News & Resources

Scottish Government - Diverse views from urban, town, rural and island communities must be heard if town centres are to be revitalised and renewed in the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell.

Building on the Grimsey 1 and Grimsey 2 reviews, the ‘Build Back Better’ Covid-19 report, produced by Bill Grimsey and team, provides a comprehensive exploration of how town centres and high streets can transform in order to thrive post-Covid19. 

Phil Prentice, Chief Officer of Scotland's Towns Partnership, has written a leading thought piece for the Herald's Business HQ magazine and Herald newspaper, exhorting people to support their local traders and communities in the economic fightback from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Defibrillator Group is a non-profit organisation which works to ensure that NHS, community-funded and privately purchased defibrillators are supplied, installed, maintained and protected.

The Scottish Government and VisitScotland have published guidance for businesses (including in the tourism sector) on how to re-open safely as lockdown is phased out. 

In his latest blog post, Chair of STP and Professor of Retail Studies at the University of Stirling, Leigh Sparks, reflects on the phased re-opening of retail and related issues. 

(Maybole Regeneration Project) - Anyone walking Maybole High Street as it looks just now could be forgiven some cynicism about the town becoming a tourism hub. However, anyone who remembers the villages of the East Neuk of Fife a few decades ago, would be much less surprised at local ambitions.

Applications are now open for Scottish Business Cares (SBC) Mentoring Programme.

SBC is offering a 1-2-1 mentoring service for organisations who need immediate support in overcoming challenges brought on by Covid-19.

A leading expert on town centres policy has urged towns across Scotland to apply for new funding made available by the Scottish Government to support the recovery of local high streets post-COVID. 

Applications are now open for the Towns and BIDs Resilience and Recovery Fund. Announced by the Scottish Government on 12th June 2020, the funding is intended to support localised response activities contributing to town centre and high street resilience and recovery as lockdown rules are gradually eased. 

Note: applications for this fund are now closed. The below information is intended for informational purposes only. 

The Scottish Government’s Communities Secretary, Aileen Campbell, has announced today (12^th June) £2 million of new funding to help support the recovery of local communities as coronavirus (COVID-19) measures are gradually and carefully eased. The funding will be administered by Scotland’s Towns Partnership, the national body for towns.

SBRC - An unexpected side effect of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the cooperation and sense of camaraderie among many communities.

Scotland’s Towns Partnership and Scotland’s Improvement Districts are sad to learn of the passing of Ian Davison Porter.

The prestigious national 2020 SURF Awards for Best Practice in Community Regeneration were launched online last Thursday (04/05/2020).