Future Place programme winners announced

Five places across England have been selected to take part in a new programme to support high-quality placemaking.

The Future Place programme is an initiative run by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), Local Government Association (LGA) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

The five areas are:

• Bradford (City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council)
• Greater Exeter (Exeter City Council, East Devon District Council, Mid Devon District Council and Teignbridge District Council – supported by Devon County Council)
• Great Yarmouth (Great Yarmouth Borough Council)
• Gateshead (Gateshead Council)
• North Northamptonshire (Northamptonshire County Council, Corby Borough Council, East Northamptonshire Council, Kettering Borough Council and Borough Council of Wellingborough)

The five selected places will now take part in a programme to develop visions for their areas, with training and expert advice from each of the Future Places project partners.

Great Yarmouth was selected because the council is currently driving forward an ambitious town centre masterplan and major regeneration projects along the seafront, in addition to crafting a culture and tourism strategy to help broaden and enhance the tourism offer.

According to the organisers, the Future Place programme will help Great Yarmouth to help optimise, amplify and advance these initiatives.

While North Northamptonshire was selected because the five district councils have had a joint planning committee and joint planning unit (JPU) in place since 2004.

Their ambitious growth strategy to build 40,000 homes between 2011 and 2031 and create high-quality Garden Communities, including a new Garden Village, is set out in their core strategy.

In 2017 the JPU was combined with a delivery unit forming the joint planning and delivery unit (JDPU).

This new body plans to advance North Northamptonshire’s ambitious growth agenda (increasing the population by 25%) and ensure quality design.

The Future Place programme will support North Northamptonshire’s JDPU deliver the work they have planned for the next year, including creating a Place Shaping website, a supplementary planning document to assist developers, and progressing plans for a new garden village.

‘It is important that we celebrate planners’ creativity and vision in place-making, as well as the innovative and practical ways that many councils are using to foster the strategic collaborations essential to creating successful places,’ said Royal Town Planning Institute president, Ian Tant.

‘The five chosen Future Places show that strong, experienced local planning leadership makes all the difference to delivering places that thrive and work for people. That’s why we’re supporting this programme to further boost leadership development.’

Pictures courtesy of RIBA.