Only 70% of Scots live in the Central Belt. That’s 3.65 million people. The others live somewhere else. In a midge-infested glen? Too far from a macchiato? I’m one of the 3.65 million. Work has opened my eyes to northern Scotland, Argyll and the Islands. I once believed the action was found around Scotland’s narrow, […]
We Must Shape the Future of Our Towns
(Article published in The Scotsman, 17 November 2010) For decades, we’ve been fiddling while our towns burn. Suburban sprawl, out of town retail parks and supermarket chains are draining away local identity. As Gertrude Stein once said, “when you get there, there’s no there there”. Now, with the investment and construction industry hamstrung, the rate […]