Winner - Place Studio

The collaborative approach to place shaping at the heart of Place Studio's work 'stitches and knits' town planning with people, places, ideas and aspirations.

As a team, they are committed to refining and delivering leading-edge approaches to community-led plan and placemaking.

Their work covers strategic and neighbourhood planning, characterisation and design, public realm projects and training across the public, community, voluntary and private sectors.

They are passionate about enabling and empowering ‘citizen planners’, harnessing local knowledge and energy to inform, shape and promote the future development of existing and new places.

The judges said:
"In selecting this entry as winner, the judges felt that Place Studio put together a well-crafted, evidence-based and fascinating submission, fully deserving of RTPI recognition through the Awards.

They operate on a bespoke financial model with impressive use of grant funding to add value and impact. Particularly impressive is the toolkit and the release of social capacity in the areas where they work. They are a co-founder of the Association of Collaborative Design with exemplar input in community engagement, impressive client testimonials and supporting case studies."

The winner said:
"It was fantastic to be recognised by our profession and, as a small practice, for all the work we do, and the way in which we do it, having a particular focus on enabling an improved social impact, with the positive and proactive input of communities in planning, design and regeneration.

Whether we had won or not, the award application process was a really valuable one to go through; it was a great way to reflect on, and review, our work as a small practice, and to get feedback from our clients to support our application and ongoing work. The awards event itself was inspiring and a great opportunity to learn about inspirational people and projects in the profession (and have a glass of something sparkling!)."

Commended - Polden Planning

Polden Planning was established in 2022 and includes Rebecca Randall and Andy Reading, two RTPI planners with a combined total of 35 years experience of the town planning system primarily in the south west of England.

At Polden Planning, no project is too big or too small, and every client will receive a dedicated, professional planning service that makes the most of all the opportunities each project can bring. We are dedicated to working proactively with clients and communities to promote collaborative outcomes and the highest quality planning solutions across all our projects.

The judges said:
"In selecting this entry for a commendation, the judges felt Polden Planning have demonstrated added value for clients by securing decisions on difficult and stalled sites. They embrace technology and applied learning and application in the realms of GIS and BNG.

Their submission addressed issues of value for money, support for SMEs and cross-selling of consultancy services and supporting LPAs through pre-app discussions on all projects. A local team with strong environmental values, with some interesting projects under their belt which they can be rightly proud of."