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Application form
Please make sure you have read all the notes carefully before you start to fill in the application form. This application form can either be completed by hand or electronically - it is available on the Planning homepage at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning. Please complete all five sections. The deadline for submitting applications is 8 September 2006. An acknowledgement letter will be sent to the person who has completed this form.
1 Please provide a name and contact details of the lead organisation responsible for this work.
Name | Irene Beautyman |
Job title | Planning Policy Officer |
Organisation | The City of Edinburgh Council |
Address | Planning and Strategy, City Development, 1 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh EH1 1ZJ |
Telephone | 0131 469 3552 |
Fax | 0131 469 3716 |
Email | irene.beautyman@edinburgh.gov.uk |
2 If this is a joint application, please list the other partners who had a key role. You should also inform your partners that you are nominating the project for an award.
3 Tick the category of nomination
Title of entry | "Planning for Edinburgh's Future - Innovative Consultation Techniques" |
Please complete the form on the following pages by providing a brief summary of the piece of work you have entered. You must also conclude with a key reason as to why you think this work merits an Award. Only the two A4 pages supplied here can be used and your text must fit within the boxes. The font size should be no less than 12pt.
The judging criteria are set out below. Please tick only the key criteria relevant to your entry:
You must describe, in your written submission, how the criteria which you have ticked relate to your project.
Description of project
The Council has undertaken a major public consultation exercise on three important new planning policy documents. It represents an integrated approach to forward planning in Edinburgh ranging from the medium-term local detail to a visionary long term view. The project used new types of consultation events and an innovative online plan to ensure widespread dissemination of information and to seek views from groups which do not usually engage in development plan consultation processes. |
Context - describe the background to the project
The Council was determined to introduce the long term vision for the city region and its development implications into the public arena and stimulate discussion of these contentious issues. The consultation exercise featured three planning documents which cover all the different levels of forward planning in Edinburgh today (Figures 1 & 2). At the city level, the Council drafted the Edinburgh City Local Plan, used to consult with organisations and individuals with an interest in the future of Edinburgh up to at least 2015. At the city region level, the four Lothian authorities also consulted on a joint proposal to review the current structure plan and roll its development strategy forward to 2020. Separately, and as a response to the questions posed by the 2020 paper, CEC published its own innovative longer term ideas, A Vision for Capital Growth 2020 to 2040, about how the city might grow sustainably. |
What are the aims and objectives of the project?
The project aimed to: - Engage the community early in the planning debate on the extent and direction of future change.
- Utilise a range of consultation formats, designed to include those sections of the community often under represented, such as exhibitions in locations with a high footfall and a workshop event for young people.
- Encourage participation in the debate by the business community, as well as traditional amenity groups.
- Make information available in every household and business, by traditional publications but also by maximising the use of new technology, in particular the use of IT at consultation events and the production of an interactive proposals map for the Edinburgh City Local Plan (Figure 3).
- Consult the people of Edinburgh on the complete range of planning policy documents, thereby avoiding "consultation overload", while enabling a clearer understanding of the broad levels at which planning policy is produced.
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Timescale - over what timescale has the project been developed?
In the previous year, the Council undertook 'scenario planning' workshops with community interests to set the context for plan preparation. This year, the public consultation period ran from 2 May 2006 to 30 June 2006, however the preparation of a consultation plan, in co-operation with the Council's Corporate Communications function began in March 2006. The lead in times for submitting articles in Council publications such as Outlook and Capital Review and the preparation of a leaflet for the Edinburgh City Local Plan required further work in March and April. In May, June and July there were tailored presentations to a wide range of organisations, all six Local Development Committees and community groups as well as a staffed exhibition that toured libraries, shopping centres and other popular events like Edinburgh Farmers' Market (Figure 4). |
Action - explain the process and action taken
The process involved managing a co-ordinated consultation exercise involving all staff in the Council's planning policy team. It required a consultation plan setting out how the range of community and interest groups in Edinburgh would be engaged. The consultation itself explained the content of the three documents and clarified their links for a wider a range of Edinburgh citizens than achieved through traditional consultation techniques. Events and actions included: a press launch with representatives of Youngedinburgh; a consultation event for young people (Fig 5); staffed exhibitions in three shopping centres, Leith Gala, Edinburgh Farmer's Market and seven Council libraries; mobile display boards at exhibitions (Fig 6); webpages on consultation events; radio and press interviews with the Council's Planning Convenor; two articles in the Council's publication Outlook sent to all house-holds & businesses; articles in Capital Review and Centrepiece, both aimed at the business community; tailored presentations to community, business and professional organisations such as the Local Development Committees, the Edinburgh Partnership Conference, the Edinburgh City Region Conference and the Edinburgh Architecture Association; informing 500 members of the Citizens Panel; and meetings with businesses and service providers. |
Explain the role of the key partners
Results - what results were achieved?
Information available in publications and online to every household and business in the City for the first time for a major planning exercise. Debate on the extent and direction of the City and the contentious issues it raised. Interest at shopping centres and farmers' market far higher than more traditional locations. Sessions attracted 80 -100 enquiries and reached a broader range of the community than possible in more traditional locations. Workshops held at the Edinburgh Partnership Conference and the young peoples' consultation event have provided immediate feedback on the views of community groups and Edinburgh's young people. There was positive feedback to the value of having a laptop at events to demonstrate the Edinburgh City Local Plan's interactive map. Over 250 responses to the draft Edinburgh City Local Plan were received, over 100 to the Structure Plan Review and over 60 to the 2040 Vision. The numbers are secondary to the success in introducing planning issues as a strong base to develop further engagement on development plan preparation and planning applications. |
Conclusion - in summary, why does this piece of work merit an Award?
This process involved "consulting outside the box" in that it actively sought to use more innovative consultation techniques in order to engage more sectors of the community in planning the future of their area. The co-ordination of three documents in one consultation allowed a broad based interaction with the people of Edinburgh in the formulation of planning policy. The online Edinburgh City Local Plan is one of the first to offer true interactivity, as it gives the user the power to break the Proposals Map down to its component designations. This allows users to focus on their topic of interest. Overall, the Council's approach has improved community engagement and offers an early example of what can be done in line with the recent draft Planning Advice Note issued by the Scottish Executive on this subject in July. The debate on the future of this capital city has begun. |
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