Category Archives: New Future for Scotland's Towns

Scotland’s Approach to Towns and Town Centres

In 2016 for the World Towns Summit in Edinburgh I attempted to summarise what had set Scotland apart on its approach to towns and town centres. Much has changed in the intervening seven years, and I thought it time to … Continue reading

Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Brexit, Community, community wealth building, Cross Party Group, Government, High Streets, Ireland, Local Authorities, New Future for Scotland's Towns, NPF4, Place Based Investment Programme, Place Principle, Place Standard, Places, Planning, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Town Centre Action Plan, town centre first, Town Centres, Towns, Understanding Scottish Places | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Towns, High Streets, Resilience and Place Governance

I was very pleased to be invited to speak (Trans Pennine Express willing) at the Institute of Place Management Conference being held in Manchester on the 19th and 20th April. My presentation is on the 20th and so today, as … Continue reading

Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, BIDS, Car Dependency, Car Use Reduction, community wealth building, Governance, Government, High Streets, Internet shopping, Local Authorities, Manchester, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Non-domestic rates, Online Retailing, Out of Town, Places, Retailers, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Social Renewal, Town Centres, Towns | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Walking the Talk: Town Centres and Retailing in a Car-dominated Economy

Today (March 7th), I am presenting at a Living Streets Seminar.  I was asked to talk about retailing in car-dominated places and what follows is a summary of sorts (and the overheads) of my presentation. In responses to the climate … Continue reading

Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Active travel, Car Dependency, Car Parking, Car Use Reduction, Community, community wealth building, Consumers, Just Transition, Local Retailers, Neighbourhood, New Future for Scotland's Towns, NPF4, Places, Retail Change, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Retailing, Stirling Council, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2022: the stirlingretail.com year in retrospect

This time of the year I normally produce my last post and look back at the activity on the blog during the calendar year. My reviews for 2020 and 2021 covered the two years with the most visitors the site … Continue reading

Posted in 1977, Bristol Pound, Cooperative Tokens, Department Stores, Food Retailing, Grocery, Local Authorities, Market Shares, MIlk, New Future for Scotland's Towns, NPF4, Places, Planning, Retail Change, Retail History, Retail Strategy, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Stirling, Stirling Council, Tesco, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Urban History, Who Owns Scotland? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Season’s Greetings 2022

As Chair of Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP) I get to put a Christmas message in the final bulletin of the year which goes out to members. This is an appropriate opportunity to reflect briefly on the last year generally and for STP … Continue reading

Posted in Bids Scotland, Christmas, Local Authorities, New Future for Scotland's Towns, NPF4, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Town Centres, Towns | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Who Owns Scotland’s Towns, High Streets and Shopping Centres?

One of the issues raised in the recent report by the Economy and Fair Work Committee of the Scottish Parliament concerned the lack of transparency over the ownership of much of the property in Scotland. I noted this in the … Continue reading

Posted in Community Ownership, Dumfries, Government, High Streets, Landlords, Legislation, Local Authorities, Midsteeple Quarter, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Out of Town, Place Based Investment Programme, Retail Change, Retailers, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Shopping Centres, Streets, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Urban, Vacancies, Who Owns Scotland? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

An Inquiry into Retail and Town Centres in Scotland

In January 2022 the Economy and Fair Work Committee of the Scottish Parliament began its preparation and work into its “Inquiry into Retail and Town Centres in Scotland”.  As this blog has covered before, I gave evidence to the Inquiry … Continue reading

Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Barclay Review, BIDS, High Streets, Local Authorities, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Non-domestic rates, Out of Town, Place Based Investment Programme, Place Principle, Retail Change, Retail Strategy, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan, town centre first, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Out-of-Town Retailing: National Planning Framework (NPF) 4 and Stirling (again)

The 8th November saw the publication of the revised National Planning Framework 4 – the national spatial and planning strategy for Scotland. It will now be the subject of further parliamentary discussion before hopefully being approved. This revision is the … Continue reading

Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Asda, City Centres, Climate Emergency, Food Retailing, Land Use Planning, Local Authorities, New Future for Scotland's Towns, NPF4, Out of Town, Place Principle, Retail Impact Assessments, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Government, Sequential Approach, Spatial Planning, Stirling, Stirling Council, Town Centre Action Plan, town centre first, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Scotland’s Towns Conference 2022

Three long years after the last such event, we were finally able to host Scotland’s Towns Conference in person. On Wednesday 16th November a sell-out crowd of over 220 people made their way to the impressive Centrestage in Kilmarnock (Scotland’s … Continue reading

Posted in Community, Community Assets, community wealth building, Creative Places, Digital, High Streets, Land Use Planning, Local Authorities, New Future for Scotland's Towns, NPF4, Places, Retail Change, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Streets, Streetscapes, town centre first, Town Centre Living, Town Centres, Towns | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Retailing, Towns and Healthy Ageing

Today (27th October), the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC-UK) and the University of Stirling are hosting an (online and physical) event on “How can retailers keep us healthy?” with an emphasis on Spending with Dementia – making the high streets … Continue reading

Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Consumer Change, Consumers, Cost of Living, Covid19, Diaries, Health, Healthy Ageing, Healthy Living, High Streets, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Places, Retail Change, Retail Policy, Retailers, Retailing, Shopping, Town Centres, Towns | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments