mediation of space • making of place
No 137 : Oct 2010
Scottishplanner Journal of the RTPI in Scotland
New Sustainable Land Use Strategy sustainable land use in Scotland. The consultation proposes three strategic objectives: successful land-based businesses contributing to Scotland's prosperity and wellbeing; flourishing natural environments; and vibrant, sustainable communities in urban and rural areas, with people connected to the land, enjoying it and taking an interest in its future.
Proposed government actions
Borders’ agriculture © image courtesy Charles Strang
The consultation on a Sustainable Land Use Strategy for Scotland was launched on 23 September, with written responses invited by 17 December. The duty to produce a Strategy is contained in Section 57 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. This requires Scottish Ministers to set out their objectives in relation to sustainable land use; their proposals and policies for meeting those objectives; and the timescales over which those proposals and policies are expected to take effect. Following consultation, the strategy is to be laid before the Scottish Parliament and to be revised every five years. In launching the consultation, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead said: "This Land Use Strategy will be an important tool for decision-makers… It will highlight opportunities and threats as we move to a low-carbon society, and help us work out how to make appropriate trade-offs when required. And it will support our goals
on food security, biodiversity and treeplanting, and show how rural and urban Scotland depend on each other.”
Aims and objectives The purpose of this Strategy is to guide, support and inform all those involved in deciding how land is to be used, by setting out a vision and long-term objectives for an integrated approach to
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Specific Government actions in the period 2011-2016 relate to identifying the best types of land for tree planting; measures relating to conservation and management of carbon-rich soils; the use of demonstration projects; the application of the ecosystem approach to relevant decisions made by public bodies; and investigation of the relationship between land management changes and ecosystem processes to identify adaptation priorities. Other actions include: examination of how land-use regulations and incentives might be better aligned with sustainable land-use objectives; exploration of how land-based businesses can reduce landbased greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the threats and opportunities of a changing climate; use of the objectives set out in this Strategy to influence negotiations on post-2014 CAP reform; developing the land-use aspects of the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy; and identification of effective ways for communities to contribute to land use debates and decision-making.
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OCTOBER 2010
Scottishplanner
Editorial
contents
By the time you read this James Henderson, RTPI in Scotland Information Co-ordinator, will have left the RTPI to begin his PhD studies at the Heriot-Watt University.
James will be researching different models of community empowerment, and perhaps it is appropriate that this issue of the journal focuses on community involvement! James has masterminded all the detailed sub-editing work on Scottishplanner for the past three years and will be sadly missed. I am sure you will join me in wishing him well with his studies, and in thanking him for all his excellent work. This edition tackles one of the most challenging aspects of culture change: that of community involvement. Have the new procedures made planning a more or a less user-friendly process? Can we involve communities early enough in the process? Will such involvement suffer under the public sector cuts that lie ahead? The contributions to this edition emphasise the importance of community involvement and the benefits associated with getting it right. I hope you find the articles of interest and of help in dealing with the challenges that lie ahead. As ever, we are extremely grateful to Biggart Baillie LLP and Halcrow for their sponsorship of Scottishplanner; and for the support of our advertisers. Veronica Burbridge Editor
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03 Convener’s Comments
Update 04 New Sustainable Land Use Strategy – Veronica Burbridge … continued from the front cover 05 A View from South Lanarkshire – Cllr Graham Scott 06 Planning Reform: Community engagement in planning – Scottish Government 07 Planning Reform: A first and lasting impression – Rowena MacDougall
Focus on Community Engagement 08 09 10 11 12 13
Working with all the talents – Richard Heggie Getting from NIMBY to IMBY – Petra Biberbach Speaking through ‘weel-kent’ faces – Derek Laidlaw By the community, for the community – Daniel McKendry Lowering the temperature – Karol Swanson Whose proposal is it anyway? – Amanda Wetzel
Views and News 14 Getting the inside story – Neil Huggan 15 People-centred placemaking – Nick Wright 16 News and events 18 Policy briefing
Scottishplanner is the Journal of the Royal Town Planning Institute in Scotland, and is distributed free by direct mail to all Members in Scotland. It is also available on the web at www.scotland.rtpi.org.uk
20 Directory
Scottishplanner Sponsors
Editor Veronica Burbridge Production James Henderson Potential articles and photographs are welcome. The Editor reserves the right to amend articles as necessary. Enquiries to: the Editor, Scottishplanner, RTPI in Scotland, 57 Melville St, Edinburgh, EH3 7HL Tel: 0131 226 1959; email: scotland@rtpi.org.uk The opinions stated are the contributors’ own unless otherwise stated. The RTPI is not responsible for statements made or views expressed in this journal. ISSN 1353-9795 Registered office: Royal Town Planning Institute, 41 Botolph Lane, London EC3R 8DL Scottish Charity No. SC037841 Registered Charity No. 262865 Scottishplanner is printed on Era Silk recycled paper. Design, production and advertising by Thinktastic Tel 0131 554 2807
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From pre-application right up to any appeal, our highly-focused, partner-led team advises on all aspects of planning. Specifically, our experience covers housing, business, retail, leisure, industry, transport, waste, energy and minerals, as well as natural and built heritage matters. We act for developers, local authorities and any other party involved in planning matters. At Biggart Baillie we pride ourselves on seeing the planning and related issues in the round. For further information, please visit www.biggartbaillie.co.uk twitter.com/biggartbaillie
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Convener’s Comments The current consultations on the draft Land Use Strategy for Scotland and on Resourcing a High Quality Planning System raise challenging issues for everyone interested in planning in Scotland. Sustainable land use The Land Use Strategy together with the National Planning Framework 2 will set out the Scottish Government’s approach to the land use aspects of sustainable development. The Strategy will inform future planning policy, and is useful in making connections between land use and the ecosystem services – that is the services which land provides, such as clean water, food, landscape, soil and carbon storage, and that are fundamental to sustainable communities and to the economy. Unsurprisingly, many of these services are central to addressing climate change. It is to be welcomed that the draft Strategy recognises the links between rural and urban land use, and sets an objective to support vibrant, sustainable communities in both urban and rural areas. In Europe and North America there are already examples of closer integration of urban and rural land use planning and management.
River Tweed at Kelso © image courtesy Charles Strang
Many in Scotland have identified where there seem to be conflicting visions and a lack of an integrated, strategic direction for land use in their area. Development plans, and frameworks such as indicative forestry strategies, flood risk management plans and national parks plans, may help to provide that guidance. The consultation gives us an opportunity to explore whether these frameworks and other mechanisms could be delivering more to address climate change and build more resilient communities.
Who decides? The consultation on Resources for Planning is focusing on fees, but many will have noted that there is at least one key area for debate around this topic which is more challenging. What constitutes a high-performing planning system, and who should decide what matters? How to evaluate performance and who should do that are recurring questions in planning processes in every field including education, defence and health. The consultation challenges us again to consider how we can evaluate plans and planning. Earlier consultation on this subject revealed that planning authorities and other key stakeholders are keen to be involved. Given that the new plans are to be developed in collaborative and inclusive ways, with many more partnerships among the stakeholders, and that plan-making is to follow a more
regular five-year cycle, it is more practical and appropriate to consider an evaluation process which actively involves all of the stakeholders. It could be argued that the active engagement and involvement in plan preparation and delivery, which are central to the new system, must be carried through to the evaluation of plans and their delivery. Who decides what matters and who should evaluate? Perhaps there is an opportunity to consider whether such a process would be best facilitated by a partnership or an organisation at arm’s length from the planning authority, government or any individual stakeholder in the process. Such an arrangement would demonstrate the planning authorities’ and stakeholders’ confidence in the system, and make connections between the establishment of the outcomes sought and the evaluation process. In turn, this could engender greater confidence in the process and raise awareness of planning and planners, and their contributions to wider goals and outcomes that include delivering sustainable economic growth and addressing climate change. Ian Angus MRTPI Convener, RTPI in Scotland’s Scottish Executive Committee
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OCTOBER 2010
Scottishplanner : UPDATE
New Sustainable Land Use Strategy… continued from the front cover provide that guidance. It suggests that “… public bodies could consider whether more needs to be done locally, either through expanding existing mechanisms or through other means, to help give greater clarity and to guide decisions and choices about the use of land towards delivering the best outcomes for their area.” … but little guidance is provided on how this might be achieved or funded.
