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
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Category Archives: Scotland
St James Quarter – curating and change
Last week saw the opening of parts of the St James Quarter in Edinburgh. Conceived a long time ago, and without any conception of the possibilities and impact of a global pandemic, the centre is in some ways of a … Continue reading
Posted in Aberdeen, BIDS, City Centres, Edinburgh, John Lewis Partnership, Pandemic, Retailers, Scotland, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scottish Retailing, Shopping Centres, St James Quarter, Uncategorized
Tagged Aberdeen, Aberdeen Inspired, BIDs, City Centres, Commuting, Edinburgh, John Lewis, Pandemic, Princes St, Retail Change, St James Quarter, Tourism
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Independent Retailing During and After the Pandemic: Tell your Stories
In my last post one of the statements that garnered quite a lot of attention was “As an example, I am hearing of (and locally seeing) quite a lot of local independent businesses opening up, and a better realism of … Continue reading
Posted in #IndieHour, Bill Grimsey, Collaboration, Community, Convenience, Entrepreneurship, Government, Independents, Local Retailers, Online Retailing, Pandemic, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Uncategorized, Wholesaling
Tagged #IndieHour, Community, Convenience, Covid-19, Grimsey, Independent Retailing, independents, Lockdown, Online retailing, Pandemic, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland Loves Local, technology, Wholesalers
2 Comments
“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
1 Comment
The Great Re-Awakening?
One week on from the first major easing of retail (and other) restrictions from the ‘Christmas’ lockdown in Scotland and everyone is wondering how it has been and how it is going? For some the sight of people queuing at … Continue reading
Posted in Amazon, Consumers, Covid19, Lockdown, Pandemic, Primark, Queuing, Retail Sales, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland, Scottish Retail Sales, Shopping, Uncategorized
Tagged Consumers, Covid-19, Lockdown, Primark, Queues, Retail Sales, Retailers, Scotland, Shopping
4 Comments
Locavore’s Bigger Plan
I am not sure when I first became aware of Locavore. It certainly was before they launched their Big Plan in 2015. I had a watching interest in the development of social and more sustainable retail food stores and supermarkets, … Continue reading
Posted in Community, Community Interest Company, Consumer Lifestyle, Crowdfunding, Employment practices, Ethics, Food, Food Retailing, Glasgow, Independents, Local Retailers, Localisation, Locavore, Lockdown, organic, Pandemic, Producers, Retail innovation, Retail leadership, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland Food and Drink, Scotland Loves Local, Scottish Local Retailer, Scottish Retailing, Social Change, Stirling, Supermarket, Suppliers, Supply Chains, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Uncategorized, Veg Boxes, Wages, Waste, Wholesaling
Tagged Carbon negative, Community Interest Company, Glasgow, Local, Local suppliers, Locavore, organic, Retail, Shops, Social impact, Social Supermarkets, Supply chains, Sustainability, Veg Boxes, Waste Reduction
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Ten years on stirlingretail.com
Ten years ago today (6th April 2011) I put up my very first post on this blog. My intention was really two fold. First I wanted to have a place to collect and publicise retail things so as to avoid … Continue reading
Posted in Academics, Consumer Change, Convenience, Convenience stores, High Streets, Internet, Internet shopping, Local Retailers, Market Shares, Mary Portas, Multichannel, Online Retailing, Red Tape, Regulation, Retail Change, Retail Sales, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Government, Scottish Grocers Federation, Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Retail Sales, Shopfronts, Stirling, Tesco, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Waitrose
Tagged British Retail Consortium, Convenience Retailing, High Streets, Historic Shops, Retail Sales, Retailing, Scotland, Stirling, Tesco, Town Centres, University of Stirling, Waitrose
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“If Not Now, When?” – the Social Renewal Advisory Board Report
The last ten month have been the strangest time; as we all recognise. Our experiences though have not all been the same. I am one of the fortunate ones; I can work from home and had a large garden to … Continue reading
Posted in Community, Covid19, Food, Government, Local Authorities, Pandemic, Places, Public Health, Scotland, Scottish Government, Towns, Uncategorized, Well being
Tagged Communities, Covid-19, Economy, Health, Local Authorities, Pandemic, People, Places, Poverty, Scotland, Scottish Government, Social Renewal, Society, towns, Wellbeing
4 Comments
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
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Convenience and Local Shop Retailing (and the new @Coopuk @StirUni)
On the 22nd October the Co-op opened its latest convenience store, at the heart of the University of Stirling. This was the first Co-op franchise in Scotland and is part of the growth of the Co-op and the convenience and … Continue reading
Posted in Association of Convenience Stores, ATMs, Community, Consumers, Convenience, Convenience stores, Cooperative Group, Cooperatives, Covid19, Entrepreneurship, Food Retailing, Independents, Local Retailers, Post Offices, Scotland, Scottish Grocers Federation, Scottish Local Retailer, Scottish Retailing, Self-checkout, Small Shops, Uncategorized, University of Stirling
Tagged Association of Convenience Stores, ATMs, Co-operative Group, Community, Consumers, Convenience stores, Covid19, Food retail, Home Delivery, Local Shop Report 2020, Post office, Scotland, Scottish Grocers Federation, Self-checkout, Store Openings, University of Stirling
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The Buttercup Dairy Company
One of the most enjoyable things about social media is the ease of connectivity to people, their work and interesting (well, to me) things. It really is so much more simpler and easier than decades ago. A good example of … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Books, Buttercup Dairy Company, Corporate History, Creative Places, Edinburgh, Food Retailing, Grocery, Heritage, Historic Shops, History, Retail Change, Retail History, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Shopfronts, Signage, Town Centres, Uncategorized, Urban History
Tagged Architecture, Buttercup Dairy Company, Customer service, Grocery, Heritage, Retail History, Shop Fronts, Shops, Tiles
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