We went to Castle Douglas on Saturday morning, and what a contrast to Dumfries! They may not have the big name shops like New Look, Next, M&S, Watersons, WH Smith etc. (although they do have a Wilkinsons, how I’d love to see them move into the old Woolworths!), but neither do they have the rows of empty shops which are now such a feature of Dumfries High Street. I don’t remember seeing one empty unit in a High Street filled mainly with local shops, but with an excellent variety to choose from. Contrast that to the run up from Bank Street to the Midsteeple, which you’d think would be prime Dumfries Real Estate, but which now features 4 empty shops, or the once vibrant area around Woolworths with about as many, and maybe it’s time Dumfries thought about dropping their rates and encouraging some local shops back into the town center?