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
- Axe Stores (this is a description not an instruction)
- The Scottish Diet and Retail Shops
- Twenty One Years of UK Grocery Market Share
- Discount Food Stores in the UK: Kwik Save and Shoprite
- Logistics and Retail Management 5th Edition
- How is Coronavirus affecting the UK's Retail Sector?
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Category Archives: Policy
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
1 Comment
Scottish Planner December 2020:A Future for Town & City Centres
A few months ago Craig McLaren (@RTPIScotland) asked me to contribute a short piece to a special issue of Scottish Planner. I readily agreed and am delighted that it has now been published. I cover the things you might expect … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Cities, Dumfries, Government, High Streets, Local Authorities, Place Standard, Places, Planning, Policy, Proactive Planning, Public Policy, Regeneration, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Scottish Planner, Simplified Planning Zones, Town & Country PLanning, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, town centre first, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, Fuiture Towns, High Streets, Planning, Scotland, Scottish Planner, TCAP Review, town centre first, Town Centres, Town Planning
1 Comment
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
2 Comments
The Future of Shopping Centres in Scotland’s Towns
There is no doubt that retailing is undergoing a major transformation. In popular press terms this is the ‘death of the high street’, a phrase which is wrong on so many levels; it is not the death and it is … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Government, High Streets, Kirkcaldy, Local Authorities, Malls, Paisley, Places, Policy, Public Realm, Regeneration, Retail Change, Retail Policy, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Shopping Centres, Spaces, Streetscapes, Sustainable Development, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, University of Stirling
Tagged DWF, Future, High Street, Local Authorities, Malls, Paisley, Retailing, Revo, Scotland's Towns, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Shopping Centres, Stockton
2 Comments
Policy Interventions for Healthier Diets: Insights from Scotland
Last week I was in Helsinki at the invitation of Hannu Saarijarvi to present two sessions to selected Finnish Ministries and to the S-Group. As noted before in this blog I have co-authored a book chapter with Hannu and Sonja … Continue reading
Posted in Consumer Lifestyle, Cooperatives, Diet and Health, Food Retailing, Food Standards, Government, Health, Healthcare Retail Standard, Healthy Living, Labelling, Legislation, Loyalty Schemes, Policy, Retail Policy, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland, Scottish Government, Social Inequality, Uncategorized, University of Stirling
Tagged Consumers, Diet, Finland, Food, Food Standards Scotland, Government, Health, Healthy Living, Policies, Promotions, Retailers, Scotland, Social Engineers, Tax
6 Comments
“We’re in the Money”
A couple of weeks have gone by since the notion of a merger of Asda and Sainsbury began to be debated in the media. During that time I wondered whether to add to the coverage via this blog or to … Continue reading
Posted in Asda, Booker, CMA, Competition and Markets Authority, Consumers, Food Retailing, Government, Mergers, Policy, Retail Change, Retailers, Retailing, Sainsbury, Store Closures, Suppliers, Tesco, Wal-Mart
Tagged Asda, Booker, CMA, Competition, FOI, Job Losses, Market share, Retail, Sainsbury, Store Closures, Tesco, Wal-Mart
4 Comments
Shops opening and expanding, queues outside: the High Street picture that’s not making the national news
I recently had an exchange with Iain Nicholson around media coverage of the high street. it followed my recent diatribe about data. I have known Iain for a few years and admired the work he has been doing in towns … Continue reading
Posted in Car Parking, Consumers, Creative Places, Government, High Streets, Independents, Local Retailers, Localisation, Oxfordshire, Places, Planning, Policy, Producers, Record stores, Retail Diversity, Retail Economy, Retailers, Small Shops, Small Towns, Spaces, town centre first, Town Centres, Towns, Vacancies
Tagged #indie, #morethanretail, Authors, Car Parking, Comics, Diversity, independents, Oxford Etsy, Oxfordshire, Planning, Positive Places, Rates, Records, Shops, town centre first, Town Centres, Town Teams, Vacancies
3 Comments
Trends in Retailing and Leisure in Scotland’s Towns and Cities
In late November a good audience gathered before breakfast in Glasgow for the Local Data Company/University of Stirling 5th Scottish Retail Summit, and heard presentations and discussions about trends in Scottish retailing and town centres. The infographic at the end … Continue reading
Posted in Community, Consumer Change, Convenience stores, Data, Food Retailing, High Streets, Institute for Retail Studies, Internet, Local Authorities, Local Data Company, Local Retailers, Places, Policy, Regeneration, Reinvention, Retail Planning, Retailers, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Retailing, Secondary Locations, Shopping Centres, Small Towns, Store Closures, Tourism, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Trends, University of Stirling, Vacancies
Tagged Co-operatives, Convenience, Data, High Streets, Institute for Retail Studies, Internet, Leisure, Local Data Company, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland's Towns, Tourism, towns, University of Stirling, Vacancy
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