Investing Together: Innovating for Thriving Places, incorporating STP's AGM

Building momentum ahead of the STP annual conference - “Investment and Innovation: Delivering for Scotland’s Economy” - September’s learning event showcases collaborative and innovative approaches to sustainable funding and place-based development in towns and neighbourhoods. 

Whether you’re working in local government, economic development, community organisations or the private sector, this is a chance to connect, exchange ideas, and build momentum for positive change across Scotland.

We’ll continue this conversation at our Cross Party Group session on 10th September – more details here.

This event incorporates STP's AGM, highlighting progress and future plans for the organisation, featuring Professor Leigh Sparks and Kimberley Guthrie.

Agenda

14:00 - 14:30 STP AGM Business | Progress | Future plans: Professor Leigh Sparks, Chair and Kimberley Guthrie, Chief Officer, Scotland’s Towns Partnership

14:30 - 14:45 Welcome & Context: Kimberley Guthrie, Chief Officer, Scotland’s Towns Partnership

• “Scotland’s towns and neighbourhoods are engines of innovation and collaboration.”

• Countrywide examples from study visits and pan LA housing led regeneration work, brought to life at the recent TCL Summit.

• Connecting to broader conference themes including, sustainability, innovation, and community wealth building.

Show & Tell

Contributors will share fresh examples of towns and neighbourhoods developing locally-led approaches to empower communities, foster collaboration, unlock investment and innovation, repurpose spaces, and renew high streets.

Throughout the workshop, examples highlight -

• Sustainable Funding – what’s working across public–private–community approaches

• Innovative Collaborations – beyond the usual suspects, with trusts, developers, and the health sector

• Place-based Outcomes – linking to wellbeing, inclusion, and economic renewal

• Peer Learning – towns learning from towns, not top-down models
  

14:45 - 15:00 Fife: Alan Paul , Head of Property Services, Fife Council 

15:00 - 15:15 NorthBridge Project, Sighthill: Robert McKinnon, Senior Land and Partnership Manager, Keepmoat 

15:15 - 15:30 Ayrshire Growth Deal: Louise Kirk, Head of Service (Economic Development, Growth and Regeneration) North Ayrshire Council; George Hunter, Assistant Director, Communities, South Ayrshire Council and David McDowall, Head of Housing and Communities, East Ayrshire Council

15:30 - 15:45 Aberdeenshire: Christine Webster, Regeneration and Towns Centres Manager and David McCubbin, Project Officer Town Centres, Aberdeenshire Council

15:45 - 16:00 Q & A (closing remarks from Kimberley Guthrie)

Privacy

To support networking and help you get the most out of our event, we will provide those coming with a list of the names and organisational affiliation of those attending.

Furthermore, we typically take photographs of proceedings in order to highlight or showcase STP’s activities.

Please let us know if you do not wish to provide consent for the use of your personal data in this way. To see how we use and take care of your information, please see our privacy notice.