Economy and Fair Work Committee
Inquiry into town centres and retail
Background
The Scottish Parliament’s Economy and Fair Work Committee held an inquiry into Scotland’s town centres and retail.
This was the Committee’s second inquiry.
The remit for the Inquiry was to:
- Identify the new realities of retail and ecommerce in Scotland and the resulting impact on town centres.
- Find out the subsequent policy response needed to create living and resilient town centres.
- Discover innovative ways to keep town centres alive and how to support communities to regenerate their town centres.
About the inquiry
As part of the inquiry, the Committee undertook a call for views which closed on 16 March.
The Committee held an informal engagement event in mid-March and engaged with stakeholders around Scotland to hear their views.
Our evidence sessions started at the end of March and finished in June. During this time, the Committee commissioned a case study report and undertook a number of visits across Scotland to see the different approaches to creating a new future for town centres.
A record of all the committee meetings can be found here
Read the written submissions here
Read the case study report here
Over the course of the oral evidence sessions, the Committee received additional written information that can be found in the correspondence section below.
Inquiry Report
The Committee published its report on 29 November 2022. A copy of the report can be found below.
Engagement
The Committee held an informal virtual roundtable event on 23 March 2022.
The Committee visited:
- Dumfries (25 April) – Meeting with Midsteeple Quarter
- Hamilton (16 May) – Meeting with Hamilton Our Town
- Fraserburgh and Inverurie (16 May) - Meeting with Broch Business Association and Inverurie BID
- Burntisland (8 June) – Meeting with Tom Courts and Bel and Etta