Youthful recreation on the Argyll coast © image courtesy Charles Strang
Linking to planning This is a very high level document which contains many links with the National Planning Framework. The Strategy briefly outlines its relationship with the planning system noting: “This Strategy deals with broader considerations relating to the sustainable use of land, notably in situations where the statutory planning and development management system does not apply. Together, NPF2 and the Land Use Strategy set out the Scottish Government’s approach to the land-use aspects of sustainable development. The Strategy can also inform future planning policy.” The degree of overlap is at times confusing and the Strategy lacks any detailed explanation of how integration may be achieved through Scottish Planning Policy (SPP). Principles of increasing woodland cover, protecting carbon-rich soils, and the development of spatial frameworks for larger onshore windfarms are included and echo wellestablished planning policy. There is further overlap with development planning: for instance, the Strategy includes sections on vacant and derelict land; flood risk management; urban greenspace; and well-designed, 04 www.rtpi.org.uk/rtpi_in_scotland/
sustainable rural and urban places and landscapes. The consultation document states that: “in many parts of Scotland this Strategy, in conjunction with other plans and documents, will provide sufficient strategic direction for land managers, public bodies and others involved in making decisions about land use.” It picks out community planning partnerships as bodies which may wish to consider how the Land Use Strategy can assist in determining priorities for setting single outcome agreements. However, it views development plans as only one of a number of mechanisms for achieving integration.
Toward a fully integrated Strategy The consultation paper notes that many stakeholders and land managers are looking for a clearer sense of strategic direction relating to the use of land in their local area. The consultation notes that, in many instances, development plans, as well as other mechanisms such as indicative forestry strategies, river basin management plans, flood risk management plans, national park plans or spatial frameworks for windfarms, will
The consultation paper claims that this is the first time that a strategy has set out a high-level, long-term agenda for sustainable land use across Scotland. Like me, some of you may reach for your copy of the National Planning Framework 2 (NPF2) to establish just where the differences lie, and consider whether some more integrated approach to policy might be helpful. You might marvel at the continuing silo nature of Government Directorates; wonder why a resource strategy aiming to establish a low-carbon economy omits any mention of marine spatial planning; and regret the lost opportunity for establishing a strong development plan-led system in Scotland. This Strategy is, nonetheless, refreshing in its return to sustainable development principles and in its emphasis on the ecosystem approach. It could have far reaching consequences, and it will be interesting to see the influence that it has on the next round of proposed ‘national developments’ in NPF3. It sets some sensible strategic directions but, as it stands, it will not provide the greater certainty and direction required by stakeholders and land managers: it will need to clarify its relationship with the NPF and SPP, and give higher priority to the integrating role of strategic and local development plans. This is an important document: we need to get it right. Planners have much to contribute to the debate between now and December. Veronica Burbridge, National Director, RTPI in Scotland
Chatelherault Country Park, Hamilton © images courtesy South Lanarkshire Council
A View from South Lanarkshire
Councillor Graham Scott is the Scottish Labour Party elected member for East Kilbride East within South Lanarkshire Council, Chair of the Planning Committee for South Lanarkshire Council and Chair of Glasgow and Clyde Valley Strategic Development Planning Authority. There is no doubt that the planning system would be strengthened by greater community involvement in matters such as local and strategic development plans and everyday planning applications. The goals that we should all aspire to are to make our local communities better places for work and recreation, and to produce a healthy built environment, not just for now, but for future generations.
Seeking enlightenment The big debate is how to involve the general public in constructive dialogue on the developments and facilities that need to be built to enhance the quality and capacity of our communities. In certain circumstances, some people in our communities, and on occasion community councils, take a negative and limited approach to applications that affect their areas. As statutory consultees on planning applications, community councils should take a wider perspective and, I think, ensure they represent the many, varied interests in their locale. There are, of course, many community councils that are excellent examples of understanding the broad-based aims and aspirations of people within their area, and of giving a balanced view. This can contrast to the narrow ‘just say no’ attitude to planning applications promulgated by some community councils, who do not see planning as an instrument of advancement for communities, but see development
plans and some individual applications, unfortunately, as a threat to their locale. For some, there appears to be a culture of resistance to change, whether strategic or local. Many automatically object, believing they are protecting their community from developments and facilities they do not want. Rather I would suggest a more informed and constructive attitude be taken to planning applications that would in all reality bear more fruit in the longerterm for their communities. Perhaps councils and applicants have to look at how best to foster such a position.
Widening the net The new planning legislation brought in a year ago is offering some hope in eliciting meaningful dialogue between
communities and planning authorities. The introduction of mandatory preapplication community consultation by potential applicants is giving the chance for individual members of the public to involve themselves in a constructive way and away from the application process itself. The theory is that community contact at this early stage could lead to modifications in the application that would smooth the way to a less confrontational position being taken by objectors when the application is lodged. In most cases, the use of exhibitions and public contact at this stage in the process is attracting a broader range of people to join in the process, which opens up the prospect of less entrenched positions being voiced by community councils when the application is actually lodged. The changes brought in by the new legislation are by no means perfect, and further consultation between the Scottish Government, COSLA and the local authorities that operate the planning system on a daily basis will, I am sure, bring further modifications. By listening and acting on the practicalities and experiences of those at the frontline in local government, the Scottish Government will be able to enhance what has already been achieved and Scotland will take further steps down the road to an advanced planning system fit for the 21st Century.
South Lanarkshire Council Headquarters, Hamilton
The views expressed are the author’s own. 03 05
OCTOBER 2010
Scottishplanner : UPDATE - PLANNING REFORM
Community engagement in planning The Scottish Government reports The Scottish Government published in August an updated Planning Advice Note on community engagement. Launching PAN 3/2010: Community Engagement in Planning, Stewart Stevenson, Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, recognised both “the important role planning plays in building strong and sustainable economic growth in Scotland and the interest of communities in development plans and proposals.”
Forums In addition to the PAN revision, a number of projects are ongoing. The Development Management Forum in June brought together communities, local authorities and developers, with practical experience of pre-application consultation, to share their experiences. The outputs from these discussions can be found on the development management web-page of the Government’s website. The next national Strategic Environmental Assessment Forum will also be focusing on public participation. © image courtesy Scottish Government
PAN 3/2010 builds upon the Government’s policy on community engagement in planning, as set out in the Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) published in February 2010, which recognises that effective engagement with the public can lead to better plans, better decisions and more satisfactory outcomes, and can help to avoid delays in the planning process. PAN 3/2010 differs from the previous PAN 81, published in March 2007, in a number of ways. The messages within PAN 81 are carried forward, as are the linkages with the National Standards for Community Engagement. However, PAN 81 referred to secondary legislation that it was considered would arise out of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 and, following consultation in 2008 and calls from consultees to make the legislation simpler, there were some changes to the subsequent secondary legislation which came into force in 2009. The legislative references in PAN 81 therefore became somewhat misleading, and PAN 3/2010 looks to clarify these matters. In addition, there has been a move away from the inclusion of case studies in Government planning documents, and so these have been removed. However, in line with Delivering Planning Reform, the Government remains keen to hear about such studies and has been encouraging their submission. It is the Government’s intention to ensure that there are better linkages between the PAN and the Scottish Government website in relation to examples of community engagement practice. Examples of these studies are to be made available on the Government’s planning website. If you, too, have an example that should be shared more widely, further details are available at www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/BuiltEnvironment/planning/modernising/cc/GoodPractice. 06 www.rtpi.org.uk/rtpi_in_scotland/
The Scottish Charrette Series This month has also seen the publication of the report of the Charrette Series held earlier this year. The Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative (SSCI) Charrette Series took place throughout March 2010 and involved an innovative, interactive approach to public engagement in order to develop community-informed masterplans. The Series involved three of the exemplar projects selected for the SSCI, Lochgelly in Fife, Grandhome in Aberdeen, and Ladyfield in Dumfries. Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stewart Stevenson highlights that: “Charrettes are a truly innovative and exciting approach to empowering communities that the Scottish Government is pioneering on a national scale. They allow people to shape positively the decisionmaking process in their communities in a dynamic and effective way, improving the quality, attractiveness and success of places across Scotland."
Mediation Work is also progressing on the pilot study into mediation, with two of the three live cases nearing completion. As the mediator engaged in the pilot project, John Sturrock of Core Solutions, has commented: “There has been useful learning for us all about this process and we are seeing already the potential benefits which mediation can bring to the planning system in Scotland for local communities, planners and developers.” In conclusion … as PAN 3/2010 states, successful operation of the planning system will only be achieved if those involved, planning authorities, agencies and consultees, applicants, communities, representative organisations, public bodies, the Government and the general public, commit themselves to engaging as constructively as possible in the process.
