WINCHESTER City Council’s Strategic Planning team has bagged two wins in the RTPI South East Awards for Planning Excellence 2021.

The team has been awarded the RTPI South East Awards for Excellence in Plan Making Practice with judges saying said their ‘Your Place; Your Plan’ Local Plan consultation strategy went above and beyond what was expected. The panel was particularly impressed with the approach taken - that of seeing the consultation from a lay person’s view. They also complimented the way in which partnership working shone through, with the positive relationship between external consultants and public bodies ensuring the successful delivery of the programme.

The team also took home the award for Overall RTPI South East Winner – prestigious regional recognition which judges said marked their achievement as being “a real planning success story”.

Winchester City Council’s Cabinet Member for Built Environment, Cllr Russell Gordon-Smith said: “I am delighted to see the council’s Strategic Planning team receive this very well deserved accolade. This really has been a case of going above and beyond in terms of reaching out to local people so that they can have their say about development in their area.

"Much of the ‘Your Place; Your Plan’ consultation programme was conducted during the height of the pandemic, which saw the team developing creative new ways to engage local communities virtually. The fact we managed to reach so many local people is testimony to what a council can achieve by meeting challenges with determination and innovation.

"We’re rightly very proud of the high levels of responses we received as we want the Local Plan to be the outcome of a democratic process and agreement. Thank you to all in our communities who took the time to let us know what really matters to them, it will make a real difference locally.”