans for the year ahead.

Simon Baldwin of Destination Digital, the company which delivers the initiative, said: “We have a five-year term to deliver what we promised from the outset. Three years in, we are creating and supporting strategic collaborations that are improving digital participation. More than 35% of the town’s population follows our Facebook page alone.

“The news on declining vacancy rates is very welcome and builds on other property-related successes including Cupar being listed as the most sought-after location for rural living in Scotland.”