A first and lasting impression Rowena MacDougall, Policy Planner with Aberdeenshire Council, examines the challenges of neighbour notification. Aberdeenshire Council published its Proposed Plan on July 9, 2010, and as the first Scottish planning authority to do so under the new planning system, there have been no models or best practice advice to follow. Our first step was to establish which allocations required notification. It was clear from the Town and Country Planning (Development Planning) Regulations 2008 that new allocations for housing and employment require notification. However, the situation was less clear for land protected from development, greenbelt and existing housing and employment allocations carried forward from the previous Aberdeenshire Local Plan. Scottish Government and legal advice were sought on the extent of notification to be achieved. Generally we concluded as follows: • where land was protected for an existing use, or was for landscaping, no notification was required. • where a site was reserved for a specific development, such as a health centre or future school extension, notification was required. • where new restrictions on development were being proposed in a particular area, it was decided notification of these sites should be undertaken – properties affected by boundary changes to existing designations, such as greenbelt, were treated in this way. • neighbours of existing sites being carried forward from previous plans were also notified, on the advice that the existing allocations were specific development proposals within the Local Development Plan.
Meet the ‘neighbour notification team’ - from left to right: Jill Paterson, Sarah MacRitchie, Matthew Watt, Rowena MacDougall and Alison Hogge © image courtesy Alison Hogge
Managing the risks Having established which allocations required notification, the next step was to identify all the relevant sites within the Proposed Plan and related addresses. A buffer was drawn around each allocation and addresspoint ‘seeds’1 captured through the Council’s GIS system. It quickly became apparent that the 20m buffer was too narrow and there was risk that the seed point of a building within 20m might itself be outwith this buffer. In light of this, the buffer zone was increased to 40m from the allocation to ensure all addresses were captured. This resulted in considerably less time spent checking the accuracy of the buffer areas, but an increased number of people being notified. Over 500 sites were identified as requiring notification, resulting in an unprecedented 9,000 notifiable addresses. Careful organisation was required when it came to packaging up the envelopes to ensure each premises received the correct notice and associated plan. This stage was very staff-intensive – amounting to well in excess of 30 person-days – and took up a large amount of space. The cost was an inevitable consequence of the Regulations; the over-consultation we undertook was seen as a means of minimising risk of future challenge.
During the first three weeks of the consultation period, the office resembled a call centre as neighbours responded to the formal notices.
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the task became apparent. During the first three weeks of the consultation period, the office resembled a call centre as neighbours responded to the formal notices. There was confusion as to the purpose of the notification: a number of recipients thought it was in respect of a planning application and were looking for a greater level of detail than was presented in the Plan. In light of this, clearly the wording of the notice now requires careful consideration. As I write, our consultation on the Proposed Plan is still ongoing and it is difficult to judge what impact notification will have on levels of representation received and, more generally, in engaging with people. From the calls received, it is clear that notification has made more people aware of the Local Development Plan and its potential impact on their neighbourhood. Time will tell if this produces other benefits further down the line through the development management stage and/or leads on to reductions in the period taken to determine planning applications. 1
What the neighbours say Initially we had underestimated the extent of notification, and it was on receipt of advice that the true scale of
The addresspoint ‘seeds’ are data points on the ‘map layer’ associated with a certain property which when clicked upon give the address details. When a buffer is drawn in the GIS system, a query can be run which picks up all the addresses within the buffer.
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Scottishplanner : FOCUS ON COMMUNITY ENGAGE
Working with all the talents Richard Heggie is Director of Edinburgh planning and urban design consultancy Urban Animation, and the RTPI’s UK Planning Consultant of the Year. Drawing on recent and current projects, he asks planners to reflect on the level of their ambition for their work with communities. We’re fortunate in having a professional journal to provide feedback on community engagement in the new era. Our consultees are not so lucky. Most people don’t seem to realise they are now ‘stakeholders’ with a statutory role in shaping their towns and neighbourhoods. Have they even heard of PAN 3/2010? Of course, we should review our efforts and spread best practice. We should share techniques for shaping our efforts to the specific circumstances of each case. We should celebrate success and learn from mistakes. However, there is a danger that in focusing on process, we improve our box-ticking but spectacularly lose sight of the enormous possibilities people can bring to planning, placemaking and sustainable development.
A new sense of ownership Andrew Mickel pointed out in the August Scottishplanner (136) that today’s NIMBY might be tomorrow’s customer, if developers play their cards right. The penny is beginning to drop. Although this stems from marketing savvy on the part of Mactaggart & Mickel, it’s not a giant leap from this to a more meaningful conversation that seeks to build something a community wants and needs. We’re doing this in Furnace, with Argyll Estates. We hope to provide a housing development that the community itself can grow into. A landowner helping local people get the houses they need at a fair price … it’s not just community engagement that has entered a new era. Up the A83 at Inveraray and at other large mixed-use developments in Bowmore, Forres, Evanton and Tomatin, we’re exploring how local people might drive employment and community ownership. Evanton has become a 08 www.rtpi.org.uk/rtpi_in_scotland/
Consultation session at Inverary © image courtesy Richard Heggie
commuter town feeding Inverness and, every day, accountants, hairdressers, retail workers and planning consultants head for the city, where they use each other’s services. If they had the opportunity and support, would they relocate or start a business back in Evanton? If we work together to increase local employment, will we be better placed to sell houses? Could we create a vibrant, integrated neighbourhood that sustains local services and gives the community a sense of ownership beyond the allotments we expect them to run?
Changing the view It would be easier to stick with housing use, stage an exhibition, gather feedback, adjust the scheme to pacify concerns and gain consent. The Client may ultimately pursue that route if the market will carry it. However, the Crunch has opened a window of opportunity and increasing numbers of professionals, communities, even landowners and developers, are trying to climb through it - or at least checking out the view. Argyll is well ahead of the game with successful community ownership at Easdale Island, Gigha and the Bute
Forest, possibly to be followed soon by the enormous Machrihanish airbase. The Ardrishaig Community Trust is taking a lead, and the Mull Manifesto is a bold community vision helping to shape the future of the island, where the Tobermory Harbour Trust has already achieved success.
Ambitious talk Management guru Tom Peters once said that ambitious organisations should ask their employees to list their hobbies, ad hoc qualifications and areas of personal interest. They’d typically find individuals who could fly a plane, raise twins, play piano to concert standard or speak Mandarin. There’s so much unused talent! We can continue to underestimate our consultees or tap into this resource. Either way, we need to find a more accessible way of mobilising individuals to engage more fully with planning and development. Beyond the box-ticking, community engagement should remind us that towns are for people. If we can harness their energy, skills and aspirations, we may get somewhere close to the sustainable economic development we all need to deliver.
EMENT
Getting from NIMBY to IMBY Mentoring, youth coaching, community-led development: Petra Biberbach, Director of Planning Aid for Scotland, explores the opportunities they are generating to enable people and communities to become valued partners in a modern planning system. Planning is an essential public service that directly impacts on people’s lives. It facilitates sustainable economic growth and contributes towards tackling climate change … However, it is now time for planning to come out of its box. The relevance and reach of the planning system need to be universally understood, and this requires an all-embracing culture change that will put people across Scotland at the heart of planning. The modernisation of planning came about because the previous system was not keeping up with society’s changing expectations – environmental, social and economic. The new legislation aimed to be enabling, creating a more strategic, balanced and open system, so that everyone could and should play their part, from planners themselves, to developers, lawyers, politicians, communities, individuals and community groups. But is this happening on the ground?
Rights and responsibilities Planning Aid for Scotland (PAS) has a unique position in relation to involving people and communities in planning. It sees what happens at the grassroots level and that people who are active in planning often become active in their community in other ways, while those who are not engaged are often disengaged from other services too. Some argue that the planning system has an ‘image problem’, and that those who know it exists often use planning
as a tool to object to development, be that to a windfarm, housing development or a neighbour’s house extension. PAS recognises that objecting to a development is a right and can certainly be a positive force, but with it should come the responsibility of participation. Development plan and pre-application consultations are important opportunities to use the planning system positively and, increasingly, community-led organisations are becoming developers and creating community-owned assets such as wind turbines, allotments, play parks and community centres.
