I’ve just been looking at the latest figures on the economic impact of the Silverburn shopping centre in Glasgow and I’m remembering a trip I did there with Mrs Stewart, Mrs Gladstone and Mrs Grant. Mrs Stewart, Mrs Gladstone and Mrs Grant worked in shops during the heyday of British retail, at some of Glasgow’s most celebrated – now disappeared – stores, and I went to Silverburn with them and asked them what they thought of it. They had strong opinions, which isn’t surprising: when the bright, shining out-of-town beacons of shopping such as Silverburn opened, things were never quite the same again.

The figures are impressive: according to analysis by the economic consultants EY, in 2025 Silverburn generated £414million of economic activity. The EY report says that not only does the centre support 8,713 direct and indirect jobs, every £1 spent generates a further £5.70 of economic activity and EY says the figures reinforce the role of Silverburn as a regional economic engine for West Central Scotland. The owners, Eurofund Group and Henderson Park, say they’ve been able to unlock economic benefits for the wider Glasgow area, support thousands of jobs and generate hundreds of millions of pounds of activity across the country.

The last few months would appear to back them up. New retailers have been moving into the centre, including Space NK, Stradivarius and Oliver Bonas, bringing it close to full occupancy at a time when physical shopping is still a challenge. According to the most recent figures, footfall is also good: there were 16.5 million visits in 2025, making it the centre’s busiest ever year. As for indirect effects, plans were announced this month for 140 new houses near Silverburn; the plans are from Persimmon, who’ve already built 500 homes in the area since 2016.

All of this is undoubtedly a success for Silverburn, but five miles down the road, it’s another story: much of Glasgow city centre is tatty and half-empty, which raises the........

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