1998 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, Jeremy Rowan Robinson
Following the success of the 1997 Awards presented in May last year, a 1998 Awards scheme was announced and nominations were invited in August. 37 nominations were received covering the three categories of development control, development plans and development on the ground. The 1997 Award judges agreed to serve once more and studied the nominations on 13 th November. Presentations for the judges' shortlisted nominations in the development control and development planning categories took place on 1 st and 17 th December 1998 at 57 Melville Street, Edinburgh with Graham U'ren (RTPI in Scotland) and Roger Kelly (SO assessor) attending. Judges inspected their shortlist of nominations for development on the ground on 10 th and 11 th January 1999. Arrangements for meetings and visits were co-ordinated by Judy Woollett of RTPI's awards administration.
The judges have been encouraged by the number, range and quality of the nominations. They recommend that for each category, certificates be given in two main classes: Awards and Commendations. The judges also recommend that recognition be given to three further nominations submitted in the development planning category. Notes on the recommendations, the selection process and on individual nominations are given below, and the judges set out some overall conclusions at the end of this report.
Summary of the judges' main recommendations
In summary, the judges recommend: Development control: Awards for Glasgow quality management initiative and Moray's handling of major housing developments for RAF Lossiemouth, Commendations for Dundee's property enquiries service and the work to raise sign standards at Aviemore; Development planning: Award for Moray's work on its new development plan. Commendations for Clackmannanshire's proactive approach to planning and flooding and the Selkirk Riverside industrial project in the Scottish Borders. Development on the ground: Awards for Aberdeen's integrated city centre regeneration and South Lanarkshire's East Kilbride Village Project, Commendations for Glasgow's city centre public realm and West Lothian's conversion of Seafield Bing to Seafield Law.
Additional recommendations by the judges
The judges welcome the fact that several of the nominations extend beyond the mainstream of development planning and control. Examples this year are the approaches to safer routes to school and biodiversity action plans. While they understand that The Scottish Executive might have reservations about selecting such initiatives for the main classes of Award and Commendation, they believe it is important to continue to receive nominations that do not fall precisely within the categories and to recognise specific achievements in some way. The judges were particularly impressed this year by three nominations entered in the development planning category which deal with aspects of natural heritage and land management. These are the work towards a Management Strategy for the Cairngorms, which the judges consider of outstanding quality, and the pioneering work by Fife and West Lothian on Biodiversity Action Plans. The judges believe these are worthy of recognition and recommend them to the Minister for consideration.
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. 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 photographic material 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 1998 nominations
10 nominations in 1998 for outstanding performance and quality in
DEVELOPMENT CONTROL or an aspect of the service
14 nominations in 1998 for outstanding performance and quality in
DEVELOPMENT PLANS or an aspect of plan making practice
13 nominations in 1998 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 1998 Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning.
Once again, we have enjoyed our work in judging the Awards. We are pleased to see many more nominations this year and appreciate their range and quality. 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. As with last year's Awards, 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. And we hope that the record of more than fifty nominations over the first two years of the Awards scheme 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.
We would like to give special thanks to the many people who took time to make presentations or accompany our visits on the ground.
Planning work in Dundee, South Lanarkshire and Glasgow has been well to the fore in the nominations received this year, and we compliment all those involved. We are delighted to see examples coming forward from many parts of Scotland and hope that the geographical spread will be even wider in future. We also hope that outstanding quality can be identified in nominations where the planning service has tackled serious site development problems.
We believe that the Awards scheme is becoming well established as a positive force to raise the awareness of quality standards in Scottish planning, and we hope that practitioners, The Scottish Executive and the Royal Town Planning Institute in Scotland will continue to support it.
Gordon Mann, Andrew Raven, Jeremy Rowan Robinson