Towns to be talk of the conference

FIFERS are being encouraged t o support t heir towns ahead of a major conference on the subject in Kirkcaldy.

Scotland’s Towns Week, which began yesterday, is a national campaign organised by Scotland’s Towns Partnership that aims to help revitalise the country’s towns.

Fife Council i s f ully behind the initiative, and Kirkcaldy’s Adam Smith Theatre i s due to host Scotland’s To w n Conference tomorrow — a gathering of around 200 professionals with direct influence and responsibility for policy making and strategic delivery across Scotland’s towns.

Councillor Lesley Laird, Fife Council’s depute leader, said:“Communities are passionate about their town centres and with 32 town centres in Fife, we’ve a l ot to get passionate about.

“Post t he recession, town centres everywhere have had a difficult time and here in Fife we are committed to supporting our town centres to recover and develop new ways of working so that they stay at the heart of our communities and are attractive and vibrant places for people to live, work and visit.

“With increasing numbers of people shopping on the internet, our town centres will have to keep adapting and can only do this by embracing new ways of trading and working together — the council, the business community, other organisations and, of course , l ocal people.”