Mentoring and more The PAS mentoring scheme is an ideal example of the ‘enabling’ planning system we need to promote. The scheme has initially been rolled out across rural Scotland, in partnership with local CVSs (Councils for Voluntary Services) and other intermediaries, and provides a helping hand with advice, information and support to enable locally-led community projects to become a reality. There is an urgent need for professional planning advice to allow these groups to take forward their ideas at each stage of the planning process. Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without the unique PAS team of volunteers who are all planning professionals. There’s a sense of satisfaction when you see how you’ve helped someone through the planning
© image courtesy Planning Aid for Scotland
maze, allowing them to harness planning to develop their community. It is a unique way to gain knowledge from both the grassroots and other professionals, and to boost your job prospects. Mentoring is a valuable tool that embeds planning knowledge in communities for current and future developments. Similarly, working with young people to teach them about planning, and why and how to get involved, is essential. Planning to Act®, our programme for young people, is now developing into a second phase, youth coaching. This new programme is not just about planning but about engaging in wider society and becoming active citizens with rights and responsibilities. This is what planning should be all about, involving people or, as Patrick Geddes put it, successful planning has to be “folk planning”.
A key resource Culture change is often talked about, but we need less talk and more action to put people at the heart of planning. Despite the increasing pressures placed on land, a fixed resource, there is good work happening across Scotland including government consultation on land use, crofting and other planning-related issues. Local authorities, developers and others need to see engaging with people not as a burden but as a valuable resource – as valuable as the land itself.
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Scottishplanner : FOCUS ON COMMUNITY ENGAGE
Speaking through ‘weel-kent’ faces Recognising that effective engagement with community councils on past development plan consultations has proven elusive, planners in the Outer Hebrides have been working closely with their Community Coordinators Service to improve this process for the new Local Development Plan. Results have been very encouraging, as Derek Laidlaw, LDP Coordinator for Comhairle nan Eilean Siar/ Western Isles Council, reports. We were wanting, as it says on the ‘modernising tin’, the preparation of our new Local Development Plan to be inclusive and accessible with local people more involved in decisions that shape the development of their communities. Establishing an early, effective dialogue between the Plan and the community councils was therefore important. In the past such a dialogue has eluded us, with poor response rates of under 7%. No matter how nice the Plan’s cover, the traditional approach of adverts and letters to community councils was not hitting the spot. Clearly we needed to do better.
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If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve gotten. Tony Robbins
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With a small team, limited resources and a tight preparation programme, our consultation efforts had to be focused and canny: engagement with 28 community councils, widely dispersed across 11 islands, therefore presented challenges. However, by tapping into wider council resources and networks, we’ve found help in the form of the nine Community Coordinators. They support community council meetings and work in local communities; indeed many live there too, and so are the ‘weel-kent’ community faces. They have become key to opening-up dialogue.
Briefing the messenger The Senior Community Coordinator joined the Plan Project Team, ensuring ‘community interest’ informed our preparation process. Planners in turn attended Coordinators’ meetings to discuss the Plan and benefit from their experience. The Coordinators clearly had skills in this area, and we needed only to build their capacity and provide the materials to enable them to disseminate our planning messages and facilitate feedback. The Coordinators willingly – it’s true – signed up to take the Plan into the community. Community council meetings vary significantly in frequency and protocols and this informed our consultation programming and methods. Previously, letters to the community council secretaries hadn’t always ensured space on their busy agendas, but having now secured an agenda spot with the Coordinators’ help, we could then provide a simple message of the key issues we wanted them to address.
It’s good to talk The initiative has produced encouraging results, with community council response rates improving from 7% of old to 36% on this recent Main Issues Report (MIR). Encouragingly, a 10 www.rtpi.org.uk/rtpi_in_scotland/
Berneray Island’s village hall, venue for one of the most westerly community council meetings in Scotland © image courtesy Comhairle nan Eilean Siar/ Western Isles Council
quarter of the councils provided early comment prior to MIR preparation and, beyond the statistics, the quality of response has been improved. Even where there has been no response, general awareness of the process and consultation opportunities has increased. Working with Coordinators has had wider benefits too: with their finger on the local pulse, networking opportunities and other community links have been located. Their local knowledge has helped identify potential proposals and offered valuable background information on local priorities. New relationships have been forged and planning topics are now incorporated into community Have Your Say Days: other services are now starting to utilise the Coordinators for consultations too. It is also critically important to keep elected Council Members and other decision-makers updated to ensure support for initiatives.While planners themselves do still directly meet with the community councils, the Coordinators have helped to ensure that the Plan preparation process is kept on Members’ radar.
Let’s speak soon While setting up the initiative has taken time and effort, the payback has certainly been worthwhile. The aim now is to maintain interest and momentum and, encouragingly, at a recent debriefing session the Coordinators were keen to learn about the overall results of the MIR consultation and looking forward to the next stage. Working closely with them has helped us better deliver a key ingredient on that ‘modernising tin’, and a dialogue now exists between the Plan and community… the next challenge is to persuade others to join in.
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By the community, for the community A community confident in its future and an award-winning approach: Daniel McKendry, Principal Regeneration Officer with East Renfrewshire Council, discusses the Renaissance Town approach to working with the people of Neilston. The Neilston Renaissance Town Charter is the pilot project of the Scottish Renaissance Towns Initiative, a response to the challenges facing small towns in Scotland. The aim has been to establish a community-led team in this village of 6000, both to develop the Charter as a guide to future development and to then champion this regeneration. The Charter recently won the Community Involvement Award at the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning 2009, with the judges concluding: “… an excellent example of how to bring together community interest groups and relevant experts in design, planning and regeneration to establish a shared vision of a town's development opportunities.”
New ways of working The Charter sets out a 20-year vision for the village and is set in the context of Scottish Government’s overall purpose of sustainable economic growth and the commitment within planning reform to effective community involvement. The Charter was developed through a series of Town Team workshops and debates in early 2009, culminating in a Town Charrette weekend. The process was open to all, including residents, local businesses, agencies, and key civic leaders. Focus groups emerged, namely: heritage and appearance; sustainability, movement and accessibility; economic development; open spaces and places; and young people’s involvement. The direct cost of the process has been approximately £40,000. For this Renaissance Towns approach to work, everyone involved had to shed previous pre-conceptions of their roles and embrace a steep learning curve: for us as council officers this meant temporarily putting aside our understanding of
planning structures and governance to support an ‘unrestricted conversation’. All stakeholders were invited as ‘individuals with an interest’ rather than ‘delegates with an agenda’, and participative, creative planning followed - a challenging, very fulfilling and enjoyable process.
A Vision, a Charter, a manifesto The result is Neilston 2030, a long-term vision for “the creation of a sustainable, economically-robust, well-planned and well-connected small town.” The Charter also outlines ‘town-wide initiatives’ relating to the main street and public realm, and ‘key development projects’, such as the refurbishment of Crofthead Mill to support economic development, re-development of the currently closed (upper & lower) railway stations to promote sustainable travel, and an infill development strategy to identify opportunities for development. The Charter enables a legacy of civic pride to be passed on, in the spirit of traditional town building and contemporary sustainability, and is the community’s mandate and manifesto. The Town Team through this intense four-month process have become highly-informed and skilled, and are now able to carry the Charter forward into real projects. As council officers and departments, we’ve worked together across disciplines with all the longer-term benefits that brings: likewise, we’re part of the wider partnership that has developed and is now taking forward the Charter - the
A postcard with ribbons attached was delivered to each household in Neilston inviting residents to the first Renaissance Town meeting and to tie the card to their favourite place in the village – an initial straw poll of community priorities. © image courtesy East Renfrewshire Council
Mackintosh School of Architecture and Glasgow Urban Lab, the Development Trust Association Scotland, Architecture + Design Scotland, The Lighthouse, SUST.org, Barrhead Housing Association and Urban Design Skills.
A beginning not an end Now all the stakeholders are ‘custodians’ of the future of Neilston through the Charter, thus enabling local people to lead in creating change and to retain ownership of this long-term process. Initial projects are underway: securing four wind turbines for the community, with a developer, to generate funds for future projects; developing the Infill Development Strategy which will inform the Local Development Plan; and the restoration of Cowdenhall Gardens. I have found myself asking why we don’t use ‘place-based’ consultation work more often to support the production of local plans and local development plans – the Charter is now recognised within the existing Local Plan. By engaging with communities through their sense of ownership, and increasing both the quantity and quality of such engagement, planners can establish a more robust process and a committed, long-term approach.
