Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning 2000
Commendation for development planning
14. EAST RENFREWSHIRE CONSULTATIVE DRAFT LOCAL PLAN
nominated in 2000 by East Renfrewshire Council Planning and Development Services.
The purpose of this nomination is to demonstrate that East Renfrewshire Council has advanced significantly the practice of Plan presentation and delivery. Indeed, the technical innovation used by the Council to produce the East Renfrewshire Consultative Draft Local Plan ensures that the new Local Plan is available to a wider audience than previously and is easier to read and understand. It is believed that the procedures and method followed by the Council in producing the new Local Plan provide a model framework for the preparation of new Local Plans by Planning Authorities.
Background Consistent with the timescale for production of the new Local Plan in the Council's Local Plan Charter, the East Renfrewshire Consultative Draft Local Plan was published on 6 April 2000 for public consultation. Once adopted, it will replace the Eastwood District Local Plan with First Alteration and the Renfrew District Local Plan (in part) to cover the whole of the unitary authority area. To reflect East Renfrewshire Council's commitment to modernising government by moving towards Digital Scotland and its commitment to community and stakeholder involvement in the local plan process, it was realised at an early stage that the new Local Plan needed to be more accessible to community interests and other key stakeholders with an interest in East Renfrewshire. Accordingly, it was decided that as well as publishing it in traditional paper format the Written Statement and Proposals Map would also be made available on CD-ROM and on the Internet. In adopting this approach, accessibility to the Consultative Draft Local Plan has been improved and community organisations and local people (as well as other users of the Plan) can more easily realise the land-use implications of this statutory document. This has extended the audience and improved participation in the local plan making process.
The Interactive CD-ROM was produced in-house and autoruns in the Windows environment. The user friendly menu screen offers access to the Consultative Draft Local Plan Written Statement and Proposals Map, the Local Plan Charter, the Local Plan summary leaflet and Customer Care questionnaires which users are asked to complete and return. The Documents are all stored on the CD in Adobe Portable Document Format, providing a simple and easy-to-use interface with instant access to the information on the disc. Bookmarks are included throughout the Written Statement and Proposal Map to ensure that the user can easily navigate through the document. Produced in a PDF format, the Written Statement can be easily searched for either Key Words or Policies. Furthermore, where there are references in the text to other policy statements (highlighted in blue), one click of the mouse will move instantly to the appropriate page in the Written Statement. Most innovative are the interactive links between the Written Statement and the Proposals Map (highlighted in the Written Statement in green). Where the text refers to a specific policy, one click of the mouse will bring up the relevant extract of the Proposals Map. Policy Labels on the Proposals Map link directly to each Map Key, and these in turn link back to the appropriate section in the Written Statement, allowing the user to navigate between the Written Statement and the Proposals Map. Where technical or planning specific terms are used in the body of the Written Statement, there are also links to a Glossary of terms. Extracts from the Written Statement can be printed from the CD-ROM, however, to satisfy Ordnance Survey copyright restrictions, the Proposals Map is protected to deny printing. It is believed that the East Renfrewshire Consultative Draft Local Plan is the first Local Plan to be published on CD-ROM in Scotland, and possibly even in the UK. Requests for the plan in its electronic format have outstripped projected requirements, and additional CD-ROMs have had to be produced.
Internet The Written Statement and Proposals Map, the Local Plan Charter, the Local Plan summary leaflet and the Customer Care questionnaire can also be viewed on the Council's website at www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk . By including a dedicated e-mail address on the website, readers were able to forward any comments in respect of the Consultative Draft Local Plan directly. However, some technical issues had to be resolved before the Local Plan could be made available on the Internet. Given the high quality of graphics on the CD-ROM, it was necessary to alter the files on the CD-ROM for web use. Therefore, rather than one large interlinked document, the Internet Local Plan was divided into small sections comprising one chapter each. This does not have the fully interactive functionality of the CD-ROM version, but it does ensure that all users are able to view the information over the web. To allow access to the whole Proposals Map on the Internet, it was necessary to reduce the potential for infringement of Ordnance Survey copyright. Accordingly, modifications were made to the plans by amending the OS basemap detail to 40% black, and graphical compression techniques utilised. This made it possible to reduce the physical file size and definition of the Proposals Map to ensure that it was suitable for use on the web. Ordnance Survey granted permission for display on the Internet, and a license issued. This was the first license granted by Ordnance Survey for a Proposals Map of this format and size. Procedures used by this Council for production of the on-line Proposals Map are now being followed by a number of other local planning authorities. The Internet version of the Written Statement and Proposals Map can also be viewed on the Council's Intranet and via the In Touch Information Kiosks located at a number of venues throughout East Renfrewshire. These kiosks allow members of the public local access to a variety of information and services provided by the Council.
The benefit of producing the East Renfrewshire Consultative Draft Local Plan in a range of formats is that public accessibility to the document has been increased. The use of an electronic format, not only allows readers to move between the Written Statement and the Proposals Map with ease, but they are also able to quickly search through the document for key policies and proposals. Analysis of customer care questionnaires has confirmed that users of the CD-ROM, particularly members of the public and community groups, have found that this format enables a simple and speedy understanding of how the policies and proposals contained in the Local Plan affect any land-use interests they may have in East Renfrewshire. To conclude, it is considered that the approach adopted in production of the East Renfrewshire Consultative Draft Local Plan demonstrates significant progress by the planning service and the Council's commitment to providing a participatory and quality planning service, seeking to utilise new technology where possible and be innovative in its approach to local planning. This is not simply technology for its own sake, but is part of a wider commitment to improving customer services within the framework of the Local Plan Charter. Technology has 'opened windows' to a wider audience, seeking to engage the community and other interests more actively and effectively in the Plan making process.
The judges called for a presentation. They were interested in all aspects of East Renfrewshire's innovation, and the need to tailor different approaches for CD-ROM and internet. After earlier pioneering work by Moray Council, East Renfrewshire Council's willingness to embrace new technology has broken new ground for development planning in Scotland. There are technical hurdles to be overcome for local plans in these new media, East Renfrewshire has been addressing them. Without commenting on East Renfrewshire's local plan itself, or on the council's promotion of public involvement in the process, the judges are definite in recommending East Renfrewshire's innovations in local plan presentation through CD-ROM and the internet for commendation in this category.