A business leader championed the positive the impact of a local gift card programme in boosting business and helping households as he spoke at a reception in the Scottish Parliament.
Aberdeen Inspired chief executive Adrian Watson, pictured above, was among the speakers at a special Holyrood reception highlighting the impact of community-led action on building stronger, more sustainable and successful places.
A number of MSPs – including Community Wealth Minister Tom Arthur – were among the guests at the Celebration of Improvement Districts.
Speaking on behalf of Business Improvement Districts across Scotland, Mr Watson highlighted some of the successes of Aberdeen Inspired in boosting business, including by promoting the city locally, nationally and internationally.
He said: “We are ahead of the game in this country in how we harness the power of improvement districts. Our work in Aberdeen means that for every £1 paid in levy, we put £2 back into the city centre. That’s just one example.
“There’s no room for complacency, however. There’s much still to do – and improvement districts are keen to do it.”
Using the successes of Aberdeen to inspire, Mr Watson highlighted the global reach of the city’s Nuart festival and the benefits that will come from hosting this year’s European Pipe Band Championships and the 2025 Tall Ships Race.
He also flagged the investment secured through the Aberdeen Gift Card – spearheaded by Aberdeen Inspired – including its work alongside Aberdeen City Council to use it as a means by which to deliver Scottish Government-backed support to people and businesses through the cost of living crisis and Covid-19 recovery.
“This is an excellent initiative, which has distributed £1.9m of funding to 14,000 households. Not only has this helped the most vulnerable households, but it has locked spending into the city, supporting bricks and mortar businesses at a time when it’s never been needed more,” Mr Watson added.
The reception was organised by Scotland’s Improvement Districts (SIDs) – part of the Scotland’s Towns Partnership family – and supported by the Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Towns.
SIDs is the organisation charged with spearheading the growth of improvement districts nationally, providing a hub for expert support and knowledge-sharing to increase their impact and influence.
Mr Arthur said: “Supporting the sustainable growth of businesses and communities is a key aim of this Scottish Government. It is good to see Improvement Districts recognised as we continue our drive to create a fairer, greener and more prosperous economy for Scotland.
“Encouraging enterprise can help us deliver ambitions set out in the Town Centre Action Plan and the National Strategy for Economic Transformation. We all have a role to play in ensuring our towns enable more people to benefit directly from the wealth generated by local communities.”
Other speakers included Towns Cross-Party Group convener Siobhian Brown MSP, Councillor Gail Macgregor, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities’ (COSLA) and Scotland’s Towns Partnership Chairman Professor Leigh Sparks.
Phil Prentice, SIDs’ national programme director, said: “This was a chance to shine the spotlight on work which is driving innovation and collaboration – encouraging ambition, investment, boosting businesses and making areas more attractive.
“Scotland is home to the world’s most expansive programme of improvement districts – and there’s huge potential in developing it further. This is something we should be incredibly proud of as they each play an important part in supporting jobs and creating stronger, more sustainable local economies.
“Our thanks go to the Minister and the Scottish Government for their ongoing support for this hugely important work.”
To find out more about how to set up an improvement district, go to www.improvementdistricts.scot or email [email protected].
More details about the wider Scotland Loves Local Gift Card programme are available here.
Some of the guests enjoying the Celebration of Improvement Districts reception in the Scottish Parliament. Picture: Sandy Young
