Author: Leigh Sparks
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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
- Reclaim the High Street - Midsteeple Quarter, Dumfries Crowdfunder
- Grocery Market Shares in the UK 2020
- "If Not Now, When?" - the Social Renewal Advisory Board Report
- Co-operative Tokens, Sports Direct and The Bristol Pound
- About Leigh Sparks and this Blog
- The Buttercup Dairy Company
- Goodbye 2020 - Hello 2021 and beyond
- Scottish Planner December 2020:A Future for Town & City Centres
- National Retail Planning Forum Papers
- 2020 on the Blog – a reflection
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Category Archives: Town Centres
Reclaim the High Street – Midsteeple Quarter, Dumfries Crowdfunder
Community ownership of assets breathing new life into centres across Scotland has been a theme, and a success of recent years. There is still much more to be done, and it needs to be made easier and simpler, but we … Continue reading
Posted in Carnegie UK Trust, Community, Community Assets, Community Ownership, Development Trusts, Dumfries, Local Authorities, Midsteeple Quarter, Places, Regeneration, Reinvention, Resilience, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Planner, Small Shops, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged Buildings, Community Assets, Community owernship, Crowdfunder, Dumfries, High Street, Midsteeple Quarter, Redevelopment, town centre
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2020 on the Blog – a reflection
Stirlingretail.com began in 2011. It was born out of a desire to provide a home for common questions about Scottish retailing and a space for me to make comments and cite some evidence and stuff, so as to save me … Continue reading
Posted in 2020, Armageddon, BRC, Bristol Pound, Competition, Consumer Change, Cooperative Tokens, Cooperatives, Covid19, Food Retailing, Grocery, Historic Shops, Lockdown, Market Shares, Non-Essential Retailing, Places, Reinvention, Retail Change, Retail Economy, Retail Failure, Retail History, Retailers, Retailing, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged 2020 Retail, Covid-19, Footfall, Lockdowns, Pandemic, Retail History, Retailing, Review, Shopping, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, towns, UK Grocery market
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
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The Architecture of England’s Co-operative Movement
Over two and a half years ago I attended a seminar at the Engine Shed in Stirling called ‘Talking Shops’ and my blog discussion of the event can be found here. In that post I noted the presentation by Lynn … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Art Deco, Buildings, Community, Cooperative Group, Cooperatives, Corporate branding, Corporate History, Department Stores, Design, Historic Shops, History, Hull, Localisation, Places, Retail Change, Retailers, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Urban History
Tagged Architecture, Book, Buildings, Co-operatives, Community, Design, Historic England, Historic Shops, History, Retailing, Ships in the Sky, Talking Shops
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COVID-19: How Scotland’s Improvement Districts are supporting businesses and communities
In any normal year, we would be meeting at this time in Holyrood for the Annual Parliamentary Reception for the Cross Party Group on Towns and Town Centres. This of course is no normal year. The event is instead being … Continue reading
Posted in Bids Scotland, Covid19, Cross Party Group, Government, Local Authorities, Localisation, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged BIDs, Bids Scotland, Covid-19, Cross Party Group, Localism, Pandemic, Recovery, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament
2 Comments
Openings and Closures in 2020 – but of what?
The retail news cycle last Sunday was dominated by the Local Data Company/PwC report on openings and closures in the first half (well, to August) of this year. The headlines were positively apocalyptic, led by the BBC with its unambiguous … Continue reading
Posted in Academics, Churn, Closure, Consumer Change, Consumers, Data, High Streets, Local Data Company, Media, Ordnance Survey, Resilience, Retail Diversity, Retail Economy, Retailers, Small Towns, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Vacancies
Tagged Covid-19, Data, High Street, Hospitality, Journalism, Leisure, Local Data Company, Multiple retailers, Ordnance Survey, PwC, Reporting, Shopping Centres, Store Closures, Store Openings, Town Centres
5 Comments
Commuting and Retailing in Town Centres
It is not an unusual state of mind these days, but I am puzzled over a couple of things that have been the topic of discussions (or in the first case the media as well) I have been in over … Continue reading
Posted in Cities, Commuting, Decentralisation, Government, Localisation, Places, Reinvention, Retail Parks, Retailers, Retailing, Shopping, Stirling, Sustainability, Town Centres, Towns
Tagged Cities, Co-working spaces, Coffee Shops, Commuting, Decentralisation, Offices, Retailing, Town Centres, towns
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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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