Working together to deliver better masterplans Workshop for planning authorities with the Key Agencies Group
1 pre-event newsletter : masterplan briefing “The planning system has an important role in supporting the achievement of sustainable development through its influence on the location, layout and design of new development.” Scottish Planning Policy, para 37
Welcome
Aims
We look forward to welcoming you to the next masterplan training event. We hope you enjoy the session and find it practical and useful in your dayto-day work. This newsletter provides initial information leading up to the event.
to address specific skills training requirements identified by the Scottish Government and IS to understand the public sector’s leadership role in creating better places, and how agencies work to support this to enable better outcomes to explore how a brief can be developed as part of guiding a masterplan process, that ‘links policy makers with practitioners’ and the private sector
Shortly after the day you will receive a summary newsletter of what happened as part of a learning pack which will also contain links to presentations, case studies and other good practice. A brief reading list is also provided (see over). Ideally, we would like you to make use of this material to disseminate learning outcomes more widely amongst your colleagues – we will be providing you with a DIY prompt sheet to suggest how this might be done. We welcome any feedback or suggestions about how this event might be improved.
Demand for masterplan training Design and place-making have become increasingly prominent issues for planners, and the need to provide support for skills development in this area has prompted action from many organisations including A+DS. Understanding the principles, benefits and application of masterplanning techniques across a variety of scales is a current learning priority agreed with HoPS and planning authorities across Scotland. The ‘working together to deliver better masterplans’ workshop was piloted in November 2011 after requests for an A+DS led KAG training event on masterplanning; following positive feedback a programme of further events has been scheduled. Method The training event will cover the following: Policy overview Practitioner presentation Practice case study Group workshop Peer review & feedback
Objectives to develop broad understanding of sustainability to understand principles and implications of: o master-planning techniques across scales o national policy on street design o SUDs and green Infrastructure o designing in historic settings to adopt a collaborative approach when working with third parties, and with agencies to be aware of how good or poor place-making impacts on economic/commercial considerations to understand agencies roles and responsibilities, and to be aware of when to engage with agencies
Outcomes The event will aid knowledge, skills and application: Improved Knowledge relating to: Agencies and their respective roles Masterplans - lessons learned in Scotland Delivering Better Places in Scotland Practitioner experience A+DS’s Design Forum Developed Skills in terms of: Collaborative team working Spatial design development Briefing to guide the masterplan process Basic drawing techniques Presentation and critique Supported Application in work through: Learning resource pack Suggested learning & practical DIY pack
pre-event newsletter : masterplan briefing - Wednesday 21 March 2012, Edinburgh
“we are not creatures of circumstance; we are creators of circumstance” Benjamin Disraeli (1827) ‘Delivering Better Places / Places Need Leaders’ A provocation: the need for better briefing We live in challenging times, where basic assumptions underlying how we make places are being questioned. There is a search for new ways of doing which help to enable the right development. We are at a pivotal moment in how we think about what is necessary to make better places, with the public sector being required to take on a stronger enabling and leadership role – this affects how we brief for development to happen. Two recent pieces of research are relevant to this discussion: Delivering Better Places (published by Scottish Government, A+DS and RICS) sets out a 5 step process to achieving better places; with two of these relating to leadership: anticipation - the process of deciding outcomes stewardship - the process of growing value over time through care and management. Leadership is demanded “particularly from the public sector to create certainty, reduce developer risk and in turn encourage developers to become more innovative and more strongly committed to place quality… If we want to create better places in Scotland more often than we have in the past, policy makers and those charged with delivery need to engage with both making markets and place shaping strategies … by rethinking public sector commitment to and investment in place quality.” Making better places requires better briefing and, Places Need Leaders suggests new relationships are required; with the starting point being to question: 'What kind of place do we want to create' and 'How do we get it'? This drives two aspects of place leadership: leadership 'ability' - knowledge and skills leadership 'capacity' – getting things done Both need to be informed by priorities for the place.
Reading list Policy Scottish Planning Policy Designing Places PAN 83 Masterplanning A+DS: lessons learnt on masterplans Designing Streets Case studies Design Skills Symposium – briefing paper 29 – spatial design frameworks CABE website PAN 83 Masterplanning (see final section) Related reading CABE – creating successful masterplans: a guide for clients New Design in Historic Settings Key Agencies: Climate Change Directory Fife Masterplans Handbook Delivering Better Places - research published by Scottish Government, A+DS and RICS Places Need Leaders - achieving better places in Scotland; written by Professor David Adams and Professor Trevor Davies Christie Commission Review - Report on the Future Delivery of Public Services in Scotland http://www.ads.org.uk/urbanism - for more information related to this training series; including place visioning
“The ultimate test of an effective planning system is the maintenance and creation of places where people want to be. We need to rise to that challenge." The Scottish Government's Council of Economic Advisers (2008) The Key Agencies Group comprises A+DS, Historic Scotland, SEPA, SNH, Scottish Water and Transport Scotland. KAG provides support and assistance to local authorities in their planning function in order to deliver better outcomes and ensure sustainable economic growth.