Scottish communities and the new Community Wealth Bill: what makes communities work well?

Tuesday 09th September 2025

Scotland’s communities are the cornerstone of national wellbeing – places where people live, work, connect and contribute. However, communities and places that function well and that people want to live in depend upon having core building blocks in place. What are these and how do we ensure every community has them? The introduction of the Scottish Government’s new Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill, means that answering that question is critical to its success and to the viability of our communities. This conference explores the relationship between the aspirations of the new legislation and the practical, everyday realities and needs of Scottish communities.

The Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill is designed to reshape how Scotland uses public investment, assets and services to promote fairer local economies and empower communities. How will that interact with longstanding community priorities – clean streets, safety, strong public transport, local activism, and a sense of place? The Bill's aim is to bring economic transformation and to create empowered, resilient, local communities. Therefore, change is coming which will affect current decision makers in the public sector and their other sectoral partners. Who will lead decision making in the future and how will communities be involved in that process? What is in the Bill? How will this affect your organisation and your community?

Tom Arthur MSP, Minister for Employment and Investment, Scottish Government, has said "To create jobs and support thriving communities we want to ensure that more money spent in Scotland stays in Scotland. This unique legislation will help to increase investment in local economies so that they become fairer, greener and more prosperous." The Scottish Government sees community wealth building as central to its economic development agenda, so how will the Bill develop in parliament and how will it affect the issues that govern community well-being and viability?

Communities, community involvement and locality based decision-making are at the heart of a whole range of current policy initiatives. Community wealth building legislation. Proposals for a General Power of Competence for Scottish local government, Review of the Community Empowerment Act. Placemaking policy and ongoing discussion and models of community ownership and asset transfer. These are just some of the intersecting areas of current activity. This conference looks at core challenges and opportunities in delivering community wealth building and associated measures. It considers the policy context in which this takes place and examines the implications for all affected bodies. It reflects on what needs to change, what works and what the potential outcomes of this process could be.

The conference focuses in three sections on what makes communities work well:

• The Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill, the psychology of place and why homes matter
• Connectivity, crime and cleanliness
• People, places and primacy in decision making

---

Topics to be discussed

---

• The Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill, the psychology of place and why homes matter
• Safe spaces, strong places – building safe, connected and resilient communities
• Environment, cleanliness and public space – the psychology of place
• Transport, infrastructure and accessibility as foundations for thriving communities
• Connectivity, crime and cleanliness
• Homes that build communities – housing as a place-based driver
• The psychology of place – why people stay, leave or thrive
• Local activism, participation and community-led change
• People, places and primacy in decision making
• Shared responsibility – who leads, who pays and who decides?
• Children, young people and the future of local places

---

Who should attend

---

• Local authority leaders, officers and elected members
• Community planning partnerships and regeneration officers
• Third sector organisations and development trusts
• Public health professionals and place-based wellbeing initiatives
• Police Scotland and community safety partnerships
• Transport and infrastructure planners and providers
• Housing authorities, housing associations and housing officers
• Academics and researchers in urban planning, community development or local government
• Environmental and civic campaigners
• Activists interested in local empowerment and place-making

Speakers