Safe, Secure and Open for Business: Attracting Investment into Our Towns
Safe, Secure and Open for Business: Attracting Investment into Our Towns
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How can Scotland’s towns create the conditions for attracting investment, growth and community confidence? Join us for a focused learning session exploring how the environment we design, manage and promote directly shapes perceptions of safety, encourages local enterprise, and attracts long-term investment.
Hosted by Kimberley Guthrie, Chief Officer of Scotland’s Towns Partnership, this session brings together local leaders, planners, and place-makers to share practical examples of how improvements in urban design, lighting, and public realm, as well as civic engagement, can transform how people feel about – and invest in – their towns.
From youth engagement projects and place-based regeneration to business improvement initiatives and creative lighting, our speakers will showcase how thoughtful interventions can make towns safer, more vibrant and open for business.
Why Attend?
Discover how placemaking, safety, and design can combine to drive economic confidence and attract investment.
Hear practical examples from towns across Scotland that have delivered measurable improvements through local collaboration.
Learn from experts in urban design, business improvement, and community-led regeneration.
Connect with peers shaping the future of Scotland’s towns and local economies.
Share your town examples. Book your place and share examples for our spotlight on Scotland-wide towns.
Ideal for local authorities, BID teams, regeneration professionals, planners, housing and transport specialists, and anyone working to build thriving, resilient towns.
Programme
10:00 – Welcome and Introduction
Kimberley Guthrie, Chief Officer, Scotland’s Towns Partnership
Setting the scene: creating places that feel safe, secure, and attractive to residents, visitors and investors.
10:05 – Creating a Thriving Town: The Power of People and Place
Exploring place-based investment and innovative community partnerships.
Bob Keiller – the voice of Our Union Street
Founded by Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, Aberdeen Inspired, Aberdeen City Council and Opportunity North East, Shell and AB15 Ltd, Our Union Street is a community-led campaign to restore pride, purpose, and vitality to Aberdeen’s main thoroughfare.
Chrissy Stower, Lead Public Health Officer, Growth, Planning and Climate, Moray Council and Martin Robertson, Services Manager, Action for Children
Elgin’s placemaking vision comes to life through the AYE Bus – a youth-led collaboration uniting community and partners to drive local pride.
10:30 – Safety, Security and Public Realm: Creating Confidence in Place
Jamie Mackie, Senior Policy, Public Affairs and Communications Office, Scottish Grocers’ Federation
Exploring how secure, well-managed environments support business confidence and what needs to change to make town centres more resilient.
Danielle McRorie Smith, National Programme Manager, Scotland’s Improvement Districts & Director, GoForth Stirling & Roddy Smith , Chief Executive, Essential Edinburgh.
How BIDs are creating safe, welcoming places through collaboration, design, and management to reduce anti-social behaviour, enhance the public realm, and boost pride and investment.
10:55 – Light and Perception: Changing the Way We See Our Places
Jennifer Dumbreck, Sales Manager & Project Manager, Blachere Illuminations and Margaret Fraser, Director, Together Leading Communities and Company Secretary, Positive Possil
Demonstrating how creative lighting schemes can alter perception, improve safety, and energise town centres.
11:10 – Rapid Interventions with Lasting Impact
Kimberley Guthrie, Scotland’s Towns Partnership
From examples shared by delegates, Kimberley puts the spotlight on Scotland-wide towns that have delivered immediate, visible improvements.
Discussion and Q&A Open floor for participant insights, questions, and shared experiences.
11:30 – Close
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.