A scheme in which we provided valuable market intelligence, development and viability advice, has won a prestigious Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Award.

Triumph for Northampton based master plan

The jointly commissioned master plan for the area around Bridge Street, St John's and Angel Street in Northampton triumphed in the Spatial Strategies category for the East Midlands Region at a ceremony held in December last year.

The master plan, which was produced on behalf of Northampton Borough Council, Northamptonshire County Council and West Northamptonshire Development Corporation, was led by urban design company, Taylor Young, supported by Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) and transport and infrastructure consultancy firm, Aecom.

Collaborative working commended

RTPI commended the partners for working together to achieve a number of robust options over a wide area.

In a letter to the consultancy team, Northampton Borough Council's Head of Regeneration and Development, Chris Cavanagh said: “I wish to personally thank you for your high quality work in managing this commercial advisor. It was a pleasure to work with you and your team on what I believe is a very professional and pragmatic piece of work which has already helped to inform the Central Area Action Plan emerging strategy.

“Most importantly, it has also helped guide the procurement process to find a development partner to bring forward the development of the Council’s land in the St John’s area.”

Andrew Delaney, Director in the Planning, Development & Regeneration team in Manchester, said: “We have established a strong working relationship with Taylor Young, which has seen us appointed as consultants on many high-profile schemes over the past few years.

Ian Leather, Head of our Northampton office, said: “Staff in both the Manchester and Northampton offices have put a lot of time and effort into this strategy, which is embodied in the congratulatory words from Chris Cavanagh and makes it all the more rewarding.”

Recognising achievement

The Regional RTPI Planning Awards are designed to encourage and reward outstanding achievement in planning. They aim to celebrate the contribution made by the planning profession to the quality of life throughout the UK and to raise awareness and understanding of pioneering work. The RTPI recognises the diversity of planning achievements, from large-scale spatial planning through to small-scale environmental enhancements.