Seeking more attention for rural communities

I thought I’d start this blog with a question?

What does “mediation of space – making of place” mean to you?

If a comparison is made with, say, the American Planning Association strapline “Creating Great Communities”, they have a message that is clearly understandable to anyone, is positive and might even be measurable.

The reason I ask is that on my trips, from conversations with the membership, the RTPI strapline is regularly questioned, in particular, the “Mediation of Space” element, which seems counter-intuitive and very difficult to explain, not least to the occasional journalist. In this 21^st century age of communications, where the profession is regularly under scrutiny, might we try and discover a message that more effectively reflected what we, as a profession, are about?

My last week ended with Philippa and my attendance at the West Midland Ball in Birmingham.

The photo above shows, from left, me with my wife Philippa, Sue Manns and Ian Dove QC.

This is my second visit to the RTPI WM, and they are a challenging and lively bunch, with clear ambitions to see a change in the quality of development in their region. The Region has a very clear identity, one that, as an Institute, we should seek to promote and celebrate.

When I next go up, our HQ communications team will offer some ideas on taking this issue further.

We met lots of members and their guests but it was a particular pleasure to meet a Young Planners married couple – the first winner of the Young Planner of the Year award, Julie Morgan, and her husband, Mark Walton, the Chairman elect of the WM Branch. I wonder if we have any other YP couples. In my inauguration address, I mentioned well known planners whose children had taken up planning. It would be nice to know where a planner had married a planner!

On the Monday, I represented you at a meeting hosted by the sadly about to retire, CEO of the Commission for Rural Communities, Graham Garbutt, where the RTPI, TCPA, LGA and other bodies representing the rural areas are seeking to prepare a Prospectus for Rural Communities that seeks to redress the balance of attention given to urban areas.

Mathew Taylor MP, whose excellent report on rural areas is about to receive a Government response, is a member of the CRC group and is an outstanding champion for the rural cause. The RTPI supports his proposals and I believe that the CRC Prospectus will provide a real opportunity to offer a multi body approach to rural community engagement in planning for our countryside areas and communities.

Finally, a small team of officers and members held the second of what will become a regular series of meetings with senior civil servants at DCLG. We commenced this programme with an open agenda and a broad purpose, on top of other arrangements, of improving professional member communications between the mother department and the Institute. One of the RTPI’s current campaigns is to promote the application of resources to delivering the LDF programme quickly, especially in the current economic climate. The DCLG is already supporting the acceleration of the LDF programme at regional level and we considered how best the RTPI might sustain that objective through our structures. John Baker was there as Chair of the Development Plan Network and offered a clear insight into both the availability of skills and processes but the need for greater investment at the local authority level. The RTPI will continue to offer a leadership role to our members and their employers and, in my regional visits, expect me to be promoting this issue.

A quieter week this one and a good thing I visited Scotland last week! England 25 Scotland 12 at Twickenham…

Martin

Visiting the Land of Scots

My wife Philippa and I travelled up to Edinburgh last Tuesday evening to attend a number of events in Scotland on behalf of RTPI members. We have a great affection for Edinburgh and my maternal grandfather was a Mossman, a border Scot! Our youngest daughter, Alex, attended university there so we visited regularly buying up most of what IKEA Edinburgh had to offer (then having to shift it down south when she left)! Ian Rankin and his detective stories of Inspector Rebus show the dark side of this great city but for us, the sun is almost always shining and for this visit it was crisp and bright - Scotland at its best.

We started at the RTPI in Scotland Office run by the enthusiastic and able Director, Veronica Burbridge and her team of Annette, James and Charles. RTPI Head of Research, Jenny Crawford is based at the office too along with Research Assistant Kendra Gracie, who also supports the Commonwealth Association of Planners Secretary General Cliff Hague. They are a smashing bunch and made us feel extremely welcome.

Our first engagement was meeting with officers of the Edinburgh Planning Department, Damian, David and Dorothy (the 3 Ds!) who took us on a walking tour to show us conservation and development schemes around Princes Street (as seen in the picture courtesy of City of Edinburgh Council), the main shopping street overlooking Edinburgh Castle and the Castle Gardens. The area is suffering temporarily because of the introduction of a new tramline from Leith on the waterfront, through the city centre and out to the airport in the west just short of the M8 to Glasgow. However, once complete, the tram will reinforce a spine of communications linking residential areas with employment, culture and education in a safe and attractive form of public transport – what a great initiative.

The design challenges of a World Heritage Site and the motor car has resulted in some good schemes notably St Andrew Square (an award winner the next day) onto which the new Harvey Nichols store fronts. There was much honesty in reviewing schemes and certainly some of the careful mixtures of new and refurbished development proposed will transform Princes Street and give it the design reputation it deserves as the “High Street” of Scotland. This new vision for the city centre, known as the “string of pearls” vision, will rejuvenate the area and see the street divided into distinctive blocks (the so-called pearls – as shown in the attached illustration courtesy of Jonathan Guthrie/Project Edinburgh). I could see why most planners working in Edinburgh either had been there or intended to remain there, for some time. It is a beautiful city with many opportunities for even more good planning. As someone whose career has been throughout the country, albeit in some attractive places, I admire those who give their lives to one place and can see the results of their hard work realised. All power to your elbow Edinburgh City Planning Department!

After lunch I addressed the Scottish Young Planners Conference alongside Simon Pallant espousing the benefits of Planning Aid and Nicola Hay from the Environment Department of the Scottish Government explaining their approach to Place Making and sustainable development, in particular Eco-Towns. The Young Planners are a lively bunch and under the able chairing of Prof. Trevor Davies, ex. Planning Cabinet member of Edinburgh Council, there was a healthy dialogue and exchange of views.

I also remained on the stage to participate in a discussion with David Harding promoting the value of public art and Alistair McIntosh demonstrating people power in planning using the example of the Isle of Eigg, a Hebridean island located off the West Highlands of Scotland acquired by the community through a public world wide appeal. These two sideways looks at the world of planning were both refreshing and humbling; two great men giving up their lives to their chosen causes and enriching the lives of planners by their commitment.

A dinner later that evening with Veronica, the current and ex. Scottish RTPI Convenors John Esslemont and Roger Kelly, representatives from the government and the Inspectorate and Cliff Hague, led to robust discussion on the role of the RTPI and Scottish planning practice. I came away impressed by the ‘planning village’ in Scotland with enormous strengths and close co-operation between central and local government, and between public and private practice.

Thursday commenced with a visit to Heriot Watt University ably led by Prof. Alan Prior where I met students and lecturers from one of the best UK Planning Schools. The students were a lively and confident bunch whose main concern was the availability of jobs once they completed their courses later in the year. (My article for Planning this month seeks to address the issue of the job market in a recession.) On the positive side I drew attention to new planning jobs in social infrastructure – health, education, care – in utilities, the emerging climate change industry and education/research. However the fall out up and down the planning and development supply chain is having a deleterious effect on the traditional planning jobs in local and central government and its agencies as well as in consultancies. The RTPI is now more flexible regarding APC eligible experience and I believe that a combination of voluntary work such as in Planning Aid and earning enough from non planning work could also see some graduates through and beyond the recession and into chartered membership.

(picture courtesy of Tendai Mutasa)

I was delighted to attend another superb planning awards ceremony, this time addressing the Scottish Planning Awards. This encompassed the Patrick Geddes Awards to students, the Designing Places Awards and the Scottish Quality in Planning Awards. The Scottish National Party Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change, Stewart Stevenson, an ex. banker, made great play of how he was more popular as a Planning Minister than as a banker!! Both he and the Chair of the main judging panel, the Deputy Editor of the Glasgow Herald Joan Burnie demonstrated great faith in the planning system, although I drew attention to the business value of planning to newspaper profits! The overall winner was a delightful rural regeneration scheme on Lerwick Waterfront in the Shetland Isles. It was a very Scottish solution with good eco and community credentials as well as some sympathetic designs, a worthy winner.

My presentation included reference to Scotland punching above its weight in championing planning and I also thanked Jim Mackinnon, the able Chief Planner, for the influence he applies in sustaining planning interests.

Philippa and I came away pleased that we Sassenachs were allowed across the border to address Scottish Planners. We look forward to our next visit.

Presidential visit to Parliament

A busy ten days for me started with the annual ROOM@RTPI lunch at the House of Lords. On the first Monday in March each year, Lord Edmonton (an ex trade unionist) books the House of Lords veranda marquee overlooking the River Thames for ROOM and has done so for the last 10 years. The event originated when ROOM was the National Housing and Town Planning Conference before the National Housing and Town Planning Council (NHTPC) moved under the wing of the RTPI and was renamed ROOM@RTPI. The event includes a tour of Parliament then a lunch addressed by the Lord Edmonton and two other guest speakers. Funds raised from each ticket sold subsidise the London Branch of ROOM each year and the event tends to be attended by contractors and Housing Associations with a few consultants thrown in for good measure.

