Stroud district’s local plan recognised for excellence
Published: Tuesday, 13 June, 2017
The Stroud District Local Plan was 'highly commended' in the 2017 Royal Town Planning Institute South West Awards for Planning Excellence which took place last night in Bath. It comes just a week before the national awards in which the plan also features as a finalist. The local plan is the critical blueprint for the future growth of the district up to 2031 providing the vision, strategy and policies to secure successful economic growth and new homes for future generations.
The 'runner-up' prize was awarded for the plan, under the category of "Excellence in Spatial Planning". The council was pipped to the post by the Water Space Project by Bath and North East Somerset Council.
Mark Russell, planning strategy manager at Stroud District Council, said:
"It’s great to be recognised for our local plan, especially as it’s a long-term strategy for a huge area that will impact on thousands of people for generations to come. Many award submissions are small localised schemes with immediate eye-catching visual impact, so it’s a real achievement to have a broad-reaching and comparatively unsexy plan receive acknowledgement for the important contribution it will make to the region’s future landscape. Pulling together this enormous plan was a huge piece of work taking several years. Due to its nature, it was not without controversy, so it’s great to receive such a glowing endorsement from the planning industry."
The RTPI South West represents more than 1,500 professional planners across the region. The awards promote good practice across the wide range of activities in which professional planners are involved.
Mike Oakley, chair of the RTPI SW Awards judging panel, commented:
"Winning at this year’s awards is a stamp of excellence from the region's planners. It is an acknowledgement of the positive impact planning has had on the community and environment. Winning this year was particularly difficult given the standard of submissions for the 2017 Awards was the highest in 25 years."
The national awards take place at Milton Court at The Barbican, London on 15 June.