To view the Neilston Renaissance Town Charter see www.scottishrenaissancetowns.com/downloadpages/placeplanning_assets/neilston_charter.pdf or the Scottish Renaissance Town’s website at www.scottishrenaissancetowns.com/
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OCTOBER 2010
Scottishplanner : FOCUS ON COMMUNITY ENGAGE
Lowering the temperature Planner and community mediator Karol Swanson reminds the profession of a valuable resource which creates ‘the space’ for all in a community to overcome differences and build an understanding of the full picture. The Scottish Government and COSLA define community empowerment as “a process where people work together to make change happen in their communities by having more power and influence over what matters to them." What better way to do this than through the planning process? However, given the complex nature of communities and the wide variety of stakeholders involved, each with their own views, this is often hard to achieve. Planning can bring out the worst in people, creating an arena where warring factions take sides in battle, and leaving the poor planners to sift through piles of letters of representation both for and against proposals.
Tackling the gridlock The classic textbook, Cullingworth and Nadin’s Town and Country Planning in the UK, states (2002, p2) “Politics, conflict and dispute are at the centre of land use planning … if there were no conflicts, there would be no need for planning”. Planners understand that as long as planning is a democratic process, there will be differences of opinion. As planners, we need to find methods of helping communities deal with disputes early in the process and so removing barriers that get in the way of speedy decision-making. The problem is that
With increasing pressure to engage communities in planning, planners need all the help that they can get to reduce conflict amongst community groups.
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busy planners don’t have the luxury of time or resources to deal with individual cases, and people on a mission to prevent a development do not always want to listen to other sides of the argument. Planners need methods that help communities overcome these obstacles. Scottishplanner April 2010 (p14) featured an article by John Sturrock on the benefits that mediation can make to planning: finding common ground, overcoming barriers to communication and preventing gridlock in discussions. By using mediation to resolve differences early in the process, time and money can be saved in the long-term.
Tried and tested As a planner and a mediator, I have first-hand experience of the positive outcomes that mediation can achieve, so why is the profession so slow to try it out? Certainly, lessons can be learned from an existing organisation that provides mediation as a means to improve communities. SACRO (Safeguarding Communities and Reducing Offending) has many years experience of community mediation, and runs free services in most local authority areas, dealing with a range of problems from anti-social behaviour to noise issues. They also deal with planning-related problems, and have experienced mediators who understand how to help people reach a level of understanding that allows them to move forward. Referrals for community mediation come from a wide range of organisations and statutory services, including the police, social work and housing associations.
© image courtesy of Eilidh Maclean
A resource on tap With increasing pressure to engage communities in planning, planners need all the help that they can get to reduce conflict amongst community groups and remove barriers to effective participation. It makes sense to take the heat out of contentious planning applications by, early in the process, giving people an opportunity to hear both sides of the argument. Mediation takes the pressure off planners, and offers an effective way to help people work together, which in the longer-term results in speedier decision-making. Karol Swanson has over 20 years experience working with community groups throughout Scotland, and is an experienced mediator with SACRO and Mears Mediation. She is a graduate planner from Heriot-Watt University and carried out extensive research on the use of mediation in the Scottish planning system for her dissertation – to learn more contact karol@karolswanson.co.uk.
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Whose proposal is it anyway? Amanda Wetzel, Planning & Design Consultant with the Halcrow Group, considers whether planning reform is raising the standard of community engagement, and highlights key issues for the profession to tackle next. Planning reform has firmly established community engagement as a central feature. Legislative changes are supported by a raft of guidance that seeks to improve the effectiveness, inclusiveness and accessibility of community engagement within the planning process. Reaching a wider, more representative audience goes some way to establishing a more transparent, fairer process. However, recent Scottish Government research1 concluded what we should already know – that the way community engagement is carried out has a direct impact on the outcomes it generates. So, are statutory requirements improving how we engage with communities?
Areas of engagement There are three key planning elements that require community engagement: the development of spatial strategies and policy frameworks – development planning; the identification of site- or design-specific parameters through supplementary planning guidance; and the assessment of development proposals through pre-application consultation – development management.
Planning for Real – accessibility of information is critical to the engagement dialogue © image courtesy Halcrow
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The public sector, including Scottish Ministers and local authorities, is responsible for undertaking community engagement for the first two elements. As a minimum, this must provide the opportunity for individuals or organisations to make representations on plan or policy proposals at various stages; a long-running, highly-formalised form of engagement. This work can empower communities as they become aware of how to influence long-term development priorities, and many authorities are now engaging creatively through techniques such as Planning for Real, Enquiry by Design and community roadshows. However, it is important to ensure techniques are not employed to persuade communities to subscribe to specific design or policy agendas; such dialogue must be initiated from the bottom-up.
Genuine influence? Pre-application consultation is the responsibility of the applicant – subject to local planning authority approval – and, as such, is primarily a dialogue between developer and community. The implications of development proposals are most tangible at the application stage, and pre-application consultation is often seen as the last opportunity for communities to directly influence proposals. The need to respond directly to aggrieved residents may motivate some developers to engage more creatively, particularly for high-profile projects. However, there seems to have been a general outbreak of public meetings in halls across the country. This technique rarely affords participants the opportunity to influence proposals and is normally appropriate only as part of a
wider strategy that uses participatory techniques throughout the design stage. There is an emerging risk that, by way of mere repetition, such consultation may be relegated to little more than a firefighting or tick-box exercise.
Towards public benefits There are early indications that community engagement is helping to improve the efficiency of the planning system. For example, it has reduced the number of objections received for some applications. The purpose of engagement, however, is not simply to resolve conflicts for the benefit the planning process. If we expect communities to engage positively, they must be afforded the opportunity to derive real benefits for themselves – public benefits. Identifying how we can define and measure the impacts of community engagement will help us understand how we can achieve such an outcome. This begs a number of questions. What impacts can community engagement have on improving the planning product for the benefit of the communities in which it is delivered? Can the methods used to engage be developed further? What, if any, system of accountability should ensure a national benchmark for quality? Ironically, to answer these questions we must engage within our own professional networks and explicitly report on our experiences and share good practice. The upcoming RTPI Edinburgh Lothians Fife & Borders (ELFB) Chapter event at the end of October provides an opportunity to start such a conversation. Contact Nikola@planningaidscotland.org.uk for further details. The views expressed are the author’s own.
Review of the Impact of Community Engagement within Regeneration, view www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/04/29130243/
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OCTOBER 2010
Scottishplanner : VIEWS AND NEWS
Getting the inside story 26 August saw 30-odd RTPI Highlands & Islands Chapter members travel the short distance down the A9 to Scotland’s Housing Expo 2010, at Balvonie Braes on the southern edge of Inverness, to find out more from the architects themselves. Chapter Vice-Convener Neil Huggan reports on ‘a grand day out’. This was the UK’s first ever Housing Expo and had been closely modelled on the Finnish approach which has been very successful in stimulating highquality, innovative housing design. The Expo has played host to over 30,000 visitors during the 31 days of August 2010, showcasing over 50 original and sustainable housing designs which emerged as winners of its architectural competition launched back in January 2007. The Expo is thus the culmination of a number of years’ worth of incredibly hard work by many people, much of it through the recent, deep recession – its very existence a tribute to all those involved.
A tale of two halves Our half-day RTPI seminar at the Expo was a two-parter with us initially holed up in a low, white marquee in the ‘village square’ to hear from Susan Torrance of the Highland Housing Alliance and architects Trevor Black, Alan Dickson and Sam Hey. Part two saw a series of guided tours, led by the architects, through the glorious sunshine and inside their finished houses. Susan Torrance provided a potted history of the Expo from its inception, through a tortuous gestation – when the press and
the economy appeared to be conspiring against it – and finally to the nowfinished houses, a remarkable result.
The plot thickens Each architect then took us on a journey from the germ of his design to its final, real-world manifestation. Local architect Trevor Black from Invergordon told us all about his three-bedroom detached house The Gem on Plot 12, a superinsulated re-interpretation of a Highland cottage with uniquely-styled balconies. The internal spaces had to be reworked from the original plan due to a reduction in plot-size: the outdoor office was lost and the internal spaces re-thought – and with complete success. Skye-based architect Alan Dickson of the Rural Design practice also applied a modern twist to a traditional design with The Secret Garden at Plot 17: a reimagining of the traditional Highland long-house with a large, enclosed garden for growing food. The way the external and internal spaces worked together was revealed to us in detail by Alan, with imaginary vegetables making their way from the garden, into the big Belfast sink under the ‘car-port’ for washing and onwards into the kitchen for preparing and cooking - definitely a fresh idea!
