At this year’s Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accounting (CIPFA) Scotland Conference in Glasgow, Marie Macklin CBE told delegates how the private and public sector can work together to create projects like The HALO Kilmarnock.

Marie is Founder and Director of The HALO Kilmarnock, a £65 million urban regeneration project on the site of the former Johnnie Walker bottling plant in the town, which recently received planning permission in principle from East Ayrshire Council.

The backdrop for this year’s annual CIPFA conference was ‘Public Money, People and Powers: Scotland’s dynamic force for change’ and a range of speakers examined the link between our public finances and the role that the wider population, as well as that of the future workforce, will play in a prosperous Scotland.

Marie was joined at the conference by some of the biggest names in the industry including the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, the Auditor General and the Chief Executive of Community Justice Scotland.

Marie Macklin CBE, said: “The theme of this year’s CIPFA conference is really important to me because The HALO Kilmarnock was only able to materialise because the private and public sector worked together to make it happen.

“It was a privilege to be asked to present at such a prestigious event and showcase the HALO as an imaginative, innovative and inspirational regeneration initiative which will revitalise urban areas not just in Kilmarnock but at a number of sites across the UK.”

Pictured above (left to right): Andrew Burns, President, Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA), Marie Macklin CBE, Derek Mackay, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Alison Cumming, Chair of CIPFA Scotland.