RTPI Planning Awards 2007

The chandeliers glistened, the champagne flowed and the conversations sparkled as over 600 planners from all parts of the British Isles gathered in the London Hilton on 7 February 2008 to celebrate the achievements of British planning at the RTPI Planning Awards Ceremony. I felt honoured to be part of this celebration; at the same time surprised to be present.
I had always taken an interest in the projects and plans that received Planning Awards. The challenging regeneration projects and cutting edge approaches to new planning challenges were inspiring but always tackled by other authorities. Until this year I never felt that the work I had been involved in was anything out of the ordinary.
So how did I find myself at the RTPI National Planning Awards ceremony?
It all started in February 2007. The public examination of the Redcar and Cleveland Local Development Framework Core Strategy had just closed. It had gone smoothly without any major changes. In contrast to the situation nationally where concern was being expressed as to whether the new system was workable.
I knew that Redcar and Cleveland had shown that LDFs can be made to work. We were already sharing our good practice with others through conferences and enquiries from around the country. So when I saw the call for projects to be entered into the Planning Awards I decided to go for it.
Entering the Planning Awards was easy – writing a short statement setting out our achievements and how the LDF met the judging criteria. Within a few weeks we heard that we had been short listed and would be interviewed by the panel of judges. This proved to be a very enjoyable afternoon; although we were a little daunted to be interviewed by Mike Ash, the former Government chief planner who had introduced Local Development Frameworks.
We gave a dynamic presentation to show how we were using the LDF to tackle the many challenges facing Redcar and Cleveland. Perhaps Mike’s most telling question was “Why have you managed to get the system to work and others haven’t?” Our reply was that we needed a new plan urgently to steer regeneration proposals. We had embraced the ethos of the new system wholeheartedly and taken a pragmatic approach to make it work for us.
This must have worked. Because on the 7 February, we were honoured to receive a Commendation for our LDF from President of the Planning Officers’ Society, Steve Quartermain.
The Redcar and Cleveland LDF was the only project submitted to the 2007 Planning Awards from the North East. In view of the pace of change in the region, there must be many exciting planning projects being developed. I would urge you to submit them for the national or regional awards. Share your achievements with others. Let’s celebrate good planning!
Rosemary Kidd, Policy and Design Manager, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
The Redcar and Cleveland LDF can be viewed on www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/ldf - Tel: 01287612355
Email: planning_policy @redcar-cleveland.gov.uk

Author:

Kay Lough

Publisher:

The Royal Town Planning Institute

Date:

01-Apr-08

Categories:

 

Sections:

Events, Awards & Networking

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