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Application form
Please make sure you have read all the notes carefully before you start to fill in the application form. This application form can either be completed by hand or electronically - it is available on the Planning homepage at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning. Please complete all five sections. The deadline for submitting applications is 27 August 2008. An acknowledgement letter will be sent to the person who has completed this form.
1 Please provide a name and contact details of the lead organisation responsible for this work.
Name | Jason Syers |
Job title | Director of Projects and Practice |
Organisation | The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment |
Address | 19-20 Charlotte Road, London ECA 3SG |
Telephone | 020 7613 8500 |
Fax | 020 7613 8599 |
Email | jason.syers@princes-foundation.org |
2 If this is a joint application, please list the other partners who had a key role. You should also inform your partners that you are nominating the project for an award.
1 Prince's Foundation | 2 Scotia Homes |
3 Urban Design Associates | 4 Aberdeenshire Council |
5 Key stakeholders | 6 Local community |
3 Tick one nomination category
4 Title of entry | Ellon Sustainable Growth Masterplan, Pattern Book and Model |
Please complete the form on the following pages by providing a brief summary of the piece of work you have entered. You must also conclude with a key reason as to why you think this work merits an Award. Only the two A4 pages supplied here can be used and your text must fit within the boxes. The font size should be no less than 12pt.
The judging criteria are set out below. Please tick only the key criteria relevant to your entry:
You must describe how the project relates to the criteria which you have ticked.
Description of project
This project was based in Ellon to produce 3 strategic development plan outputs: 1. Sustainable growth masterplan - an integrated framework to help guide and inspire sensitive regeneration in the town & surrounding local area.
2. Pattern book - a collation of detailed patterns ranging in scale from the town and site design through to window patterns and architectural details.
3. Model - an interactive wooden model of Ellon & the new proposed settlement. The project was successfully driven by a strong partnership between Scotia Homes, The Princes Foundation for the Built Environment, Urban Design Associates, Aberdeenshire Council, key stakeholders the local community. |
Describe the background to the project
The project was developd using the Enquiry by Design ( EbD) process. EbD is a collaborative planning and public engagement tool that uses design workshops developed by the Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment to ensure that - from the outset - design is at the heart of the development process.
The uniqueness of the project is that its based on an innovative, thorough and transparant engagement process with the local community, together with relevant stakeholders. The project also relies on managing and assembling the relevant technical information in advance of the EbD workshops to ensure that the whole team are well informed about all the key planning issues and the resultant masterplan is capable of implementation. |
What are the aims and objectives of the project?
The overall aim of the project was to achieve sensitive growth and a well-informed long term masterplan plan for a sustainable community in Ellon. To help achieve this, the objective was to gain in-depth technical and anecdotal knowledge of the local area and then to use this to develop a accurate, inclusive and creative approach to masterplanning. The process involves constantly sketching, drawing and using watercolour paintings to help people interpret and visualise how their neighbourhood and community will develop. The objective throughout the project was, therefore, to ensure that people were clear about the proposals and that the evolving design solution met with the needs and aspirations of the stakeholders. |
Over what timescale has the project been developed?
One of the advantages of the EbD process is that it relies on a concentrated effort over a short period of time. The general timescale for Ellon, from beginning to end, is set out below: 1. Start of the EbD process - June 2007
2. Modelling workshop - November 2007
3. Pattern book and masterplan completed - April 2008 |
Explain the process and action taken
Community involvement is central to EbD, as the process facilitates informed decision making through intensive design-led workshops, during a 5-day event. It enables all stakeholders to appreciate the whole context of the site, provide an understanding of how it functions & what the consequences of the development would be on the surrounding environment & community. The process also has a strong educational component - which draws on concepts of traditional urbanism & sustainability - so it helps both professionals and lay people to understand the fundamentals of town planning. The action taken requires listening carefully to all stakeholders & developing a strategic masterplan specicifically tailored for Ellon. The EbD starts and finishes with public open events ensuring inclusivity & integrity. |
Explain the role of the key partners
The roles of the key partners are set out as follows:
1. The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment - organising, managing and leading the EbD, and masterplanning, workshops. 2. Urban Design Associates - developing the masterplan, pattern book and model. 3. Aberdeenshire Council - technical and planning policy input throughout the whole planning and design process. 4. Ellon Community Council - representing the local community & co-ordinating local groups. 5. Ellon Business Initiative - representing local business interests. 6. Michael Gilmore Associates (Aberdeen) - assisting in the production of the pattern book & new house type for Scotia. 7. Scotia Homes - main sponsor.
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What results were achieved?
The results achieved were three fold - they included a robust, coherant and strategic masterplan, a pattern book and a model. Together, these have helped to create a strong detailed design framework for Aberdeenshire Council which can fit into their development plan process. In addition, because the vision generated through the EbD workshop was developed by the consensus of everyone linked to the project, it should help to ensure a quicker delivery of the plan. Indeed, the community's enthusiasm and appreciation of the approach used at Ellon resulted in a number of standing ovations at the end each workshop. In addition, the EbD has been further endorsed through a reference to its design process in the Scottish Government's Planning Advice Note ( PAN) on Masterplanning. |
In summary, why does this piece of work merit an Award?
This project is the first successful project, developed in Scotland, through the EbD process. Its innovative approach is not just a 'one-off' for Ellon, as EbD can also be adapted for use in a wide variety of contexts, from hamlets and villages to urban city extensions, and help to inform different statutory frameworks. The examplar process used for Ellon also illustrates the benefits of working over an compressed and intense period of time, in full collaboration with the local community and key stakeholders. This means that the end product is driven by robust sustainable design principles and is fully endorsed by the community and wider stakeholders. Overall, the work at Ellon has helped to establish a new benchmark in collaborative design-led masterplanning and sustainable growth modelling in Scotland. |
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