RTPI NE Regional Awards 2008

Entry Form and Judging Criteria

Closing Date - Wednesday 30 April 2008

The Royal Town Planning Institute North East Region is pleased to announce the launch of its 2008 Regional Awards for Planning Achievement. All types of planning work are eligible for an award, and entries can be submitted either by the organisation responsible for the work concerned, or by someone else. It is FREE to enter for an award, and entries can be submitted electronically.

Introduction

Since 1986 RTPI North East and its predecessor, the RTPI Northern Branch, have organised annual awards schemes to recognise and celebrate planning achievements in the region.

Distinguished winners over the period include the River Tees Barrage, the C2C Cycle Route, the Hadrian’s Wall Management Plan, Amble Regeneration, and Grainger Town. The first winner, in 1986, was Blyth Valley Council’s Planning Committee Agenda for 20 August 1985, whereas last year’s winner was Planning Aid North, for their work with young people.

Organisations submitting successful entries include local authority planning departments, regeneration partnerships, community groups, a development corporation, planning consultants and developers.

As last year, potential entrants from this region have two alternative ways of entering for a Regional Award. All entries from this region to the 2008 RTPI National Awards will automatically be considered as well for a Regional Award, so long as the entrant agrees. And, at the same time, RTPI North East is pleased to accept direct entries to the Regional Awards Scheme. To encourage more entries, the Regional Awards Scheme 2008 is free to enter, and all the required information can, if you wish, be submitted electronically.

Moreover, while the closing date for a national entry in 2008 is 31 March, regional entries can be submitted up to a month later, by 30 April. The regional assessors will not be influenced by which route an entrant has chosen. Any successful regional entrant can, of course, if they wish, enter for a national award as well, next year.

RTPI NE Regional Awards 2008

RTPI awards recognise the diversity of planning achievement, whether in urban or rural areas, whether large or small in scale, whether involving new development, regeneration or conservation, and whether promoted by the public, private or community sectors.

The awards look beyond purely physical outcomes to recognise innovative plans, processes, techniques, information systems, programmes of community involvement and improvements to public services. All types of planning achievement are equally eligible for the awards. The 2008 Regional Awards will not be organised around pre-determined themes.

It is intended that the results of the RTPI NE Regional Awards 2008 will be announced at the RTPI NE Annual Dinner on 31 October, with commemorative certificates presented by the National President of the RTPI, Janet O’Neill.

Who can enter for a Regional Award?

• A local authority planning or relevant department;
• A consultant or agent;
• A developer, partnership, organisation or community group;
• An individual professional; or
• Any member of the public.

An entry can relate to work done by the entrant, or you can enter a planning project or achievement which you particularly admire, which was the responsibility of another planner.

Judging

Decisions on regional awards and commendations will be made by a panel of invited independent judges led by the 2008 Chair of RTPI NE, Steve France. The panel will have complete discretion to make such awards and commendations as they think fit. Commemorative certificates will be presented to all winners of awards or commendations. Media coverage of successful entries will be encouraged.

Criteria

1. The schemes, actions or plans to which entries relate must be located within the North East of England, comprising Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Tees Valley (Darlington, Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, and Redcar and Cleveland).

2. The judges will be asked to give particular attention to the following criteria:

• Originality;
• Sustainable benefit to the community and/or environment;
• The relationship of the entry to the surrounding area, and/or the policy context;
• User and/or community involvement;
• The quality of the professional work involved;
• The role played by the planner working in partnership with others;
• The extent to which the entry may serve as a model of “best practice” for work elsewhere; and
• Particular relevance to the North East of England.

3. All types of planning activity are eligible, including plans, processes, projects and completed schemes. However, one of the tests of plans is their capability of implementation, and in some cases it may be better to defer an entry of this type until there is evidence of successful implementation.

How to enter

To save administrative expense, we would prefer to receive entries by e-mail to northeast@rtpi.org.uk.

However, if this is not possible, entries should be sent by post to
Chris Clarke, 22 Newbrough Crescent, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 2DQ.

In either case, entries must be received on or before Monday 30 April 2008.

Entries must include the following:
1. Name, address, telephone number and e-mail contact details for entrant;
2. Brief title of entry;
3. Its address or location, if relevant; (This must be sufficiently detailed for a judge to find and identify the scheme, on the ground. A location plan may well help.)
4. Firm, agency or other body responsible for entry;
5. Contact name (if relevant);
6. Relationship of entrant to responsible body, if any;
7. Description of entry;
8. Ways in which the entry meets the criteria which the judges will be considering;
9. Other agencies or partners involved in the scheme.

If appropriate and available, preferably in electronic format, supplementary information may also be submitted, such as;
• “Before” and “after” photographs;
• Documents, preferably in pdf format;
• Web-site references.

The answer to question 8, above, will be particularly important for the judges’ assessment of the entries. To answer it, entrants will need to refer back to the list of criteria, earlier in this document.

RTPI North East

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI for short) is the professional body representing town and country planners throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. RTPI is a dynamic organization, leading the way in the creation of places that work, now and in the future.

RTPI North East represents 800 planners throughout Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham and Tees Valley. It runs a comprehensive programme of Continuing Professional Development, publishes regular newsletters and e-bulletins, plays a full part in regional activities with fellow professions in the built and natural environment, supports Planning Aid, and promotes the involvement of young planners in the activities of the profession.

For further information about RTPI North East, visit the web-site www.rtpi.org.uk , e-mail Kay Lough at northeast@rtpi.org.uk, or write to her at RTPI NE, PO Box 116, Ponteland, NE20 9YN (telephone 01661 871 719).

The Registered Address of the RTPI nationally is 41 Botolph Lane, London EC3R 8DL, and its Registered Charity Number in England and Wales is 262 865, and in Scotland SC 037841.

Author:

Kay Lough

Publisher:

The Royal Town Planning Institute

Date:

05-Feb-08

Categories:

Nations & Regions 

Sections:

Events, Awards & Networking

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