EMBARGO: Immediate                                                                                                                      28th September 2017

 

The maverick founder of a Scottish project inspiring community regeneration and collaboration is addressing an international conference to tell delegates that: “small times four equals big impact!”

On 5th October, Can Do Places founder Iain Scott and Crieff Action Group’s Ailsa Campbell are leading a seminar at the ‘Places of Potential, Encouraging Creative Communities’ summit.

Can Do Places has been working with the small town of Crieff to find future possibilities for vacant spaces and unused buildings. Iain will tell the delegates at Ontdekfabriek (The Discovery Factory) in Eindhoven:

“Like many retailers, the solutions to our towns are past their sell by date. We need a radical approach that recognises the new collaborative economy can turn things around. It’s not easy but it’s worth it.”

The session will relate to a European audience what has been learned along the journey with Crieff, Peebles and Falkirk.

Inspiration from these regeneration journeys has also been laid out in a forthcoming book called; ‘This isn’t about saving a ******* building; it’s about saving a town’. The title comes from a quote uttered by Ailsa herself during the project to stop a hotel falling into dereliction in her hometown.

Iain said: “We need to offer people the support network and environment to help them provide for themselves and their families in the years to come. They have the potential to create employment, products and services that can add into wealth creation over the coming decades.”

It is hoped this appearance and Eindhoven, and the new book, will inspire community campaigners and individuals alike to take a new approach in how they revive their own neighbourhoods.

ENDS.

For further information: contact Matthew Clarke press@candoplaces.org or 07870 443535

Notes for editors.

Matthew
27/09/2017