Review Group

In July 2020 the Scottish Government established a Review Group, chaired by Professor Leigh Sparks of the University of Stirling. The members of the Review Group were invited from a variety of relevant organisations and backgrounds. The Review Group was asked to:

“Review the progress and scope of the Town Centre Action Plan, published in response to the National Review of Town Centres conducted in 2013 by Malcolm Fraser and the Expert Advisory Group and produce a report detailing its findings with a revised vision for towns and a means to deliver that vision nationally and locally….. The Review will place particular emphasis on recovering from the impact of COVID-19 on Scotland’s town centres, as well as on meeting Scotland’s climate change ambitions, identifying what further steps should be considered to make towns fit for all in Scotland”.

Membership of the Review Group

Professor Leigh Sparks, Deputy Principal and Professor of Retail Studies at University of Stirling (Chair)

Sally Witcher, Chief Executive, Inclusion Scotland

Daisy Narayanan, Director of Urbanism, Sustrans

Phil Prentice, Chief Executive, Scotland's Towns Partnership

Louisa Macdonell, Chief Executive, Development Trusts Association Scotland

David Cowan, Head of Regeneration Unit, Scottish Government

Irene Beautyman, Planning for Place, Programme Manager, Improvement Service & 2020 Convenor, RTPI Scotland

Pippa Coutts, Policy & Development Manager, Carnegie UK Trust

Angela Leitch, Chief Executive, Public Health Scotland

Professor Russel Griggs OBE, Chair, South of Scotland Enterprise

Barry McCulloch, Head of Policy (Scotland), Federation of Small Businesses

Robert Nicol, Chief Officer - Environment and Economy, COSLA

The contributions of Matt Lowther and Calum Lindsay are gratefully acknowledged when deputising for Angela Leitch and Robert Cowan.