Chamber and committees

Thank you. The next question is from Maggie Chapman.

Thank you. Fiona Hyslop is next, followed by Alexander Burnett.

Finally, because the inquiry is about town centres and retailers, I want to get a sense of whether the witnesses think that town centres should be a priority for investment. How important is that to your members? Adam, you have mentioned loneliness and isolation. Should we see town centres not just as economic drivers but as being important to people’s quality of life? Is that more important to the people who you represent than to other groups?

Thank you to all our witnesses this morning for the contribution that you have made to the inquiry.

That is quite a big issue to bring up at the end of the session. We will reflect on that.

Earlier, I asked about master plans, which come from the 2019 act. The submissions from Stephen Lewis and Craig McLaren refer to masterplan consent areas. Craig McLaren’s submission says that they have been used for housing developments but could be used for town centres. Will you explain a bit more about that?

I thank all the witnesses for offering their time, which is very much appreciated.

I will briefly suspend the meeting to allow the witnesses to leave.

The committee sees that it is not working. I do not want to comment on Stirling Council’s decision, but approval was given for the out-of-town development near its city centre. You expressed in your submission that there is no enforcement of the principle or clear understanding of what it means.

Is that what Ireland did?

Stephen Lewis, do you want to come in and talk about masterplan consent areas? I think that they formed part of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019, but I do not think that they have been introduced in any areas yet. Is that correct?

I have a couple of closing questions. Economic development has been mentioned. Has Euan Leitch had experience of working with the enterprise agencies to support regeneration? We are due to hear from them soon, as part of our inquiry. What other national agencies support the regeneration that is needed? We had Communities Scotland, but it came to an end in 2008. Do the enterprise agencies play that national role?