Planning Authority of the Year Winner
Central Bedfordshire Council
The Strategic Growth Team are a flexible, hard-working and adaptable team whose creativity and determination have helped deliver the Council’s priorities and make Central Bedfordshire a more sustainable and healthier place for all communities. The team have shown great resilience in adapting to unexpected challenges, adopting the Local Plan after a difficult Examination and committing to a challenging work programme preparing numerous SPDs and guidance documents alongside the Local Plan review. To be able to produce all of this high-quality work alongside the challenges associated with the Beechwoods SAC shows great ingenuity and commitment to planning.
Judges‘ comment: "Central Bedfordshire Council has been recognised for their exceptional work over the past two years. The team has been involved in a variety of projects, including the Local Plan, which was adopted in July 2021 after two separate Examination sessions. This achievement is particularly impressive considering the unexpected challenges that the team faced, such as Covid-19 restrictions and staff changes. However, the team worked collaboratively with stakeholders to create planning policies that aim to make Central Bedfordshire a more sustainable and healthier place. The Council's commitment to equality, diversity, inclusivity, and tackling inequalities is also evident in their implementation of Equalities Impact Assessments for all planning policy documents."