Aberdeenshire Council has published the findings from a series of town centre health checks conducted across the region last year.

The health checks, conducted in 22 towns, assess factors such as vitality (how lively and busy a town centre is) and viability (its capacity to attract ongoing investment).

"Maintaining town centres' attractiveness, activeness and accessibility is therefore vital for the region to be able to continue to thrive," stated the council.

The health checks covered 10 main towns annually (Banchory, Banff, Ellon, Fraserburgh, Huntly, Inverurie, Macduff, Peterhead, Stonehaven, and Turriff), eight academy towns biennially (Aboyne, Alford, Kemnay, Laurencekirk, Mintlaw, Oldmeldrum, Portlethen, and Westhill), and four additional non-academy towns for the first time (Insch, Kintore, Newmachar, and Portsoy).

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The findings, presented in interactive Storymaps, will inform the council's development plans and decision-making on future planning applications.

"Regular health checks provide us with a meaningful local evidence base of the strengths and weaknesses of our town centres," said Paul Macari, Head of Planning and Economy. "It's heartening to see that out of the 18 towns which have been surveyed previously, 10 towns have a lower vacancy rate than when previously health checked."

The health checks will help the council to understand the factors that contribute to successful town centres and identify areas for improvement across the region.