Scotland’s towns must be supported to flourish
Scotland’s towns can be unique and cherished places where humans and nonhuman nature can flourish and thrive, say the Scottish Greens.
The vision will be laid out by the Party’s economy spokesperson, Maggie Chapman MSP, during a parliamentary debate on Retail and Town Centres in Scotland.
Speaking in the debate, Maggie will say:
“To a large extent we share a clear vision of what we want for Scotland’s towns, as unique and cherished places where humans and nonhuman nature can flourish and thrive.
“Towns where people of all ages, both those born nearby and those who have come from further or far away, share a vibrant and supportive community of care, support and discovery. And towns that recognise and celebrate their own stories, the histories, cultures and memories that make them unique, knowing that those histories are far from over.
“We know that Scotland’s towns need genuine and robust support, frameworks within which carrying out those best practices is not only possible, but attractive, exciting, and easier to achieve than the bad alternatives.
“These frameworks of support have to work for all our towns, acknowledging underlying patterns of exclusion. They have to recognise not only underinvestment but forms of investment that have been unhelpful or limited in their benefits. They have to name and redress the long legacies of industrial change without transformation and the broken promises that have left communities isolated and abandoned.
“Finally, we need to look with clarity and honesty at the scale of the task ahead, the task of helping Scotland’s towns to become truly resilient, places of community, culture and mutual support in the climate-changed years ahead.
“We need to be bolder, in challenging vested interests, in dislodging the inertia of the status quo, in enabling genuine participation in decision-making, in amplifying unheard voices and in prioritising wellbeing and real sustainability. Both present and future generations deserve no less.”