Stone comments on collapsing building in Thurso – 'We have to get real about our town centres'

After yesterday's in which tons of masonry fell from a building onto Traill Street in Thurso, Jamie Stone commented on it as a symbol of town centre decline.

The centre of Thurso has been cordoned off after large sandstone blocks collapsed onto the road and pavement from the parapet of the former Clydesdale Bank building in the early hours.

The MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross“It’s a miracle that no one was injured or worse.

“In a way the image tells us a lot about the state of our town centres. A closed down bank branch which is no longer maintained to a safe standard – an elegant town building which would have been a source of civic pride in happier days.

“We have to get real about our town centres. Do we cherish them and encourage people to use them, or do we throw in the towel and accept the decline and decay?”

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