At Scotland’s Housing Expo 2010 © images courtesy Ewen Weatherspoon/Highland Housing Alliance
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The Secret Garden – Alan Dickson, the Rural Design practice
Our final presentation was from Sam Hey, of Keppie Design, whose project over on Plot 8 The Apartments consists of a block of six two-bedroomed flats, each with a solar buffer space for passive heating and cooling, a central biomass (wood pellet) boiler and a highly insulated thermal envelope. Many felt that the large, reclaimed brick façade was a particularly attractive – and sustainable – feature of the external design treatment, and the first floor views of the Black Isle were spectacular.
Insights on hand It had been a privilege to be taken round the individual houses by the architects themselves: we had instant answers to our questions and they gave us unique insights into the design process and the thinking behind particular features. It was also good to see that the streets around the Expo site are more dense, close-knit and intimate than the prevalent ‘cul-de-sac culture’ of recent developments. They have been designed to be pleasant, shared spaces for pedestrians and cars, able to provide the focus for much neighbourhood activity. The absence of cars during the Expo-period emphasised just how social and vibrant streets can be, and with a myriad of fabulous housing designs and wall-to-wall sunshine, our outing to Scotland’s Housing Expo 2010 could not have been better.
People-centred placemaking Nick Wright, member of the RTPI Regeneration Network, planner and community engagement specialist, and co-author of the latest Scottish Centre for Regeneration and Architecture + Design Scotland briefing Participation in Placemaking, looks beyond planning with communities towards empowered placemaking. Centre for Regeneration, the Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum and many others. This article, however, is more concerned with how communities participate in the life of the place that is being made or regenerated. This implies a focus on local communities making decisions and ‘doing things’ that relate to transport, healthcare, youth work and other local services – that’s right, the Big Society.
The public and the voluntary
“...think of your city as if it were a living work of art where citizens can involve and engage themselves in the creation of a transformed place ... ordinary people can make the extraordinary happen, given the chance” Charles Landry, The Art of City Making, 2006 © image courtesy Nick Wright
Making better places is a fundamental part of regeneration and the Scottish Government’s aim of sustainable economic growth, but conventional ways of making places have, generally, not created places of the quality that the public demands: we often hear that many of the built environments we have created in recent decades have fallen short. Change is needed. From planning reform to the Scottish Community Empowerment Action Plan, in the last 5 years community involvement has become a cornerstone of government policy. Despite good policy and guidance, there are still gaps between the worlds of placemaking and community development, and between rhetoric and reality. On the ground across Scotland, I see professionals struggling to translate policy aspirations into action, and communities harbouring deep mistrust of government. Regeneration, placemaking and community empowerment are a long way from being true partners: for sustainable economic growth, the consequence is lost potential.
A bigger society …
Behind party politics, there has been much work to establish how the voluntary and public sectors could work together, from the Department of Communities and Local Government’s Total Place programme to the work of the Young Foundation and the New Economics Foundation. Generally, it has been established that public sector service delivery should be driven as much, if not more, by community needs and aspirations as those of the organisations delivering the services. By empowering communities to become involved in shaping, governing and delivering those services, there will be myriad benefits flowing “from people feeling more in control of their lives” [Scottish Community Empowerment Action Plan] including sustainable economic growth. There are examples around the UK of this in action, and many local authorities and public agencies now organise the delivery of individual projects in partnership with local communities – see the Young Foundation report Public Services and Civil Society Working Together. Individually, these initiatives are successfully empowering communities to be the focus of decision-making on service delivery and achieving regeneration outcomes that build community well-being rather than just bricks and mortar. Yet the potential is so much bigger: if there was widespread enabling and empowerment of communities across local authorities and community planning partnerships, massive contributions could be made to sustainable economic growth and the country’s prosperity and well-being.
What’s your view?
There should no longer be any debate that successful places are not simply well-designed streets and buildings, they also have engaged and empowered communities. Regeneration should be as much about the culture, confidence and selfesteem of communities, as about more conventional measures like design quality, jobs created and financial investment. Competitive places need to build not only financial and material wealth but also community well-being, as the experience of Neilston’s Scottish Renaissance Town project (see page 11) and other initiatives shows.
The Scottish Centre for Regeneration and Architecture + Design Scotland are now exploring this agenda and have published the briefing Paper 20: Participation in Placemaking view www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/94257/0103830.pdf. They are keen to discuss their analysis, the challenges, what is already happening and who needs to be involved. If you’d like to find out more, contact Diarmaid.Lawlor@ads.org.uk, geraldine.mcateer@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or view www.nickwrightplanning.co.uk.
Participation in the planning of communities is the focus of much excellent work by Planning Aid for Scotland, the Scottish
For more information on the RTPI Regeneration Network, view www.rtpi.org.uk/regeneration 15
OCTOBER 2010
Scottishplanner : VIEWS AND NEWS
News and events Other News and Events
RTPI News Standing (left to right): Bill Prior, Rob Garner, Janet McNair. John Mackay, David Downie, Roddie Fairlie, Jan Fladmark, Vida Chapman, Trevor Croft, John Howat, Peter Scott, Malcolm Payne, Peter Pearson, Ruth Grant, Neil Fleming, Richard Fergusson, Russell Turner. Sitting (left to right): David Cameron, John Foster, Peter Bickmore Dundas, David Rice. © image courtesy David Cameron.
Celebrating John Foster at 90 To celebrate the 90th birthday of John Foster CBE FRTPI(Rtd), first Director of the Countryside Commission for Scotland, a group of his former colleagues held a lunch for him at the Four Seasons Hotel, St Fillans. Under John’s leadership the Commission developed policies and initiatives which still exist today; the Parks System for Scotland which resulted in over 30 Country Parks and Regional Parks; the Countryside Rangers Service; the Countryside around Towns report; research studies into tourism, an Inventory of Designed Landscapes and the report Scotland’s Scenic Heritage. It was from the latter that National Scenic Areas were derived and provided the basis, along with the Parks System for Scotland, for the creation of National Parks in Scotland.
Scottish Executive Committee 2011 Election results Many congratulations to Bob Reid who has been elected as SEC Senior ViceConvener 2011 – to become Convener 2012. Bob is Director of Planning with Halliday Fraser Munro in Aberdeen. The current Senior Vice-Convener David Suttie will be SEC Convener 2011. Many congratulations as well to Julia Frost, Alan Seath and Andrew Trigger who’ve been elected as SEC Corporate members for 2011 and 2012.
NAPE membership provides: a monthly electronic newsletter NAPE News; the free, one-day annual enforcement conference, exclusively for NAPE members; a discount on the RTPI’s annual enforcement conference, worth £100; access to the online Enforcement Handbook – for NAPE members only; a discussion forum and the opportunity to influence enforcement policy. NAPE is supported by the RTPI, and RTPI members join for free. Further details can be found at www.rtpi.org.uk/nape. World Town Planning Day 2010
Working in planning enforcement? Interested in how planning decisions are enforced? If so, have you considered joining NAPE? The purpose of the National Association for Planning Enforcement (NAPE) is to promote and enhance the role of planning enforcement within the planning profession. It works on national, regional and local levels to share good practice and encourage professional development.
Don’t forget to celebrate on 8 November! This year the RTPI joins the American, Canadian and New Zealand Planning Institutes and the International Federation for Housing & Planning for an online, worldwide Planning & Food conference on 8-9 November. For more information, view www.rtpi.org.uk/item/1064.
Erratum: In the August 2010 edition of Scottish Planner, the article by Jim Lowrie (p5) introduced him as “Scottish Liberal Democrat member for Fountainbridge and Craiglockhart for the last 11 years.” He has indeed been a City of Edinburgh Councillor for that time, but from 1999-2007 was member for Davidson Mains. We apologise for any confusion caused.
