Scotland's Towns Week: Could you help redesign your hometown?

A competition is inviting individuals and organisations to submit their vision for the future of their hometowns.

A view across Falkirk town centre. The competition is open to ideas on how to improve towns across Scotland. Picture: Michael Gillen/JP Resell

Sketches, photographs or short written descriptions on how urban spaces can be renewed are being sought by Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP), the national agency and ‘go to’ body for towns north of the border.

“Scotland is a nation of towns, and each town has its own unique identity and characteristics,” said Phil Prentice, chief officer of STP.

“Even small, incremental changes can help unlock a towns’ potential and help to support economic opportunities and social wellbeing for those who live there.

“The FutureTown Design Competition helps towns to imagine how this can be done: from a new use for a vacant public space, an innovative way to manage waste and litter, or a new or refurbished feature to attract visitors and footfall.

“The possibilities for towns to utilise local assets are huge, and STP would like to hear them”.

Last year’s winner, William Lippe Architects, won with a proposal to re-create Inverurie’s historic town square.

The FutureTown Design Competition is part of Scotland’s Towns Week, which takes place from November 7-13.

Shortlisted entries to the competition will be featured on The Scotsman website, STP website, and displayed at the annual Scotland’s Towns Conference in Kirkcaldy on November 9.

The winner will be decided by an online public vote.

Entries close on 22 October 2016, and should be emailed directly to [email protected]