Author: Leigh Sparks
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April 2022 -new journal article published (Journal Articles page) on Twenty-One Years of Going Shopping and Marketing History
January 2022 – removal of some redundant pages, reordering of some material, the addition of some new pages (under Commentaries), and some changes to some of the text throughout
Top Posts & Pages
- Shopping: the cost of living crisis - Q&A with The Conversation
- London's Welsh Dairies: The Welsh Milk Trade
- UK Grocery Market Share 1997-2019
- A Retail Strategy for Scotland
- Co-operative Tokens, Sports Direct and The Bristol Pound
- Departing Stores and Place Vandalism
- Twenty One Years of UK Grocery Market Share
- Grocery Market Shares in the UK 2020
- The Great Tapestry of Scotland in Galashiels
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Category Archives: BIDS
The Retail Strategy for Scotland – Launch Day Questions to the Minister
As noted in my previous post, on the 24th March the Scottish Government published its Retail Strategy for Scotland and the Minister Tom Arthur MSP launched it in Parliament that afternoon. The Strategy can be downloaded here and the Ministerial … Continue reading
Posted in BIDS, Bids Scotland, Consumer Change, High Streets, Independents, Local Authorities, Local Retailers, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Places, Public Policy, Retail Change, Retail leadership, Retail Policy, Retail Productivity, Retail Strategy, Retailers, Scotland, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Small Shops, Strategy, Town Centres, Towns
Tagged BIDs, Business rates, Independent Retailing, Non-domestic rates, Places, Productivity, Retail Strategy, Retailing, Scotland, Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament, Small Retailers, towns
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Stirling – all at C
It is probably time for my regular reminder that this blog expresses my personal and professional opinion. It does not necessarily reflect the official views of any organisation that employs me or with which I am associated. On Wednesday 19th … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Asda, BIDS, City Centres, Food Retailing, Governance, Government, Land Use Planning, Local Authorities, New Future for Scotland's Towns, NPF4, Place Principle, Places, Planning, Politicians, Retail Planning, Retail Policy, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Sustainable Development, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, town centre first, Town Centre Review, Town Centres
Tagged 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, A New Future for Scotland's Towns, Business Improvement Districts, Climate Emergency, NPF4, Out of town retailing, Place Principle, Planning, Retail Impact Assessments, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Sequential Test, Stirling, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, town centre first
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St James Quarter – curating and change
Last week saw the opening of parts of the St James Quarter in Edinburgh. Conceived a long time ago, and without any conception of the possibilities and impact of a global pandemic, the centre is in some ways of a … Continue reading
Posted in Aberdeen, BIDS, City Centres, Edinburgh, John Lewis Partnership, Pandemic, Retailers, Scotland, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scottish Retailing, Shopping Centres, St James Quarter, Uncategorized
Tagged Aberdeen, Aberdeen Inspired, BIDs, City Centres, Commuting, Edinburgh, John Lewis, Pandemic, Princes St, Retail Change, St James Quarter, Tourism
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Scotland’s Towns Conference 2019
One of the now established features of Scotland’s Towns Partnership and Scotland’s Towns Week is the Annual Conference. For many years it has been located in the Central Belt, but for 2019 it relocated to Aberdeen. There are many good … Continue reading
Posted in Aberdeen, Amsterdam, BIDS, Bids Scotland, Consumer Change, Cork, Creative Places, Development Trusts, Healthy Ageing, High Streets, Local Authorities, Localisation, Place Standard, Places, Policy, Public Realm, Retail Change, Retail Policy, Retailers, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Small Towns, Streetscapes, Town Centre Action Plan, town centre first, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Urban
Tagged Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Bids Scotland, Cork, Healthy Places, Localisation, Place Standard, Places, Planning, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Towns, Scotland's Towns Conference, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scotland's Towns Week