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Improvement Service – training and events For more information on the events below, contact Emma Hay at the Improvement Service on 01506 775598 or emma.hay@improvementservice.org.uk Agencies offer Enabling Development workshops for planning authorities: Historic Scotland, SEPA, SNH, Scottish Water and Transport Scotland are presenting two workshops for planning authorities in November. The workshops on Working Together to Enable Development will use upto-date case studies to look at how key agencies and planning authorities can work together to enable good development in the right places. The workshops will be held in Edinburgh on Wednesday 17 November 2010 (10am-3pm) and in Glasgow on Tuesday 30 November 2010 (10am-3pm), and are aimed at planning authority staff, particularly those in development management, but also development planning, and other authority staff involved in development. Climate Change & Development Planning Conference: SEPA, the Scottish Government and other key agencies are hosting a conference on Development Planning & Climate Change in Edinburgh on Friday 26 November 2010. It is aimed at planning authority and agency staff involved in development planning, and will consider how climate change issues can be effectively incorporated into the next generation of development plans in Scotland. Break-out sessions in the afternoon will focus on detailed issues such as renewable energy, green networks and flooding. Development Plan Examinations workshop: The Directorate for Planning & Environmental Appeals and the Improvement Service will be running a half-day workshop in November on the new development plan examination process. This is targeted at agencies and other stakeholders in the planning system interested in knowing more about the examination process, complementing the more detailed workshops available to planning authorities – see above.
Members’ Reports
For their latest events, including volunteer induction, training and roadshows, view www.planningaidscotland.org.uk/ events.asp Relative poverty statistics – new publication The Scottish Government’s Income and Poverty Statistics Team have recently published Relative poverty across Scottish local authorities. This presents official estimates for the proportion of households in relative poverty at local authority (LA) level across Scotland. Key points raised are that across Scotland the percentage of households in relative poverty at LA level ranges from around 14% to around 25%; East Renfrewshire, Aberdeen City, East Dunbartonshire, Perth and Kinross, and Aberdeenshire were among the LAs with the lowest estimated relative poverty rates. Dundee City, Inverclyde, Glasgow City, Eilean Siar and North Ayrshire were among the LAs with the highest rates in the country. The percentage of households in relative poverty in urban and ‘remote rural’ areas is around 20-22% – this is higher than in ‘accessible rural’ areas. The full report can be viewed at the following link: www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/07 /30132551/41 This information has been generated from work that combines data from the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) and Family Resources Survey – with the aim of improving the income information in the SHS. If you would like to find out more about this project, or discuss how SHS income data could be useful to your work please see the report, or the Team’s webpage at www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/ Statistics/Browse/Social-Welfare/ IncomePoverty, or contact them via socialjustice-analysis@scotland.gsi.gov.uk. Commonwealth Association of Planners: view the latest news via www.commonwealth-planners.org/ including their recent conference in Canada. Scottish Government News: in this edition read the Government update on page 6.
Better Places, Better Spaces: Peter Noad, RTPI East of Scotland Chapter Convener and SEC member, reports on the Design Skills Symposium held in Dundee in September; led by Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS) and supported by among others RTPI in Scotland. This was an intensive, thought-provoking journey into how urban design can help address climate change and how we should be creating better places and streets. Over 100 delegates from a mix of public, private and third sector organisations attended, and A+DS launched their new publication Design Review: Lessons Learnt – Masterplans. The event included contributions from: Professor David Adams of the University of Glasgow, who outlined the results of soon to be published research on delivering better places, which highlights the need for strong leadership, a placemaking culture, a robust and adaptable spatial framework, creative procurement and a commitment to stewardship over the long-term; Professor Howard Liddell of Gaia Architects, who made a robust case against ‘green bling’, that is the adoption of expensive technological fixes, and proposed developing sustainable places through design principles which minimise resource inputs; Karen Esslemont of Ironside Farrar, who used case-studies to consider the link between streets and places, including locations where design codes have been used to apply street designs across schemes with a number of developers; Professor Klas Tham, who gave a Bo01( in Malmo) City of Tomorrow masterclass, presenting a passionate plea for ‘humane’ design, and using examples across the world and the ages – as well as from biology and psychology. The delegates were asked to apply the principles discussed in the Symposium, the first of its kind in Scotland, to case studies, and it was interesting to see how professionals from a range of disciplines managed to reach a consensus in the short time available. It drew both a well-informed panel of speakers and a committed group of practitioners from a variety of backgrounds, and delegates will have left with some principles to apply and some questions to ask themselves.
Members News We would like to welcome the following Members in Scotland who have been elected to the Institute in the following categories of membership: Corporate Members (MRTPI): Professor Ya Ping Wang Heriot-Watt University Associate Members: Marion Ferguson Charles Hodge Fiona Newlove
Comhairle Nan Eilean CKD Galbraith LLP
RTPI Events in Scotland For further information on the listings below or for the latest information on RTPI National and Chapter events in Scotland, go to www.scotland.rtpi.org.uk and see ‘Scottish Chapters’ and/or ‘RTPI national events in Scotland 2010’ in left-hand column. October 28: West of Scotland Chapter event: Stuart Tait, Assistant Strategic Development Plan Manager, presents The Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Strategic Development Plan – Main Issues Report. To be held at the GO Group, George House, 36 North Hanover Street, Glasgow.
November 18: West of Scotland Chapter networking event – details and venue tbc.
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OCTOBER 2010
Scottishplanner
Policy briefing
PUBLICATIONS SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
Planning Circular 1/2009: Development Planning Appendix 1: The Habitats Regulations (03/09/10) Planning Advice Note 2/2010: Affordable Housing and Housing Land Audits (31/08/10) Planning Advice Note 3/2010 Community Engagement (31/08/10) Conserve and Save: The Energy Efficiency Action Plan for Scotland The Energy Efficiency Action Plan sets out a wide-ranging programme of activity on behaviour change, household, business and public sector energy efficiency, infrastructure, skills, and finance. (07/10/10) The Scottish Health Survey 2009 – Summary of Key Findings (28/09/10) Evaluation of Third Sector Investment and Support RF 13/2010 Summary report evaluating investment and business support provided to third sector organisations. (23/09/10) Rural Scotland Key Facts 2010 Statstics on key policy topics such as People and Communities, Services and Lifestyle, Economy and Enterprise broken down by Remote Rural, Accessible Rural and Rest of Scotland. (22/09/10) Statistical Bulletin Planning Series: Affordable Housing Securing Planning Consent 2009/10 Latest figures. (22/09/10)
Community Right to Buy: Part 2 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 Leaflet providing general guidance on the community right to buy. (21/09/10)
Diaspora Engagement Plan - Reaching out to Scotland's International Family Plan sets out the Scottish Government’s ambitions for harnessing the power of the Diaspora, who can act as advocates for Scotland. (14/09/10) Factors influencing rural migration decisions in Scotland: an analysis of the evidence - Research Findings Coordinates evidence of the factors, and ascertains the implications for policy. It focuses on age/life stage-related factors. (10/09/10) Delivering for Scotland: The Government's Programme for Scotland 2010-2011 Sets out legislation for the coming year, as well as summarising key achievements and main goals for the future - both legislative and non-legislative. (09/09/10) Key Scottish Environment Statistics 2010 Annual publication containing summary of key statistics on environmental trends in Scotland. (07/09/10) Scottish Environment Statistics: Fact Card 2010 – as at September 2010 This fact card contains a summary of the information from Key Scottish Environment Statistics 2010. (07/09/10)
The Scottish Health Survey: Topic Report UK Comparisons (31/08/10)
Housing statistics for Scotland 2010: Key Trends Summary Summary for 2009-10. Social housing statistics for April - June 2010 are now available. (26/08/10) Relative poverty across Scottish Local Authorities Presents new figures about the proportion of households in relative poverty at LA level across Scotland. (26/08/10)
Main Transport Trends 2010 Has figures on (eg) road vehicles, traffic, accidents, bus and rail passengers, road and rail freight, air and water transport, personal travel, and comparisons with GB. (23/08/10)
2009-2010 Urban Rural Classification Data zone classification identifying urban and rural areas based on settlement size and drive times. (11/08/10)
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
The special qualities of the National Scenic Areas. SNH Commissioned Report No.374. In 2007 & 2008 Scottish Natural Heritage surveyed all the NSAs and, for each one, produced an up-to-date list of its special landscape qualities. This work was carried out in partnership with Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS). Scottish Natural Heritage. (08/10).
CONSULTATIONS Current consultations to which the Institute may wish to respond are listed below.They can also be viewed on the Scottish Government website at www.scotland.gov.uk/ Consultations/Current. To assist the Institute in preparing representative responses, Members are invited to contribute their views by post or email - see contact details on p2, or on the RTPI website - ideally no less than 14 days prior to the end of the consultation period.The Institute’s Scottish responses can be found at www.rtpi.org.uk/item/760/23/5/3.
