‘Skint’ Carluke claim is a slur on town with a heart

The counter-attack from those fighting to revive the town’s economy and morale came following the issuing of the findings of a new survey showing only four other Scottish towns – Kilbirnie, Clydebank, Gorebridge and Alness – had worse records for insolvencies; the only other Lanarkshire town in its bottom ten for cash problems was Larkhall, in tenth place.

The statistics, compiled by the debt help website Scotland Debt Solutions, claim to illustrate that it is Scotland’s smaller rural towns rather than its cities which have the highest proportion of folk and businesses with money worries.

Carluke has just won accreditation as a government-backed BID (Business Improvement District) area, and the vice-chairman of the group which won the town that status, Martin Hannah, slammed the report for being damagingly misleading.

He spoke of the town’s tenacious determination, and its heart.

For full story, pick up a copy of this week’s Carluke and Lanark Gazette.