SDPA wins prestigious commendation for work on Aberdeen City and Shire Structure Plan
11/03/10
The Aberdeen City and Shire's Strategic Development Planning Authority (SDPA) has received a prestigious national commendation for its work on the Aberdeen City and Shire Structure Plan.
The announcement was made by John Swinney MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, today [11 March] at the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning in Edinburgh.
The Scottish Ministers had previously commended the Aberdeen City and Shire Structure Plan, which was approved in August 2009, as being "a positive response to the Scottish Ministers' desire for succinct development plans".
It was one of 10 entries in the development plans category and one of five short-listed for the award.
The Aberdeen City and Shire SDPA's submission for the awards was based on the process of preparing the structure plan, rather than on its content. The two main themes were the way in which Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils embraced the planning reform agenda at a very early stage in the process and the way the desire for a more accessible document has led to a number of innovative decisions being taken by the SDPA.
It was produced during a period of transition for development plans in Scotland. Its preparation took place between the passing of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act in December 2006 and its coming into force in February 2009.
Prior even to the establishment of the SDPA, there was evidence that new ways of working were being developed. This included the publication of a development plan scheme (DPS); the first of its kind in Scotland, in 2007; although these were not a legal requirement until 2009. It set out the aims and objectives of the project along with an ambitious timetable and detailed project plan. The DPS provided accountability against progress being made by being monitored on a quarterly basis and was updated in 2008 and 2009.
Aberdeenshire councillor Peter Argyle, chair of the SDPA said: "When we began this process back in 2007 we knew we wanted to, and had to, produce a different type of structure plan for the north-east. While the content of the plan itself is the key factor, the process that led to that is also hugely significant.
"By adopting more innovative techniques of community engagement and forming ever stronger partnerships with public and private sector colleagues, we have been able to ensure awareness of the plan was higher than ever and that priorities were more closely aligned.
"To have this recognised today by the Scottish Government at the awards ceremony should give everyone involved, at whatever stage and in whatever capacity a huge amount of satisfaction."
Vice chair, city councillor Kate Dean added: "I am delighted that the hard work and vision of all those involved in the preparation of the Aberdeen City and Shire Structure Plan has been recognised in this way.
"This commendation is testament to the visionary work carried out which sought to embrace the spirit of the new planning regulations while ensuring that as many people as possible could and would have a say in it through broad consultation and the clarity and conciseness of the document."
The Aberdeen City and Shire Structure Plan sought to embrace the Scottish Government's intention to see "a significant change in the style and purpose of plans at this level."
There was also a fresh approach to engagement with the community as well as public, private and voluntary sector stakeholders. Seventy-five consultation events were held during the preparation of the plan and considerable up-front engagement took place with a specially formed key stakeholder reference group (KSRG) and community councils. The KSRG, which included groups operating at the national and local level and from the public, private and voluntary sectors, met nine times. This encouraged buy-in to the plan and ensured that high response levels were received at key stages during its preparation.
The submission also focused on the significant efforts made to ensure a concise and jargon-free document. This resulted in a 30 page structure plan, which is less than half the size of the previous plan, and will enable key lessons to be learnt for the future preparation of strategic development plans.
The recognition from the Plain English Campaign and Crystal Mark awarded was all the more notable as no other structure plan in the UK has achieved this. In all, six related documents published during preparation of the structure plan received a Crystal Mark.
Finally, in order to make the plan as accessible as possible, a partnership with Grampian Society for the Blind enabled an audio version of the structure plan to be produced. This is available on CD or as audio files that can be downloaded from the Aberdeen City and Shire SDPA website. As would be expected, the more traditional paper format is also available.
This year, we have been particularly encouraged by the number of entries received for the SAQP, given the changing economic climate that has impacted significantly on the development sector. We were therefore also extremely pleased that the quality of submissions has been maintained, with some pushing the boundaries of excellence further.
We would like to thank those that have prepared the entries, travelled to speak to us about their projects, and arranged for us to see their projects in place. The entries clearly demonstrate the commitment of stakeholders involved in the planning system to raising the quality of planning processes, of how those processes are carried out and the results in terms of outcomes on the ground.
In their concluding remarks the judges stated: "This year, we have been particularly encouraged by the number of entries received for the SAQP, given the changing economic climate that has impacted significantly on the development sector.
"We were therefore also extremely pleased that the quality of submissions has been maintained, with some pushing the boundaries of excellence further. The entries clearly demonstrate the commitment of stakeholders involved in the planning system to raising the quality of planning processes, of how those processes are carried out and the results in terms of outcomes on the ground.
"We have seen a wide range of methods for participation put forward for recognition in 2009, in anticipation of the 2006 Planning etc (Scotland) Act coming into force. The implementation of the Act now provides the impetus for many new processes to be established, particularly in development planning and development management, and we especially look forward to hearing about them in 2010."