Development team up for top award
A project to transform St Albans City Centre has been shortlisted for a prestigious town planning industry award.
Several organisations, including St Albans City and District Council, have come together to redevelop an
area near the Alban Arena.
Now the group has made it through to the finals of this year’s Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Awards for Planning Excellence. Their nomination is for Excellence in Plan Making Practice.
The RTPI Awards are regarded as the longest established and most respected awards in the UK planning
industry.
Formed 40 years ago, they celebrate exceptional examples of planning and the contribution planners make
to society.
The approach to producing a Civic Centre Opportunity Site masterplan is an ambitious bid to enhance seven
acres in the heart of the City.
This area contains a number of buildings which are either vacant or run down such as the old Police Station, the Principal Health Clinic and the Bricket Road car park. It also covers the old Hertfordshire House site owned by Angle Properties Limited.
Look! St Albans Our Community Voice On Design last year hosted a charrette - a series of intensive engagement events – to consult about the plans. They were assisted by the consultancy ImaginePlaces.
These events allowed the community to put forward their own ideas and influence the future of the CCOS.
The Council is working with Hertfordshire Constabulary and the NHS which all own properties in the area in a development partnership. Boultbee LDN which owns the Maltings Shopping Centre is also involved.
Councillor Julian Daly, the Council’s Leader, said: “To be short-listed for this excellence award is a terrific endorsement of the work that has gone into the CCOS scheme so far. We want to create something really special and this shows we are on the right track.”
Vanessa Gregory, Chair of Look! St Albans, said: “I am over the moon for all involved. To be shortlisted for such a prestigious award is in no small measure down to the over 166 Albanians who gave a combined 1,000 hours plus of their time to the charrette. Many gave up their entire weekend, demonstrating this was indeed a labour of love and tremendous commitment to their city, St Albans.”
Angela Koch is the founder of ImaginePlaces, a consultancy specialising in collaborative planning and design.
She said: “It is wonderful to get a nomination like this for our work with Look! St Albans, the landowners and the many local stakeholders that worked so generously and collaboratively during a week of design charretting for the future of the Civic Centre sites in the centre of St Albans.”
Stephen Wilkinson, President of the Royal Town Planning Institute said: “The finalists represent some outstanding contributions to planning which are making a positive impact for the community and environment. The judges will find it difficult choosing the winners given the high calibre of entries this year.”
There was a 40% increase in entrants to this year’s RTPI awards and the judges have shortlisted 90 finalists across 14 categories. An overall winner will get the Silver Jubilee Cup.
The results will be announced during a ceremony at Milton Court, The Barbican, London, in June. The host is Wayne Hemingway, co-founder of fashion label Red or Dead and HemingwayDesign.
For more details about the CCOS, please see: https://www.stalbans.gov.uk/planning-policy
Councillor contact:
Cllr Julian Daly, Leader of St Albans City and District Council and Portfolio Holder for Resources.
Mob: 07775 657200
Email: cllr.j.daly@stalbans.gov.uk
Media contact:
John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer, St Albans City and District Council. Tel: 01727-296130
E-mail: john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk
Royal Town Planning Institute:
Josh Rule, Communications and Public Affairs Officer: Tel: 020 7 929 8182 Email: Joshua.Rule@rtpi.org.uk
Notes
The RTPI champions the power of planning in creating prosperous places and vibrant communities. It is the only body in the UK that confers
Chartered status to planners, the highest professional qualification sought after by employers. We support our members – 23,000 worldwide -
throughout their careers.-
It is a charity registered in England 262865 and Scotland SC 03784.
For more information see: https://www.rtpi.org.uk/
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