Community Land Scotland‘sPolicy Director Calum MacLeod has just published an excellent brief overview of what Scottish land reform has achieved since the 2003 Land Reform Act (thanks to the Scottish Community Alliance). As Calum succinctly explains, much has been achieved since 2003 – but more needs to be done to spread the benefits of community land […]
Author Archive | Nick Wright
creating a buzz: the collaborative city centre
One thing I love about Glasgow city centre is the buzz: people everywhere, events in the street, new places to visit. In my professional life as an urban planner, I’m really interested in how to help make that buzz even better. Planning is often thought of as a legalistic activity, regulating new development. But it […]
Scottish planning awards: cutting edge or simply best practice?
The annual Scottish Quality in Planning Awards took place last Wednesday night in Edinburgh. If you’re interested in seeing the 20-plus awards that illustrate the best of Scottish planning in 2018, you’ll need to do some digging. The relevant Scottish Government webpage refers to just three of the awards; the interactive map linked to from […]
Glasgow city centre Avenues: The Underline
There was lots of interest when I posted the initial design proposals for Argyle Street and Trongate back in June. So, dear reader, here’s a preview of the next wave of Avenues design proposals for the city centre. (If you read my previous post, you might recall that I’m part of the team led by […]
monitoring the outcomes – and evaluating the impact – of planning
Over the last few months, I’ve been part of a research team commissioned by the Scottish Government to explore the case for a new approach to performance management for the planning system. Instead of the current focus on processing speed the emphasis would shift to better understanding the contribution of planning to building a better […]
Glasgow city centre Avenues: initial design proposals for Argyle Street
As part of the team led by Civic Engineers with Urban Movement, Icecream Architecture and others for Glasgow City Council, we’ve just kicked off the first round of public engagement to roll out the transformational City Deal funded Avenues scheme over the next 5 years or so. Over 500 people braved the damp weather along Argyle Street and Trongate […]
community charrettes: how we can maximise their impact
I’ve had the privilege of being involved in almost twenty charrettes in Scotland. And it really is a privilege, because on every occasion I gain a fascinating insight into local life and aspirations, and learn new things about community development, placemaking and making change happen on the ground. Being a planner, I’ve long seen charrettes as […]
exam time for Councillors!
Councillor training on planning is back on the agenda, more than ever before. The draft Planning Bill published this week proposes: compulsory planning training for Councillors an examination for any Councillors involved in planning decisions At face value, those proposals are a pretty strong indictment. Improvement is needed. But are Councillors really that bad at […]
real community planning in Lockerbie?
Earlier this year, Lockerbie Community Council commissioned a Community Action Plan to support community-led activity aimed at improving the Lockerbie area as a place in which to live, work and visit. Following a public meeting in November 2016, a steering group was established comprising a number of Community Councillors and other local residents. An independent […]
barriers to community engagement in planning – an issue of trust
When I first heard of the Scottish Government’s proposed research into barriers to engagement in planning – linked to the ongoing review of the planning system – I expected the barriers would relate to access to information, too much jargon, and outmoded communications channels like statutory notices. How wrong I was! As part of the […]