Category Archives: town centre first

Scotland’s Towns – a decade of learning (hopefully)

Posted on April 3, 2019 by

As this post is published (3 April) I am presenting at an event held to formally launch Scotland’s Town Centre Boost Fund of £50m. The Town Centre Fund has been set up by Scottish Government and COSLA and aims “to … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, High Streets, Place Standard, Places, Regeneration, Retail Change, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Town Centre Action Plan, town centre first, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Understanding Welsh Places, USP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

An Aide-Memoire for Towns

Posted on February 26, 2019 by

Guest Blog by Matthew Hopkinson In December 2018 I decided that to try to help Towns better understand the challenges they face; there should be something that could be an easy reference document. This came about from completing day one … Continue reading →

Posted in High Streets, Places, Planning, Public Realm, Scotland's Towns Partnership, town centre first, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shops opening and expanding, queues outside: the High Street picture that’s not making the national news

Posted on May 9, 2018 by

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Unlocking the Potential of Scotland’s Towns

Posted on November 15, 2016 by

For most in Scotland, November 9th will probably be recalled as the day President Trump became a reality.  The irony that that day was the 27th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall will not be lost on some … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Creative Places, Digital, Fife, Government, High Streets, Places, Planning, Proactive Planning, Regeneration, Retail Change, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Small Towns, Town Centre Action Plan, town centre first, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, WTLS16 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From the Scottish Government’s National Review of Town Centres to the World Towns Summit

Posted on August 16, 2016 by

Downloadable versions of this post are available here (word) and here (pdf). The attraction of many international delegates to the inaugural World Towns Summit in Edinburgh in June 2016 was eloquent testimony to the perception that Scotland has led the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bids Scotland, Charrettes, Community, Cross Party Group, Development Trusts, Government, High Streets, Place Standard, Places, Planning, Policy, Proactive Planning, Regeneration, Retail Change, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Town Centre Action Plan, town centre first, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Understanding Scottish Places, USP, World Towns Framework, WTLS16 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments