1999 Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning
Presented by the Scottish Executive
in association with The Royal Town Planning Institute in Scotland
REPORT OF THE JUDGES
Gordon Mann, Andrew Raven, Claire Woodward-Nutt
Following the success of the 1997 and 1998 Awards, the 1999 Awards scheme was announced and nominations were invited in September. 47 nominations were received covering the three categories of development control, development plans and development on the ground. The judges studied the nominations on 10 th November and drew up a shortlist, suggesting some transfers between categories. Presentations for the judges' shortlisted nominations in the development planning and development control categories took place on 30 th November, 6 th December and 17 th January at 57 Melville Street, Edinburgh with Graham U'ren (RTPI in Scotland) and Roger Kelly (SE assessor) attending. Judges inspected their shortlist of nominations for development on the ground from 12 th to 14 th January 2000. Arrangements for meetings and visits were co-ordinated by Judy Woollett of RTPI's awards administration.
The judges have been very encouraged by the number, range and quality of this year's nominations. They have considered some nominations jointly, and some transfers between categories, and recommend Awards and Commendations accordingly in each category. Notes on the recommendations, the selection process and on all the individual nominations are given below, and the judges set out some overall conclusions at the end of this report.
Summary of the judges' recommendations
In the development control and related category:
Award for Highland Archaeology Week;
Commendations for: Angus development control emphasis on customer care,
Orkney's approach to rural housing and
Argyll & Bute's planning design award;
In the development planning and related category:
Awards for: the Highland structure plan youth forum and
Dumfries & Galloway's local biodiversity action plan;
Commendations for: Ayrshire's joint structure plan,
South Lanarkshire's Best Value Initiative for local planning,
Aberdeen's transportation strategy,
Dundee's ambassador routes design guide, and
SNH's national programme of landscape character assessment;
In the development on the ground category:
Special Award for New Lanark Mill Hotel(transfer from DC category),
Awards for: The Dunbar Initiative project,
Lerwick Town Centre Environmental Improvements
and Hamilton Town Square;
Commendations for: the River Almond Catchment Management Plan
and Biggar Town Centre Project.
Notes on selection
From the submitted two-page summaries, the judges decided whether or not to shortlist each nomination. They looked for evidence of outstanding work, appreciation of sustainable development issues, community and user involvement, consumer testing, a significant contribution by the planning service, innovation, wider benefits, and difficult problems tackled and resolved. They reviewed whether the nominated category was the most appropriate. In some cases the judges were uncertain whether to shortlist a nomination. To help choose between these borderline nominations they consulted the supplementary text and photographs provided with submissions. Then, having selected a shortlist in the three categories, each of the shortlisted nominations was considered at a separate presentation, with questioning by judges and site visits for development on the ground. The judges then discussed and agreed their final recommendations.
Notes on the 1999 nominations
12 nominations for outstanding performance and quality in
DEVELOPMENT CONTROL or an aspect of the service
20 nominations for outstanding performance and quality in
DEVELOPMENT PLANS or an aspect of plan making practice
15 nominations for outstanding quality in
DEVELOPMENT ON THE GROUND
which is significantly attributable to the planning service:
Concluding remarks by the judges
It is with pleasure that we submit our recommendations for the 1999 Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning. We have enjoyed our work in judging, which has been very much extended by the number of entries this year. And we recognise the range and quality of the nominations brought to our attention.
Amongst all the work of great merit, and on the basis of inevitably brief nominations, we have tried fairly to select projects for investigation and to recognise the small as well as the large. In sifting the nominations our task has been to identify the outstanding. We have tried to be alert to community involvement, sustainable development, innovation, problem resolution, and value for money, and particularly to the added value which can come from effective work by the planning service. We are keen to see outstanding quality identified in mainstream planning functions, and in cases where the planning service has been able to overcome serious site development problems.
With so many nominations submitted this year, making a shortlist for presentations and visits has been extremely difficult. We may have overlooked much that deserves further scrutiny by those with an interest in achieving quality in Scottish development, conservation and service standards. Inevitably there will be those who are disappointed. But we acknowledge the real worth of all we have seen in the nominations, presentations and visits. We have thought it important to include full details of each nomination in our report. And we hope that the record of more than a hundred nominations over the first three years of these Awards will be a useful database of planning work of quality. It certainly demonstrates many examples across Scotland of notable planning endeavours from which lessons can be learned.
In future, we would like to encourage more planning authorities to nominate their mainstream work in development planning and control, to meet the original target of these Awards. We note also that many of this year's nominations relate to sustainable development in one form or another. There are two in particular, the River Almond catchment plan and the Methil energy efficient housing project, in which our judging criteria have constrained us and which we believe could be more effectively recognised as exemplars in a wider awards scheme open to all forms of sustainable development initiative, public and private. We therefore commend the notion of Scottish Sustainable Development Awards to the Scottish Executive, Royal Town Planning Institute, and all other relevant bodies in Scotland.
Our special thanks go to the many people who took time to make presentations or accompany our visits on the ground. This year there have been nominations from Scottish councils new to the Awards alongside entries from previous applicants, and we compliment all those involved. We believe that these Awards are now well established as a positive force, raising the awareness of quality standards in Scottish planning. We hope that practitioners, the Scottish Executive, and the RTPI in Scotland will continue to support them.
Gordon Mann . . . Andrew Raven . . . Claire Woodward-Nutt