However, the same shoppers also said that the town’s retail hubs can be dirty and said that there was a disappointing lack of variety in shops.

The statistics were revealed by a report commissioned by the Barrhead Business Improvement District’s (BID) steering group in an effort to gauge the shopping habits of people using Barrhead on a daily basis.

Overall, 96 per cent of the people who were asked said that Barrhead’s main shopping areas were very accessible, and also rated the town’s takeaway food highly at 96 per cent and the range of services such as dentists, doctors and specialists also rated highly.

But respondents slammed the range of shops, cleanliness and the over all appearance of the town centre.

A spokesperson for the BID said: “In June and July this year we asked ibp Strategy and Research to conduct independent surveys with both shoppers and businesses.

“This information will form the basis of the draft business plan for the town centre.” The town also scored highly for convenience, but some shoppers were left feeling unsafe by “undesirable” people loitering around Main Street and surrounding areas.

The report said: “The three best things about shopping and using the facilities and services in Barrhead as perceived by respondents are specific shops (71 per cent), the convenience of the local shops and services that they use (53 per cent) and specific facilities (35 per cent).

“Conversely, the three worst things about shopping or using the facilities and services in Barrhead as perceived by respondents are the range and type of shops and services (47 per cent), undesirable people and feeling of safety (47 per cent) and this is followed to a much lesser extent by environmental issues (13 per cent).” Car parking has been a major bone of contention for shoppers and businesses alike, with BID steering group chairman Paul Santi speaking out against the restriction of parking on the Main Street.

However the report found that while many car drivers were unhappy with the parking facilities available, there was an overall positive reaction from people polled.

The report continued: “All methods of travel used by respondents to travel to Barrhead were rated positively by the majority, although ratings were notably lower amongst those that travelled to Barrhead by car, either as the driver (63 per cent rate as good or very good) or as a passenger (75 per cent).

“57 per cent of respondents that travelled to Barrhead by car said that they found it easy or very easy to find a parking space while 32 per cent found it hard or very hard.

“It is reasonable to assume that this may be a significant factor in the low ratings accorded to travelling to Barrhead by car.” It was also found that a higher number of people walked to shopping area in Barrhead than drove.