Cross-Party Group on Towns and Town Centres Wednesday 9th March 2022, 12:45-13:45 Minutes Present MSPs Neil Bibby MSP Siobhian Brown MSP Sharon Dowey MSP Fiona Hyslop MSP Invited guests Emma Fyvie, Clackmannanshire Council Neil McInroy, Scottish Government Mhairi Paterson, North Ayrshire Council Phil Prentice, Scotland’s Towns Partnership Non-MSP Group Members Monica Allen, Voluntary Action South Lanarkshire Bill Anderson, Carluke Development Trust Limited Nicol Armstrong, West Kilbride Community Council Laura Babington, East Dunbartonshire Council Pamela Barnes, Linlithgow Community Development Trust Elaine Bone, Scotland’s Towns Partnership Raymond Boyle, New Consensus Chic Brodie, Caledonian Strategy (Scotland) Ltd Sophie Brodie Rhona Brown, Scotland’s Towns Partnership June Burnett, Aberdeenshire Council Gordon Carmichael, Kirkintilloch BID Pete Cheema, SGF Sarah Christie, South Lanarkshire Council Duncan Clelland, South Ayrshire Council Andrew Colvin, East Ayrshire Council Chris Cook, Institute for Strategy, Resilience & Security, UCL Chris Cullen, South Ayrshire Council 1 Miriam Dornan, National Trust for Scotland Mark Dowey, CoMoUK Patrick Dunne, South Ayrshire Council Victoria Eccles, South Lanarkshire Council Lisa Edwards, ShopAppy Mike Evans, Inverness BID Graeme Finlay, Clackmannanshire Council Doug Flett, SCCN Luke Fraser, ASPIRE Orkney David Gear, East Dunbartonshire Council Rona Gibb, Paths For All Mark Greaves, South Ayrshire Council David Grove, Fife Council Kimberley Guthrie, Scotland’s Towns Partnership Declan Hehir, Limerick PPN David Henderson, COSS/DTAS Alison Jones, Scotland’s Towns Partnership Shirin Karbor, Whale Arts Fraser Kerr, East Ayrshire Council Hilary Kidd, Young Scot James Lamb, CoSLA Alison Laurence, East Dunbartonshire Council David Lonsdale, Scottish Retail Consortium Colin Love, South Ayrshire Council David MacDougall David Macleay, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Helena Macleod, Muir of Ord Development Trust Rebecca Madgin, University of Glasgow Richard Marsh Ross Martin Katey McKay, Angus Council Craig McLaren, Royal Town Planning Institute Barbara McNaughton, East Ayrshire Council Audrey Michie, Angus Council Derek Miller, Carnoustie Community Development Trust John Mowat, Kirkwall & St Ola Community Council Deborah Murray, Byres Road & Lanes BID Catriona Nicolson, Aberdeenshire Council Nairn Pearson, West Lothian Council Antonia Pompa, Discover Lanark Gary Porter, The Coalfields Regenertaion Trust Diane Pryde, Midlothian Council Rhiannon-Jane Raftery, Creating Climate Conscious Communities Derek Rankine, SURF 2 Grant Riley, North Lanarkshire Council Angus Roberts, Arbroath Courthouse Community Trust Jo Robertson Christine Ruckley, Creative Scotland Maria Rybaczewska, University of Stirling Kirsteen Scott, Scottish Enterprise Laura Scott-Simmons, Benton Scott-Simmons Ashley Smith Hammond, Creative Scotland Tom Sneddon, Tom Sneddon Architect Deneebo Sommerville Chris Story, Message Matters Richard Todd, East Dunbartonshire Council Nicola Tomkinson, NHS Ayrshire & Arran Emily Tracey, Historic Environment Scotland John Turner, Byres Road & Lanes BID Julie Twaddell, Friends of the Broadway Prestwick John Weir, Isle of Bute BID John Whitelaw, Lenzie CDT Corri Wilson Kate Wimpress, North Edinburgh Arts Jo Winterbottom, Public Health Scotland Nick Wright, Nick Wright Planning Apologies Paul McLennan MSP Professor Leigh Sparks Paul Sweeney MSP Agenda item 1 Welcome and Opening Remarks – Siobhian Brown MSP Convener Siobhian Brown MSP welcomed all to the meeting and noted MSP attendance and apologies.