CONSULTATIONS FROM THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT AND OTHER PUBLIC BODIES
Extension of Coverage of Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 Seeks views on whether FOI legislation should be extended to cover organisations such as contractors; trusts created by local authorities; Glasgow Housing Association and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland. (02/11/10)
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Public Sector Equality Duty - Detailed Proposals and Draft Regulations Draft Regulations which will place specific duties on Scottish public authorities to promote equality. (26/11/10) Land Registration (Scotland) Bill Consultation Consultation being carried out on behalf of the Scottish Ministers by Registers of Scotland (RoS), which is the nonMinisterial Government Department responsible for registering a variety of legal documents mainly relating to interests in land. (30/11/10) Consultation on the marine licensing regime under the Marine (Scotland) Act and the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act. Seeks views on a regime to be created through secondary legislation or existing provisions within the Acts. (01/12/10) Householder Permitted Development Rights Concerns relaxation of planning controls on development in relation to existing dwellinghouses, thus reducing the need for planning applications. (14/01/11)
Public Bodies' Climate Change Duties: Putting It Into Practice (26/11/10) See Climate Change Corner
Changes to the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Order 2010 (01/12/10) See Climate Change Corner
Sustainable Land Use Strategy (17/12/10) See Climate Change Corner
FORTHCOMING CONSULTATIONS
Right to Adapt Common Parts in Scotland Consultation on the use of regulation-making powers under section 37 of the Equality Act 2010 to ensure that disabled people have a right to adapt common parts of premises in Scotland. (Autumn 2010) Dounreay Waste Substitution Proposals are to allow two forms of waste substitution; the substitution of one type of cemented waste with another and the substitution of vitrified waste in place of cemented wastes. (Autumn 2010)
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT PUBLICATIONS SPICE Briefings These are written by research specialists in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). SPICe research briefings are for use by MSPs in support of parliamentary business in the Committees and in the Chamber, and are always impartial. Briefings can be browsed either by subject or by date of publication.
SB 10-62 Cycling in Scotland: Update 2010 This short briefing provides background information on cycling as a form of transport in Scotland. It provides a brief summary of national policy developments and cycling statistics, lists key cycling organisations and outlines the funding regime for cycle related capital projects. (28/09/10)
SB 10-60 The Spending Implications of Demographic Change Scotland’s population is currently in transition. Like many other developed economies, it faces an increasingly ageing population which brings pressing policy implications. The aim of this report is to address these questions, currently of great political and public interest. (17/09/10)
Thistles to grasp? © Image courtesy of Charles Strang
CLIMATE CHANGE CORNER If space permits, each set of policy pages from the Scottish Planner will have a corner devoted to Climate Change matters, giving additional emphasis to those consultations and publications addressing issues of Climate Change mitigation and adaptation, and sharing both problems and solutions. What key references and sources do you use? Tell us about them so we can share them with other practising planners!
SB 10-55 Wildlife Crime This briefing considers the definition of a “wildlife crime”, reviews the main legislation creating offences which are considered wildlife crimes, and provides some statistics on the incidence of wildlife crime (in particular the persecution of birds of prey). It then describes the main initiative of central government to combat wildlife crime. It also describes the Natural Justice review of arrangements for dealing with wildlife crime and its follow up; and concludes with a section relating the issue of wildlife crime to the current parliamentary consideration of the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill. (08/09/10)
The Government’s National Strategy on Sustainable Development The UK Government and devolved governments are pursuing their goal of sustainable development – to enable all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life, without compromising the quality of life of future generations – in an integrated way through: • a sustainable, innovative and productive economy that delivers high levels of employment • a just society that promotes social inclusion, sustainable communities and personal wellbeing • protection and enhancement of the physical and natural environment, and efficient use of resources and energy • promotion of a clear understanding of, and commitment to, sustainable development so that all people can contribute to the overall goal through their individual decisions
SB 10-47 Protection of Workers (Scotland) Bill This Members' Bill seeks to create a specific statutory offence relating to assaults on people whose work brings them into face-to-face contact with members of the public. This briefing considers the proposals in the Bill, including how they compare with existing common law and statutory offences dealing with assault. (26/08/10)
The Government’s overarching strategy for sustainable development is detailed in Securing the Future.
SB 10-49 Historic Environment (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill This briefing gives an overview of the current listed building and scheduled monument consent systems. It goes on to describe the changes introduced by the Historic Environment (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill and the differences between this technical amending Bill and the previous consultation draft. (01/09/10)
SB 10-46 Mapping the Economy This briefing maps the latest data for a selection of indicators from which trends within the Scottish economy can be identified. (26/08/10)
Sustainable Land Use Strategy Consultation Scotland’s first such Strategy proposes a longterm framework. It sets out Minister’s objectives and the proposals and policies which contribute to meeting them. The Strategy must contribute to other obligations under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 on emission reduction targets and climate change adaptation objectives, as well as sustainable development. The Land Use Strategy will be
laid by Scottish Ministers before the Scottish Parliament by 31 March 2011. (17/12/10)
Getting the best from our land: A draft land use strategy for Scotland Environmental Report: Non-Technical Summary (30/09/10)
Scotland's Offshore Wind Route Map: Developing Scotland's Offshore Wind Industry to 2020 Publication (28/09/10) Scottish Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2008 Publication (07/09/10) Public Bodies' Climate Change Duties: Putting It Into Practice Consultation Part 4 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act places duties on public bodies relating to climate change. The duties on the face of the Act (section 44) require that a public body must, in exercising its functions, act: • in the way best calculated to contribute to delivery of the Act's emissions reduction targets; • in the way best calculated to deliver any statutory adaptation programme; and • in a way that it considers most sustainable. The duties come into force on 1 January 2011 and apply to all 'public bodies', defined as a Scottish public authority within the meaning of section 3(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (as amended). While compliance with the duty is a matter for the public bodies concerned, the Act requires that Scottish Ministers must give guidance to public bodies in relation to their climate change duties, and those bodies must have regard to such guidance. (26/11/10) Changes to the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Order 2010 Consultation
Proposals to amend the Order, including the introduction of phasing for offshore wind projects, sustainability criteria for biomass and bioliquids, changes which would allow wave and tidal projects in Scottish waters to receive grant plus enhanced ROCs and questions around the introduction of grandfathering for biomass and other types of station. (01/12/10) Details of Scottish Government publications and consultations are reproduced courtesy of Crown Copyright.
19
OCTOBER 2010 :
Scottishplanner Directory Keppie Planning & Development
RPS Consultants
Contacts: Baxter Allan & Gordon MacCallum
PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT
160 West Regent Street • Glasgow • G2 4RL Tel: 0141 204 0066 • Fax: 0141 226 4571
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ADVICE AND GUIDANCE ON:
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• Development Plan Representations • Masterplans
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MUNRO
• Planning Applications • Public Inquiries
Consultants
• rural development projects • renewable energy projects • site development appraisals • planning applications and appeals Tom Hardie 0131 660 2705 tom@hardieplanning.co.uk www.hardieplanning.co.uk
Contact Alan Pollock on 0131 555 5011 Ocean Point One, 4th floor 94 Ocean Drive Edinburgh, EH6 6JH rpsed@rpsplc.co.uk
• Transport Assessments • Green Transport Plans • Traffic Engineering Studies • Development Master Plans • Public Inquiries
Hugh Munro: PO BOX 23954, Edinburgh EH6 9AR T: 0131 555 4433 E:hm@munroconsult.co.uk
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Chartered Town Planners & Architects
FOR COMPREHENSIVE INDEPENDENT PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTISE David Wardrop B.S.c (Hons,) M.R.T.P.I David Queripel M.A. (Hons), Dip TP, M.R.T.P.I
Tel: 01334 654936 Fax: 01334 656629 admin@montgomery-forgan.co.uk www.montgomery-forgan.co.uk
PLANNING DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT
Glasgow 0141 332 6464 Edinburgh 0131 220 1414
Contacts Peter PC Allan MSc, Dip Arch, RIBA, RIAS MRTPI Robin Matthew MA (Hons), MSc MRTPI Andy Follis BSc MPhil, MLI Neil Sutherland BA Hons, MRTPI
www.tymconsult.com
masterplanning, project management and co-ordination, representations/objections, expert witness
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