Tag Archives: Town Planning

Scottish Planner December 2020:A Future for Town & City Centres

Posted on December 21, 2020 by Leigh Sparks

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

An Aide-Memoire for Towns

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Leigh Sparks

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

Perth – Past, Present, Future

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Leigh Sparks

Last week I ventured north to the ‘Fair City’ of Perth for a presentation at a Scottish Civic Trust and Perth Civic Trust evening event on the theme of Perth: Past, Present and Future.  I had been given the task … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Closure, Consumer Change, Consumers, High Streets, Historic Shops, History, Independents, Online Retailing, Perth, Places, Public Realm, Reinvention, Retail Planning, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Shopfronts, Store Closures, Streets, Streetscapes, Town Centre Living, Town Centres, Understanding Scottish Places, Urban History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Urban but not Anonymous”

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Leigh Sparks

With these words, Cord Soehlke, Mayor and Senior Planner for the University Town of Turbingen, Germany neatly summed up for me the differences and the challenges facing Scotland’s towns. As had been discussed earlier in the day at Scotland’s Towns … Continue reading →

Posted in Falkirk, Government, High Streets, Places, Planning, Property, Public Realm, Regeneration, Reinvention, Retail Planning, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Small Towns, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Going for Gold

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Leigh Sparks

I’m quite interested in sports – including Welsh rugby, though that is more of a religion – and so the next few weeks of the Olympics might just grab my attention at times. Yes it is bloated, over-corporatized and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Olympics, Planning, Retail Planning, Town Centres | Tagged , , | Leave a comment