Architecture and Design Scotland has welcomed the Scottish Government’s publication of the Town Centre Action plan in response to the national review of Town Centres chaired by architect Malcolm Fraser.

The Scottish Government’s response to the national review shows strong willingness to deal with the issues faced by our towns and urban centres and sets out a number of practical measures to support town centres.

Jim MacDonald, Chief Executive of A&DS said “We know that Scottish town centres face a number of challenges including changing retail patterns, transport and choice of housing. Everyone involved in making decisions about our towns and cities must make a concerted effort to focus investment and new thinking on town centres. This action plan supports this effort.”

The Scottish Government’s response outlines a number of short and mid term actions aimed at improving Scottish town centres. Architecture and Design Scotland will be supporting the action plan through a number of specific activities including working with other NDPBs to identify where policies can be aligned to support town centres and we will continue to work with Scottish Futures Trust on ways to expand place-based reviews.

Architecture + Design Scotland will work with Scottish Government to support a “Stalled Spaces” project identifying temporary uses for sites within town centres. This work will begin in 2014 and run over a three-year period.

The Town Centre Action plan is available here.