CITTASLOW ASSESSMENT DAY IN LINLITHGOW

The sun shone, the birds sang and Linlithgow looked at its best as Graeme Kidd and John Fleming from Cittaslow UK visited the town to assess if it was ready to join the international Cittaslow network.

On what was a very successful day when everything seemed to go to plan, there were three main things that stood out for me.

First was the visit to the eco-school project at Linlithgow Bridge Primary School where frighteningly enthusiastic, knowledgeable and self-confident pupils welcomed us and showed us around all the different areas of their school where they are involved in environmental projects. It was great to see such a wide and impressive range of projects and I’m sure I wasn’t that self-confident at that age!

Second was the very real interest in Cittaslow expressed by all the local businesses we met on the day. It was very evident that Steering Group members have been very active in spreading the word amongst local retailers and other businesses and that there is genuine community support for Linlithgow becoming a Cittaslow town.

Third was the impressive turnout of local and national politicians during the day to welcome the Cittaslow assessors. I know that Graeme and John were somewhat stunned to meet the Provost of West Lothian, all local councillors for Linlithgow, the past and current local MP, and the two local MSPs all in one day. They were amazed to find themselves discussing Scottish food and education policies with a government minister. Everyone’s involvement demonstrated how much support there is for Linlithgow’s Cittaslow membership application at the highest levels.

Thanks are due to everyone who helped to make the day such a success. Now it’s fingers crossed for a successful outcome that will see Linlithgow becoming the 8th Cittaslow town in the UK and the 2nd in Scotland.

Douglas Ritchie

Cittaslow Linlithgow Project Manager

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