I have visited the Houses of Parliament a number of times including chairing a couple of events but have never experienced the tour which was fascinating. The history of Black Rod, the opening of Parliament and the Queen’s presentation of her government’s proposals for the following year provides a rich tradition. Both Houses were much narrower than they appear on TV, two swords lengths apart for the front rows. There are not enough seats for all Members to sit at the same time so I guess it can be quite a scrum!

I was invited to the lunch by John Harvey, the “Association’s” (now included in Networks) representative trustee on Executive Board, who wanted the President to talk about the links between housing and planning especially in these troubled times. I was able to refer to the current problems surrounding Section 106 Agreements relaxations on affordable housing to promote development and also talk about the RTPI-CIH Planning for Housing Network, a joint initiative launched last year with the Chartered Institute of Housing. Another important issue I raised is the need to sustain quality and sustainability standards alongside volume in the current environment. I feel strongly about this issue as there are enough bad examples of short term fixes to housing problems over the last 60 years for planners to be cautious about relaxing standards in a poor market! It was an enjoyable event although there is still much to do in improving links between housing and planning professionals.

On Thursday I briefly joined in on a telephone conference organised by the Global Planners Network (GPN), administered by RTPI’s Judith Eversley, which brings together representatives from planning bodies in Australia, Canada, the Commonwealth, USA, France and ourselves, looking to share knowledge of planning best practice internationally. The challenge for the GPN is how to resource and manage an initiative where the wealthier bodies can contribute resources but the less wealthy, in relative terms, have the greatest need both to own the GPN and benefit from it. More to follow as my year progresses.

Later that day I joined a distinguished panel at the EcoBuild Conference and Exhibition to discuss, amongst other things, EcoTowns. The event was chaired by Sarah Montague of Radio 4 fame and consisted of Maxwell Hutchinson (architect), Christian Wolmar (transport commentator), Kelvin McDonald (strategic policy consultant), Toby Lloyd (consultant) and myself. There is understandably a great deal of suspicion regarding EcoTowns especially in the current economic climate. However, the Panel did not entirely reject them but felt that there would almost inevitably be a need for substantial public investment upfront and so they would have to take their chances with other schemes. The truth is that we all felt that EcoTown standards should be applied to all major development and that urban extensions were more likely to deliver sustainable communities in the short term!

Keep track of my blog next week when I will report back on my Presidential visit to Scotland.

Martin.

My first meeting with Mayor Boris

Ireland 14: England 12…………… and 2 more England yellow cards!

Nonetheless we had a lovely weekend and Ireland is the only side unbeaten with the potential to win the 6 Nations Rugby Trophy 2009 so we will support them in their remaining matches.

Back to the RTPI, the first event I attended on your behalf was the London Planning Awards where for the first time I met London Mayor Boris Johnson. He was extremely funny introducing City Hall as one of the worst buildings in London with an impossible interior then having to give an award to the developer of the site next to it thus demonstrating his impartiality and lack of influence over the judging process! I spoke briefly with him and Sir Simon Molton his planning advisor where they both explained that one of the most enjoyable aspects of their jobs was a two hour weekly session to review planning applications submitted to them. The Mayor has a genuine interest in the impact of planning on the lives of Londoners and we should find a way of engaging him again.

The Mayors Award, reflected the RTPI Planning Awards Silver Jubilee Cup winner went to the Channel Tunnel Rail link and other awards included a beautiful garden in South London bringing peace and tranquillity to a difficult area – quite delightful. The Awards allows the RTPI to stand alongside others in promoting high quality and sustainable development in the Capital city. Afterwards at the awards drinks reception on the 9th floor we enjoyed wonderful views across the River to Tower Bridge and beyond, which was an enjoyable experience with other built environment professionals from London.

I also ended up doing a small piece for the Guardian Arts section (published on 3rd March) owing to the excellent network of our new(ish) Marketing Team led by Tino Hernandez, but this time following a link through Sophie Stapleton our New Zealand Communications Manager (best not to talk about rugby!) She persuaded a Guardian journalist to send me to the Le Corbusier Exhibition at The Barbican Art Gallery and then interview me regarding my impressions of it as a Town Planner. The interview was then turned into a first person piece and although a little journalistic licence was used by the journalist, it reflected my views well. I was always aware of the Le Corbusier foundation for the delightful two storey, white, flat roofed dwelling design from the 1930’s but was not so aware of his master planning work in places as far afield as Marseille and India. Also, for me with my interest in art (my Paternal Great Grandfather was a 19/20th century engraver) his pictures and tapestries were full of colour and life. If you want to read the article the click here.

Martin Willey
2009 President