News & Resources

Professor Leigh Sparks, Chair of Scotland's Towns Partnership and a Deputy Principal at the University of Stirling, reflects on some of the highlights of Scotland's Towns Conference. The annual gathering of town stakeholders took place in Aberdeen last Wednesday 20th November. Article first published on Stirling Retail. 

Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands has been named Scotland’s Most Beautiful High Street having topped a poll of the general public. 

This year's Scotland's Towns Week is here! Running from 18 - 24 November, this is the week-long celebration of the nation's towns and those who work to support our towns and city districts.

Voting is now open to select the winner of the FutureTown Design Competition 2019. See shortlist below and vote here.

Ever thought of setting up a Film Festival in your community? Or perhaps you’re already running one, but would like to try something completely new. Help is at hand from our Local Film Festival Challenge Fund.

CDAS currently have a vacancy to join their dynamic Board and would love to hear from you!

The public will have the chance to vote for the nation’s most beautiful high street, with eight towns having made the shortlist and now vying for the crown.

At this year's Scotland's Towns Conference, Scotland's Towns Partnership and Scotland's Improvement Districts will bring together 150+ senior level stakeholders from across public, private and third sectors, working to support our towns and city districts.

Leigh Sparks, Chair of STP and Professor of Retail Studies at the University of Stirling, reflects on progress in towns policy and support in Scotland since the Fraser Review, and what the key priorities and asks may look like for towns now. Originally published on Stirling Retail.

A new travelling exhibition and engagement will reach 12 locations across Scotland to hear directly from local communities on how they think our homes and communities should look and feel in the future.

Living Wage Places: A toolkit on tackling low pay by celebrating local action, published jointly by the Living Wage Foundation, Living Wage Scotland and supported by the Carnegie UK Trust, provides valuable, practical insight for places of all size across the UK to begin their own Living Wage Place journey. Access here.

People working and volunteering in Welsh towns and communities will benefit from a new resource to help them identify opportunities in their areas.

Carnegie UK Trust - The Living Wage Foundation and Living Wage Scotland have launched a new toolkit to help local areas become Living Wage Places, with support from Carnegie UK Trust.

The Scottish Land Commission this week publishes a research report on the Impact of Vacant and Derelict Land on Communities, which finds that derelict sites can affect a community’s health, environment, economy and social cohesion.

Scotland's Towns Partnership's Chair and Professor of Retail Studies at the University of Stirling, Leigh Sparks, has co-published new research with Dr Maria Rybaczewska on the social and economic value of local convenience stores in Scotland. Read Professor Spark's blog post on the research below.