Author: Leigh Sparks
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May 2021 – Journal Articles page updated with two new academic papers in Planning, Theory and Practice, and Sustainability, joining our Ageing & Society paper
March 2021 – Personal Biography redesigned and updated
January 2021 – Updates of Media Commentary and Journal Articles page structures
Top Posts & Pages
- Grocery Market Shares in the UK 2020
- Brexit isn't Delivering
- London's Welsh Dairies: The Welsh Milk Trade
- UK Grocery Market Share 1997-2019
- Scottish and Online Retail Sales in Lockdown
- Retail Disruptors - the spectacular rise and impact of the hard discounters
- Town Centres in Wales: Bounded Muscularity?
- Webinar: "A New Future for Scotland's Town Centres"
- Twenty One Years of UK Grocery Market Share
- Asa Briggs and Marks and Spencer
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Category Archives: Places
Scotland – The Recovery : A Turning or Tipping Point for Towns
Holyrood Events (@HolyroodEvents) have invited me to speak at a conference this week. As can be seen from the poster above, the conference is on “Scotland – The Recovery”. They have asked me to speak on the issue of towns … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Community, community wealth building, Covid19, Government, Healthy Living, Internet shopping, Local Authorities, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Online Retailing, Places, Recovery, Regeneration, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Social Inequality, Sustainability, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns
Tagged Covid-19, Holyrood, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Recovery, Retail, Scotland, Social Inequality, Sustainability, Taxation, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centres, towns
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Town Centres in Wales: Bounded Muscularity?
A few months ago I, together with Phil Prentice (STP), had a long discussion with representatives of Audit Wales around enhancing town centres. This came in the wake of the review I chaired, and the report I authored, for the … Continue reading
Posted in Car Parking, Government, High Streets, Out of Town, Places, Regeneration, Retail Change, Retail Policy, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Small Towns, Town Centre Action Plan, town centre first, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Understanding Scottish Places, Understanding Welsh Places, Wales
Tagged Audit Wales, Bridgend, Car Dependency, Foundation Economy Research, Non-domestic rates, Place, Regeneration, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Tax, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, towns, Understanding Scottish Places, Understanding Welsh Places, Wales
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The Great Tapestry of Scotland in Galashiels
A good few years ago, Anne Findlay and myself published a paper on the changing retail structure in the Borders using longitudinal data. We titled this ‘Weaving new retail and consumer structures in the Scottish Borders,’ reflecting the weaving history … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Community Assets, Culture, Cumbernauld, East Kilbride, Exhibitions, Great Tapestry of Scotland, High Streets, New Towns, Places, Regeneration, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Borders, Scottish Diaspora Tapestry, Streetscapes, Thomas Lipton, Town Centres, Towns
Tagged Cultural Assets, East Kilbride, Galashiels, Great Tapestry of Scotland, History, New Towns, Places, Scottish Borders, Scottish Diaspora Tapestry, Town Centres, Urban Change
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Conversation Piece: High-street strategy: recovery will take more than street parties and more bins
On the 15th July, the UK Government published its new high street strategy for England “Build Back Better: High Streets”. I was asked by The Conversation to prepare a peice about the strategy, its links to Covid recovery and its … Continue reading
Posted in community wealth building, Festivals, Government, High Streets, Independents, Local Retailers, Mary Portas, Permitted Development Rights, Places, Planning, Policy, Public Policy, Public Realm, Regeneration, Regulation, Retailers, Retailing, Streetscapes, Town Centres
Tagged Build Back Better, Business rates, Communities, community wealth building, High Streets, Independent Retailing, Permitted Development Rights, Retailing, The Conversation, Town Centres
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Scotland Loves Local: The Next Phase
As part of the response to the pandemic and the focus that has been turned onto neighbourhoods, localities and local businesses, the Scotland Loves Local campaign was launched in late July 2020. It proved to “hit the spot” with many … Continue reading
Posted in Community, community wealth building, Consumers, Gift Card, Government, Independents, Local Authorities, Local Currency, Local Multiplier, Local Retailers, Neighbourhood, Perth, Places, Retailers, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Shopping, Small Shops, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged Community, Covid-19, Gift Card, independents, Local Authorities, Local Business, Local Currency, Local Multiplier, Miconex, Neighbourhoods, Pandemic, Retailing, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Shopping, Town Centre Review, towns
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“Soaring Vacancies” : perhaps or perhaps not?
The end of last week saw headlines about the number of vacant shops in Scotland. Typical Scottish newspaper examples included: The Herald The Scotsman So, something of a downer to end the first week out of lockdown in Scotland and … Continue reading
Posted in BRC, Consumers, Covid19, Data, Independents, Local Data Company, Lockdown, Online Retailing, Pandemic, Places, Rates, Rents, Retail Change, Retailers, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Retailing, Shop Numbers, Shopping, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Vacancies
Tagged British Retail Consortium, Consumer Confidence, Consumers, Covid-19, Data, independents, Local Data Company, Lockdown, Pandemic, Retailing, Scotland, Shops, Vacancies
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The Place for Older Consumers
A few weeks ago I reflected on my academic article output for 2020 and the, to me at least, surprise that I had achieved seven outputs. I put this down to my co-authors, but did point out that this feat … Continue reading
Posted in Academics, Ageing, Community, HAGIS, Healthy Ageing, Healthy Living, High Streets, Internet, Internet shopping, Online Retailing, Places, Planning, Regeneration, Retailers, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Social Inequality, Town Centre Living, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Vibrancy
Tagged Ageing consumers, Ageing in place, Community, Ecommerce, HAGIS, He;althy Living, High Streets, Intergenerational, Older consumers, Online shopping, Planning, Retailing, Social Inequality, Social isolation, Town Centres
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Stopping Doing Harm to our Town Centres
The Town Centre Action Plan Report (A New Future for Scotland’s Towns) has three types of recommendations. Two of these are reasonably uncontroversial – planning, engaging more local people property and data on towns on the one hand and funding … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Emergency, Community, Government, High Streets, Housing, Internet, Local Authorities, Offices, Out of Town, Places, Property, Public Policy, Rates, Regeneration, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Social Inequality, Social Justice, Social Renewal, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged Business rates, Climate Emergency, Community, community wealth building, Housing, Local Authorities, Offices, Out of Town, Parking, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Social Renewal, Taxation, Town Centre Action plan, town centre first, Town Centre Review, Town Centres
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A New Future for Scotland’s Town Centres – (1) Introduction to our Report
This is the first of three linked posts on the Town Centre Action Plan Review Group Report (an introduction, summary of the review approach, recommendations). The full report and details of the Review Group, evidence submitted and heard and background … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Community, Community Assets, Government, High Streets, Places, Public Policy, Regeneration, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Social Inequality, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, town centre first, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged Communities, Community, COSLA, Digital, High Streets, Local Government, Out of Town, Place Principle, Planning, Scotland, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Taxation, Town Centre Action plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centre Review, Town Centres
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