Author: Leigh Sparks
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March 2021 – Personal Biography redesigned and updated
January 2021 – Updates of Media Commentary and Journal Articles page structures
October 2020 – Additions of recent articles in Social Science & Medicine and Marketing Theory to the Journal Article section
Top Posts & Pages
- Locavore's Bigger Plan
- Grocery Market Shares in the UK 2020
- Screen Time? Cinemas and Town Centres
- Aberdeen, No More?
- Media Commentary 2016
- Media Commentary 2021
- Twenty One Years of UK Grocery Market Share
- Ten years on stirlingretail.com
- Journal Articles 2021
- Town & Country Planning Journal (Trading Places Columns) 2012-2018
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Category Archives: Rates
Aberdeen, No More?
The Covid pandemic has hit retailing hard. Government support (though important) has in no way matched the lost sales and business. Previous trends have been accelerated, most notably in terms of online sales. Retailers of all shapes and sizes have … Continue reading
Posted in 1960s, Aberdeen, Architecture, Bids Scotland, Buildings, City Centres, Closure, Consumers, Cooperatives, Covid19, Department Stores, Internet shopping, John Lewis Partnership, Lockdown, Norco, Online Retailing, Pandemic, Rates, Regulation, Rents, Retail Change, Retail Sales, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Shopping, Social value, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Waitrose
Tagged Aberdeen, Architecture, Brutalism, Business Improvement Districts, City Centres, Consumers, Covid-19, Department Stores, John Lewis, John Lewis Partnership, Norco, Online sales, Retail costs, Retailing, Scotland's Towns, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group
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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 – (2) Summary of our Approach
This is the second 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, Government, Local Authorities, Places, Planning, Public Policy, Rates, Regeneration, Scotland's Town and High Streets, 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 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, Business rates, Community, community wealth building, Places, Planning, Scotland, Scottish Government, Social Inequality, Social Renewal, Tax, Town Centre Action plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, town centre first, Town Centre Review, Town Centres
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A New Future for Scotland’s Towns – (3) Recommendations
This is the third 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, Citizens, Community, Community Assets, Community Development, Community Ownership, Creative Places, Development Trusts, Entrepreneurship, Governance, Government, High Streets, Housing, Independents, Internet, Leadership, Local Authorities, Local Retailers, Places, Proactive Planning, Rates, Regeneration, Retail Policy, Retailing, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Social Inequality, Social Justice, Tax, 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 Active travel, Car Parking, Climate Emergency, Community, Digital, Entrepreneurship, High Streets, Local Government, Out of town impacts, Planning, Rates, Scotland, Social Inequality, Social Renewal, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centre Review, Town Centrres, towns
6 Comments
What Should We Value about Retailing and Towns and What Should We Do About Them?
Apologies, this took a little longer and got a bit lengthier than I originally intended. “If they look beyond heroic individualism and accept that individuals exist in a network of social bonds and obligations, we might just see a … Continue reading
Posted in Community, Consumer Change, Consumers, Employment, Food, Food Banks, Food Retailing, Government, Grocery, Health, Healthy Living, High Streets, Independents, Leadership, Local Retailers, Non-food retailing, Places, Proactive Planning, Rates, Reinvention, Retail Change, Retail Planning, Retailing, Scottish Government, Shopping, Spaces, Streets, Streetscapes, Supply Chains, Tax, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Urban
Tagged Community, Food Banks, Food retailing, Government, Health and wellbeing, High Streets, Local, Non-food retailing, Out of town retailing, Places, Retailing, Sustainability, Taxation, Town Centres, towns
7 Comments
Retail Armageddon or Reinvention?
On the 3rd March, the University of Stirling, the Stirling Management School and the Institute for Retail Studies were very pleased to host the Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, Helen Dickinson, OBE. In front of an audience of … Continue reading
Posted in Accounting, BRC, Brexit, Consumer Change, Employees, Government, Institute for Retail Studies, Internet shopping, Legislation, Local Retailers, Online Retailing, Rates, Regeneration, Regulation, Reinvention, Retail brands, Retail Change, Retail Policy, Scottish Government, Scottish Grocers Federation, Scottish Retailing, Small Shops, Technology, Uncategorized, University of Stirling
Tagged Apprenticeships, Brexit, British Retail Consortium, Circular Economy, e-commerce, Institute for Retail Studies, Lily Blanche, Online retailing, Rates, Retail Crime, Retail Futures, Retail Reinvention, Retail Skills, Schuh, Scottish Grocers Federation, Tartan Twist, technology, University of Stirling, Wilkies
5 Comments
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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Landlords vs Retailers or Zombies vs Aliens?
There are not many reasons for feeling sorry for Philip Green (see my earlier blogs here here and here and those were before the latest American and other revelations), but the fact that he is in such a weakened state … Continue reading
Posted in Advertising, Arcadia, Closure, CVA, Inter-depenendencies, Landlords, management, Philip Green, Property, Rates, Rents, Retail Change, Store Closures, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged Advertising, Arcadia, CVA, Edinburgh Woollen Mill, failure, Landlords, Leases, Philip Green, Property, Rent, Retailing, Sale
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