Awards for Planning Excellence

Hadrian’s Tower is a bold city centre regeneration scheme located on Rutherford Street in Newcastle upon Tyne. The building is a unique and extraordinary 27-storey residential development with a new concept of community and urban living at its heart. Unlike anythingseen in the North East before, Hadrian’s Tower meets resident’s lifestyle needs through 159 luxury one, two and three-bedroom apartments, a bespoke resident’s lounge, using technologies to deliver an innovative concierge experience and connect residents together,
the provision of meeting space with a coffee shop and is topped off with an exclusive champagne lounge on the top floor.

(Drone image: Credit to High Street Group)

Auckland Castle, home to the Prince Bishops, has been restored to become the anchor for the new visitor destination. Auckland Castle is one of the most significant complexes of medieval buildings in England. It is one of the last surviving episcopal palaces, overlooking the medieval deer park and it has international significance.

The Auckland Castle project has acted as a catalyst for wider regeneration of the Town Centre. The Council and its partners have been successful in obtaining £53M Government funding through its Town Deal programmes. The vision is to supercharge the County’s
visitor economy.

The restoration and refurbishment of the Grade II* Listed Victorian building Neville Hall into a centre for the development of young engineers.

The project delivered two elements. The first being the completion of specialist repairs identified from a conservation survey. The second being to sympathetically upgrade the building’s facilities throughout and with the inclusion of a central core within the buildings open core which allowed for stairs, a lift, toilets and extension through the roof for the creation of a modern glass fronted offices contrasting with the traditional stone and slate building.

(Image: Credit to Andrew Heptinstall)

Bentinck Terrace is a Grade II listed building in Newcastle upon Tyne, that has been refurbished and reconfigured to provide 36 one-bedroom apartments to house and support people experiencing homelessness in the city. There are 22 apartments within the existing historic building with the remaining 14 apartments spread across the site in various existing outbuildings and within two new build elements, all set within attractive walled gardens. The design is based on sustainable principles; reusing existing structures, utilising sustainable materials and methods of construction and increasing biodiversity on the site.

Planning permissions and a highway stopping-up Order to facilitate the expansion and integration of FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ Bio-Campus in Billingham. Creating a first phase gateway arrival building as well as providing certainty for future expansion of its office, manufacturing and laboratory accommodation. The overall scheme has the potential to create around 200 job opportunities directly but is also an exemplar of Teesside’s status as a hub for the UK’s advanced technologies sector, particularly in medical and pharmaceutical research and development.

(Image: Credit to tom Maguire at Seven Colours)

Riverside Sunderland is an ambitious project located within the heart of Sunderland, which seeks to regenerate vacant, derelict and under-utilised industrial land to deliver a new residential community, a thriving business district and a focal point for civic, commercial and community life within a highly sustainable location. The Riverside Sunderland SPD provides a comprehensive planning framework to ensure delivery of a high quality and coordinated scheme that incorporates the views of stakeholders, and the city’s residents and workers. It gives confidence to those seeking to invest and develop in the area and supportssocial and economic growth across the city.

As a small team of 8 professional planning consultants (5 full time and 3 part time), 2020 has been tough and eventful for the DPP Newcastle team. The team have risen to the challenge and have witnessed a regional property industry that has remained resilient and determined to weather the storm. Over the past year and despite the pandemic, DPP Newcastle has secured consent on schemes which are some of the most regionally significant developments in the North-East and will change the face of the region’s economic fortunes when completed.

Planning & Development in the UK is ripe for disruption. Throughout the pandemic, the team at PlaceChangers supported the resilience of the planning sector. Based on Newcastle, the team around founders Sebastian Weise and Alex Moon applied their two decades in town planning and software engineering to enable powerful interactive consultations for projects large and small. Citizens benefit from an accessible visual consultation method while planners enjoy more detailed feedback and time savings. In addition, the team successfully released a new innovative tool that enables design teams analyse health issues near their sites and to build back better.

Dominic has a firm knowledge and experience of planning having worked on a wide range of projects since 2015 and is a great role model for other young planners. His experience includes development appraisals, preparation and submission of planning applications, provision of strategic advice on major development sites, bespoke heritage and design projects, preparing planning appeals, drafting development representations and effectively engaging with local communities, key stakeholders and Councillors. He is a true advocate of equality, accessibility and sustainability within the built environment and an active volunteer within the planning community.

Peter is a proactive, thorough, commercially-aware planner with a passion for delivering consents for high-quality, sustainable developments that are supported by key stakeholders.  In recent years, Peter has managed the planning and related consenting regimes for new railway stations and other transport infrastructure projects. Peter is committed to demonstrating the value of planners to stakeholders and other disciplines by encouraging collaboration to deliver mutually beneficial outcomes. Peter mentors colleagues through the APC process. At the invitation of his alma mater, Newcastle University, Peter has presented to planning students to share his experience and emphasise the benefits of RTPI membership.