Chief Officer, Kimberley Guthrie’s Blog
It’s been a busy month for the Scotland’s Towns Partnership team. Preparing for our
Town Centre Living Summit, and the start of Scotland Loves Local Week which
kicked off on 23 rd August. The former was a chance to facilitate vital discussion
around how we can reshape homes in our towns to meet modern needs. The latter is
a chance to celebrate the change that comes when we shop and support local
businesses. And the two are inextricably linked. Ultimately if our town centres are to
thrive, they must also be places where people live.
Living in town centres
For too long, many of our town centres have been thought of solely as places to
work or shop. But if we want them to be truly sustainable, they also need to be
places that people can call home. Affordable, accessible housing in the heart of our
communities creates life, footfall, and opportunity. Residents living in town centres
don’t just contribute to the local economy they also make these places safer, more
welcoming, and more vibrant.
But achieving this requires effective and continuous collaboration. Developers,
housing associations, local authorities, Government, and investors all have their own
roles to play. No single organisation can deliver this vision on its own. Together,
though, we can transform underused spaces into homes, revive neglected buildings,
and create communities where people of all ages and backgrounds can live well.
We’ll be sharing findings and key takeaways from our Town Centre Living Summit, in
due course.
The link to loving local
So how does this tie into Scotland Loves Local Week? Quite simply, people make
places. Towns aren’t defined by buildings alone, but by the people who live and work
within them. By encouraging town centre living, we create the conditions for stronger
local economies, more resilient communities, and a deeper sense of belonging.
Let’s examine this positive cycle: more people living in town centres means more
customers for local shops, cafés, and services. More footfall encourages investment,
brings new businesses to the area, which in turn makes our towns more attractive
places to live, not just visit. It’s a virtuous circle – and one where everyone benefits.
This is why Scotland Loves Local is about so much more than a single week of
activity. It’s a movement for long-term change; encouraging us to think differently
about how we spend, invest, and live. It’s about reimagining the future of our towns
as places where local businesses thrive alongside new housing, green spaces, and
community-led facilities.
Our call to action
This week is all about celebrating the people, businesses, and organisations who
make our communities thrive. We make a positive difference by choosing local.
Every decision, from where we buy our bread to how we spend an afternoon with
friends, has a ripple effect. Supporting local keeps money circulating in your local
economy, sustains jobs, and helps our high streets and town centres stay vibrant. It’s
not just about shopping, it’s active decisions that shape the future of our
communities and high streets, long-term.
And for those of us working in housing, regeneration, and policy, the call is clear: let’s
work together to put town centre living at the heart of our strategy. We all want to see
vibrant, sustainable communities, so let’s keep doing all that we can to drive the
change. Scotland’s towns have incredible potential – but it’s up to all of us to unlock
it. Supporting local, investing in housing, and working together will ensure our town
centres remain not just places we visit, but places we love to live.
