Council cleans up at national planning awards

Plymouth City Council has scooped three top awards at the 2016 Royal Town PIanning Institute (RTPI) Awards for Planning Excellence.

The ceremony was held in London on Thursday 5 May 2016 and the Council won Local Authority Planning Team of the Year, the Excellence in Planning to Deliver Housing Award for the Council’s Plan For Homes, and the Silver Jubilee Cup, the RTPI’s most prestigious award for the UK and Ireland. It is also the second time the Council has won the Cup.

The hat-trick at the national awards follows Plymouth winning the overall award in the RTPI’s recent South West Awards for Planning Excellence.

Phil Bisatt, Chair of RTPI South West said: “It is fantastic that planning in the South West of England has received national recognition through this prestigious Award. Planners across the region are working hard, every day to deliver better places for people to live and work.”

Speaking after the recent regional awards, Phil Bisatt also said: “I was impressed by the high standard of the Award entries, but the Plymouth ‘Plan for Homes’ stood out as the overall winner. The Plan is a fine example of a Local Authority recognising its unique position and ability to act as a facilitator rather than being simply a policy maker and regulator."

The Council created its Strategic Planning and Infrastructure service was created in 2014 to integrate all planning, strategic transport, sustainable transport, greenspace, low carbon, investment planning and capital programme management functions.

The team has led on the development of the Plymouth Plan, which provides a single strategic vision and plan for the city.

The Council’s Plan for Homes aims to deliver 5,000 new homes over the next five years.

Paul Barnard, Assistant Director for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure for Plymouth City Council, said: “We are thrilled that our Plan for Homes has won the Silver Cup and the Excellence in Planning awards. The fact that we have also won the Local Authority Planning Team of the Year is a reflection of all the hard work and dedication of our officers.”

Since the original Plan for Homes was launched in 2013 the Council has already delivered 989 ‘start on sites’, released over 138 acres of Council owned land for development, brought 78 empty homes back into use and identified 112 sites for self and custom build homes.

The refreshed Plan for Homes 2016 – 2021 was launched earlier in the year and is an £80 million plan which aims to deliver 5,000 new homes over the next five years and create up to 2,000 construction and job training opportunities.

The Plan includes £1 million to tackle empty homes, financial support for self and custom build and specialist housing, a £3 million Housing Infrastructure Fund, £30 million land acquisition fund, and an affordable housing loan facility.

For more information on the awards click here