We must understand place to save our towns and town centres

"Allow our towns and villages, our cities and their centres to decay and fragment and society itself will pay a heavy price".

This is the stark message CSPP Policy Director, Ross Martin delivered in an article in The Scotsman, a position we have long argued and continue to press via the Scotland's Towns Partnership and our own policy group. 

In advocating a place-based approach, Ross said:

"For far too long, we Scots have allowed our towns to become homogenous clones, with their core and character being slowly but surely sucked out."

"If we stand back and do nothing... villages will become lifeless dormitories devoid of any soul, towns will be left to a spiral of decline and decay and our cities will lose the variety in their hinterland which contributes so much to their attractiveness as places to invest".

"It is time we in Scotland understood the importance of place, and how it shapes who we are, and who we can be".

Ross' arguments were made ahead of the upcoming Scotland's Towns Conference, on 16th November, the only event in the UK that focuses on the national and local issues faced by Scotland's towns. 

It features contributions from the Scottish Government, Channel 4-featured People's Supermarket, Local Government, the private sector and the former Mayor of Sacramento, Heather Fargo.

Book your place.

Use the hashtag #scottowns and start the debate now on how we can revitalise our towns.