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Towns and Town Centres in Scotland: reflections six years on from Fraser
I was recently asked to do a 10 minute reflection on the state of towns and town centres in Scotland and the work that has derived from the Fraser Review (the National Review of Town Centres) and from Scotland’s Towns Partnership. … Continue reading
Posted in BIDS, Bids Scotland, Consumer Change, Consumer Lifestyle, Creative Places, Development Trusts, Government, High Streets, Internet shopping, Local Authorities, Mary Portas, Online Retailing, Place Standard, Places, Planning, Policy, Rates, Regeneration, Reinvention, Rents, Retail Change, Retail Policy, Retailers, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Tax, TCRF, Town Centre Action Plan, town centre first, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Understanding Scottish Places
Tagged Digital tax, Fraser review, Place Standard, Portas, Rates, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Town Centre Action plan, Town Centre Review, Understanding Scottish Places, VAT
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“Destination High Street – Restoring Vibrancy to Scotland’s Towns”
The invitation from the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS) and the Scottish Civic Trust was to present a keynote address to their conference on ‘Destination High Street’. As both Professor of Retail Studies and Chair, Scotland’s Towns Partnership I … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, BIDS, Buildings, Community, Community Development, Consumer Change, Consumer Lifestyle, Creative Places, Design, Development Trusts, Environmental Quality, Government, High Streets, Historic Shops, Internet shopping, Local Retailers, Online Retailing, Places, Public Realm, Rates, Retail Change, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Small Towns, Social Inequality, Streets, Streetscapes, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Understanding Scottish Places, Urban
Tagged Community, Consumers, Digital, Heritage, High Street, National Review of Town Centres, Places, Rates, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland's Town Centres, Scotland's Towns, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Tax, Town Centres, Understanding Scottish Places
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Trading Places: our Town and Country Planning Columns
In 2012 Anne Findlay and I attempted to take over from Professor Cliff Guy who had provided the Trading Places columns in Town and Country Planning for 12 years. In the subsequent 6 years we have produced 23 columns, but … Continue reading
Posted in Academics, Alcohol, BIDS, Bill Grimsey, Bookmakers, Consumer Change, Consumers, Farm Shops, Food Retailing, Government, High Streets, Internet shopping, Mary Portas, Places, Planning, Pop-Up Shops, Proactive Planning, Rates, Resilience, Retail Change, Retail Parks, Retail Planning, Retail Policy, Social Inequality, Town & Country PLanning, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Uncategorized
Tagged BIDs, Bookmakers, Business rates, Consumer change, Farm Shops, High Streets, Obesity, Planning, Pop-Up Shops, Rates, Retail, Retail Change, retail parks, Retail Planning, TCPA, Town and Country Planning, Town Centres
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World Towns Leadership Summit 2016
The next two days will see almost 200 delegates from across the world and the UK assemble in Edinburgh for the inaugural World Towns Leadership Summit. Stemming from an initial idea from the International Downtown Association, picked up by the … Continue reading
Posted in ATCM, BIDS, Bids Scotland, Downtown, Government, IDA, Leadership, Places, Policy, Public Realm, Relationships, Scotland, Scottish Government, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Urban, World Towns Agreement, WTLS16
Tagged Edinburgh, Places, Scotland, Scotland's Towns Partnership, towns, Urban, World Towns Agreement, World Towns Leadership Summit
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East Kilbride and the Forth Road Bridge
Yes, I was a geographer, and I am fully aware that the Forth Road Bridge does not go through East Kilbride! Most recently of course the Forth Road Bridge has not been connecting anything or anywhere. Without belittling the impact … Continue reading
Posted in BIDS, Can Do Towns, Carnegie UK Trust, Closure, Consumer Choice, East Kilbride, Fife, Forth Road Bridge, Local Retailers, New Towns, Places, Relationships, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Towns
Tagged BIDs, East Kilbride, Fife, Forth Road Bridge, History, Local Retailing, New Towns, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Town Centre Action plan, towns
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