nick wright planning

Archive

Welcome to dedicated archive chronicaling all of the analysis and projects posts published on the site to date. You can easily navigate through the archive chronologically by clicking the below years.

the fresh’n’lo approach to rural planning

01 Dec 2012

A few months ago, I wrote about refreshing rural planning policy to encourage more rural investment, more diverse and sustainable rural economies, and thriving rural communities. Since then, respected Haddington-based surveyors and architects Chalmers & Co have taken the lead in moving this agenda forward in East Lothian. The firm spotted what...

Read More...

“managed decline”… put it in the dustbin!

11 Sep 2012

In the last couple of days, I’ve twice come across the thought that towns and neighbourhoods that have ‘outlived their economic usefulness’ should have a policy of ‘managed decline’. For years I’ve thought that the UK planning system isn’t well set up for helping places that are struggling economically; places...

Read More...

how Haddington is fulfilling its potential

25 Aug 2012

Urban Animation, WMUD, Dhu Rural and I have recently completed the Haddington town centre vision – a fascinating six month project which we believe offers a model for other town centres around the country to make the most of their assets, and get public, private and community sectors working together in a way...

Read More...

community empowerment and planning

21 Jul 2012

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on its proposed Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill; this paper is a contribution to that discussion. It has been jointly written with Hugh Moore, who has been chair of Giffnock Community Council in East Renfrewshire for a number of years. As well as being Community Councillors,...

Read More...

making the most of what people tell us

09 Jul 2012

This article was written jointly with Drew Mackie of Drew Mackie Associates, who supply support services in community consultation and qualitative research in regeneration. The article was published in the June 2012 edition of the Royal Town Planning Institute Scotland’s journal Scottish Planner. Much of the current debate on community engagement in planning revolves around...

Read More...

the Biggar Agenda | three lessons for other places

22 May 2012

Working with Kevin Murray Associates, WMUD, Hamilton-Baillie Associates and VivID Ideas & Solutions, we’ve recently completed The Biggar Agenda: a community strategy for the next ten years. This is the third in a series of town strategies that we have prepared for the award-winning South Lanarkshire Rural Partnership‘s Market Towns Initiative, the earlier towns being Lanark and...

Read More...

beyond windfarms & biodiversity | a new future for rural planning?

17 Apr 2012

Reforms to the Scottish planning system mean that local authorities up and down the country are getting to grips with new ways of preparing future plans for their areas. We’re saying goodbye to the old system of producing a draft plan and asking people what they think of it –...

Read More...

Neighbourhood Planning Plus

08 Feb 2012

There seem to be more and more seminars and workshops about community engagement in planning. A common theme, to me, is that we know that we have to do it; but we not quite sure how. We’re struggling to engage communities successfully and consistently, in ways which don’t simply meet...

Read More...

Future Glasgow | a city vision for the next 50 years

16 Jan 2012

Glasgow City Council has just launched a public consultation on its City Vision for 2061 – its vision to shape the city’s future. This should be big news. It will shape what kind of city Glasgow will be in the future. The City Council may have published the vision, but...

Read More...

three steps to better public engagement in planning

04 Jan 2012

A few weeks ago, I was invited to give presentations at a couple of Ministerial events in Edinburgh about community engagement in planning. One was a seminar about how to engage communities in controversial planning issues; the other was a meeting of the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on Architecture...

Read More...