Category Archives: Bill Grimsey

Scotland’s Town Centre Action Plan Review

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Leigh Sparks

On 1st July 2020, it was announced that an Expert Review Group had been formed by the Scottish Government to undertake an appraisal of the Town Centre Action Plan published in 2013 as a response to the National Review of … Continue reading →

Posted in Barclay Review, BIDS, Bids Scotland, Bill Grimsey, Community, Consumer Change, Consumer Lifestyle, Consumers, Government, Health, Internet shopping, Local Retailers, Public Realm, Retail Change, Retailers, Scotland, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Shopping, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, town centre first, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Understanding Scottish Places | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Build Back Better: Bill Grimsey and Covid

Posted on July 16, 2020 by Leigh Sparks

When Mary Portas produced her report for the UK Government on high streets, Bill Grimsey was quick to posit an alternative and to focus on leadership and technology for places.  His report and its follow-up a few years later have … Continue reading →

Posted in Bill Grimsey, CLES, Community, Consumers, Covid19, Government, High Streets, Leadership, Local Authorities, Mary Portas, Places, Proactive Planning, Public Policy, Regulation, Reinvention, Retail Change, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Social Justice, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Trading Places: our Town and Country Planning Columns

Posted on August 8, 2018 by Leigh Sparks

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Putting Towns on the Policy Map: Understanding Scottish Places (USP) and Data

Posted on August 2, 2018 by Leigh Sparks

As an academic, I probably have an irrational interest in data.  To a great extent it is academic life-blood and I seem to have spent a lot of my adult life either obsessing or arguing over it.  It therefore really … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Bill Grimsey, Consumer Change, Data, High Streets, Internet shopping, Large Store Levy, Leadership, Local Authorities, Online Retailing, Rates, Retail Change, Retailers, Sales, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Retailing, Shop Numbers, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Understanding Scottish Places | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Wrong Vocabulary?

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Leigh Sparks

One of the recurring themes within this blog, and some of the writings and papers it has reported on, is the inexactitude of many of the terms and concepts that we use in discussing retail change. Going beyond that, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Bill Grimsey, Community, ESRC, High Streets, Local Data Company, Mary Portas, PhD, Places, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Vacancies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Turmoil at Tesco

Posted on September 30, 2014 by Leigh Sparks

Wow, Just Wow. It is almost beyond belief, and there may be more to come yet. I’ve written about the trials and tribulations of Tesco before (here and here for example), but have generally taken the view that a crisis … Continue reading →

Posted in Bill Grimsey, Competition, Food Retailing, Hypermarkets, Market Shares, Online Retailing, Profits, Tesco | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

Re-imagining the High Street with Technology

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Leigh Sparks

The Grimsey Review of 2013 very strongly made the case that the high street of the future (or indeed of the present) has to embrace the digital world into which many of us have increasingly moved. As technology and consumers … Continue reading →

Posted in Bill Grimsey, Car Parking, High Streets, Independents, Loyalty, Multichannel, Online Retailing, Regeneration, Technology, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Government Speaks, and …

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Leigh Sparks

Last Thursday, all eyes turned to Kilmarnock as Derek Mackay launched the Scottish Government’s response to the Fraser Review (the National Review of Town Centres). The response, with its 37 actions, had been eagerly awaited over the Autumn, and now … Continue reading →

Posted in Bill Grimsey, Government, High Streets, Places, Rates, Regulation, Retail Policy, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Town Centre Review, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Retailing, High Streets, Town Centres and Stirling

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Leigh Sparks

I don’t often get to watch much daytime TV, especially at work, but that’s another thing the internet is transforming. The ability to stream TV direct to my desktop has opened up new panoramas (and I don’t mean Jeremy Kyle, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bill Grimsey, Consumers, Government, High Streets, Internet, Mary Portas, Places, Stirling, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Levy, Some Rates and the Grimsey Report

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Leigh Sparks

I quite enjoy the flight to Singapore (which is where I was much of last week) as it gives me time to read and catch up on a few things; once I’ve landed things get more hectic with wall to … Continue reading →

Posted in Banks, Bill Grimsey, Government, High Streets, Mary Portas, Property, Rates, Tax, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment