The Planning Awards 2020 are fast approaching. Participants have until 11 February to benefit from a discounted entry fee, while the final deadline for entries is Tuesday, 25 February. Charities benefit from half-price entry.
Previous winners attest that winning an award has been beneficial to perceptions of their team, provided a morale boost for staff and has helped with the process of recruiting new team members. Even drawing together an entry was beneficial in and of itself, previous entrants have said.
The awards, run by Planning and PlacemakingResource, and sponsored by Pegasus Group, RPS and Stantec, will reward excellence in professional planning work and related activities, such as placemaking, urban design, economic development, housing and regeneration. Spanning 25 categories, the competition will recognise outstanding planning work by councils, consultants, developers, lawyers, voluntary groups and other key players in the UK planning system.
All entries must relate to work either carried out or completed since 1 October 2018. An expert judging panel will be looking for evidence that entries have improved or are likely to improve the physical or environmental quality of a place or the economic or social well-being of a community or other, categoryspecific, criteria.
The awards will be presented on the evening of 11 June at The Mermaid London and publicised in a special report in Planning and on PlanningResource.
Last year’s Editor’s Award – the winner of winners – was taken home by the Lake District National Park Authority, which also won the Award for Stakeholder Engagement in Planning. Rob Allison, planning officer at the authority, said: "Winning the awards has given us great exposure and the awards night was a great opportunity to network."
The Award for Best Housing Scheme (fewer than 500 homes), meanwhile, was won by Bournemouth Development Company for its 113-unit Berry Court build-to-rent scheme, which met a need for high-quality rental housing aimed at younger people.
Other winners last year included Inner Circle Consulting and the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The consultancy picked up the prize for Planning Consultancy of the Year, while the partners jointly won the gong for Best Use of Arts, Culture or Sport in Placemaking.
Bushra Sheikh, marketing consultant at Inner Circle, said of the awards: "No other forum places the same value on our sector."
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