A few weeks ago, in mid-July just over 3000 people (15%) who live in Portishead voted on wether they think that North Somerset Council should use the Portishead Neighbourhood Plan to help it decide on planning applications in the Town. 87.55% voted yes. We really enjoyed working in this dynamic town, with local people who…
Hurrah! 83% vote in favour
Well this was a nice email to get on a Friday morning…. “Hurrah! 69 against & 358 for – a good turnout too – amazing really as it was a very wet day. Thank you all at Place Studios for making this happen – there definitely would not have been an NDP without your guidance,…
Community engagement on a Neighbourhood Plan Review
Work is well underway reviewing the Joint Melksham Neighbourhood Plan, we have been working hard with the steering group to expand the scope of the plan, making sure it is as up to date and comprehensive as possible to give it maximum weight in future planning decisions. A big part of this is community and…
Prioritising Green Infrastructure in Planning and Design
Last week, Natural England launched the Green Infrastructure Framework, which sets out key principles and standards for green and blue spaces in new development. The framework has a range of resources and guidance for protecting and improving our green and blue environment – which includes trees, rivers, woodland, recreation fields, wetlands, gardens and much more…
Local Distinctiveness is Crucial but is it at Risk?
Local distinctiveness is what makes all our towns, villages and neighbourhoods so wonderfully different and special; mainly but not only in terms of what they look like. That distinctiveness has been threatened for years by the relentless roll-out of ‘anywhere’ new housing from developers. By far the best way to prevent this ‘anywhereism’ is for…
West of England Placemaking Charter
We are pleased to have signed up to the West of England Placemaking Charter. The Charter has been developed by the West of England Combined Authority, to provide a framework for creating better places across the region. In July, we attended the Placemaking Charter’s launch event at Design West here in Bristol, where we heard…
Championing trees in Neighbourhood Plans
Over the last few years, we’ve contributed a few times to the Locality Neighbourhood Planning Newsletter. Most recently, Katie wrote about how to include and champion trees in Neighbourhood Plans, drawing on our work in Portishead, Cam and elsewhere. You can read the most recent newsletter, which includes our article, here. We’d recommend subscribing to…
Autumn news
It’s been a busy few months at Place Studio. As we continue life and work in a ‘post-pandemic’ world, our team has been getting into the groove of flexible working, moving house, starting school and enjoying being able to get out and see each other again! We’ve started a number of exciting new projects…
National roles for Place Studio on engagement in planning
Our considerable reputation on best practice community engagement in all areas of planning has been recognised in recent months, with work for England’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Welsh Government. Jeff was part of the team with Planning Aid Wales that undertook research for the Welsh Government, now out in the report titled…
A YES vote for Melksham Neighbourhood Plan!
A brilliant start to July for us with two more of our Neighbourhood Plans getting YES votes in their referendums! The Joint Melksham Plan – a neighbourhood plan that covers both the town of Melksham and the surrounding rural area of Melksham Without and 84% voted YES for the plan. The neighbourhood plan for the…