Tornagrain – Involving the community in planning a new town through the use of a Charrette
Key contact: Andrew Howard
Address: Moray Estates Development Company, Estates Office, Berryley, Darnaway, Forres, IV36 2ST
Telephone: 01309 672213
Email: awh@medco.co.uk
Web address: www.morayestates.co.uk
In a nutshell
We – Moray Estate, a private developer - involved the wider local community in the process of planning a new town. To do this, we used the Charrette – an intensive method of planning – that involves setting up a community based planning workshop.
Through clear structures and effective facilitation, we involved about 600 people from the Moray Firth area - from the inception of the plans, through the design process, to the final presentation of the design plan.
The issues
Highland Council has been looking to identify new locations for growth for the next 30 years. They identified the A96 Corridor (stretching from East Inverness to Nairn) as a preferred area for development.
We owned some land in the area – around Tornagrain - and proposed this as part of the solution to expected growth. We had already produced a masterplan on the possible development of Tornagrain. However, this had been done without the involvement of the community, as other community consultations were taking place as part of the public planning process of the A96 development.
In addition, it is difficult to plan large-scale new developments in rural areas with people that may eventually live there.
To take the development forward, we wanted to involve the community.
How we got started
We wanted to involve the community from the very start. So we decided to begin the planning and design process completely afresh. We abandoned the masterplan that we had already developed.
To identify best town planning practice, including community engagement, we went on a field tours in the UK, Europe and America.
During the tour of America we met with Duany Plater-Zyberk (DPZ) – consultants in urban design. Looking at some of their previous work, we were very impressed by the quality of urban design. They told us that they had used the process of Charrette for all their developments.
We decided that we wanted to contract them to deliver the same large scale community engagement process for Tornagrain.
DPZ put together a design team consisting of architects, town planners and other technical experts. They asked us to recommend some UK based professionals that could be included on the group.
We also set up a community consultation forum made up of community councils, employers and business groups in the A96 Corridor. This meets before each major step in the process so that local communities are the first to be informed and have the first opportunity to contribute.
What we did
The process consisted of two main parts:
Preparation – We started preparing for the Charrette in April 2006. DPZ told us what type of information that they needed in advance of the Charrette. We put together all the background studies - including transport, ecology and landscape. This background information informed the design process during the Charrette. A design workshop was set up very near the site where we would be based for the Charrette.
We advertised widely by local radio, newspapers and a pre-Christmas paper which was sent to all 7000 households in the A96 Corridor. These set out how the process would work, the issues that would be considered and the timetable.
The Charrette – The Charrette was planned to take place over a two week period. It included three different types of workshops and meetings:
§ Three public meetings were held during the Charrette. The first set the scene, the second looked at the options and the design so far and the third presented the final plan.
§ A number of structured meetings around specific themes, such as transport and the economy were held. These brought together key stakeholders from public and private organisations with the community.
§ Throughout the process, we held a number of open design meetings where people were given the chance to look at the emerging designs, ask questions and make suggestions.
Our outcomes
The Charrette process has been successful in a number of ways: It has:
• Given communities a chance to influence plans from the very start of a development.
• Involved a large number of people who may be affected by the development.
• Raised awareness and understanding of the planning process.
• Allowed for much more open and wider discussion about all the issues influencing development in Tornagrain. It has given people the opportunity to meet with key stakeholders and ask them questions.
We have ended up with a high quality of design. However, the true outcomes remain to be seen if the development goes ahead. If the development of Tornagrain is realised and the people that live and work there are happy, with a strong sense of community and a more sustainable lifestyle, then this process will have been a success.
One great thing – The open and intense nature of the process
The workshops and meetings were extremely interactive. The designers were open to any ideas that people put forward –changing their designs to see how other ideas would work. If they felt that some ideas were not so good, they illustrated this by showing them the effects of the ideas on the designs.
The process also encouraged as many questions as possible from the community. It was felt that it was better to have all questions and concerns discussed as soon as possible.
Lessons learnt
• Make sure that the key stakeholders you have invited to the workshops turn up. Make them aware of their role in the process. It is a chance for the community to meet them and ask any questions they may have. It was also important for us to get their input. Send out reminders and call them. Let them know that if they are unable to attend they need to send someone else.
• The preparation we undertook before the Charrette was crucial. The Charrette itself is a very intense process and it was important that we and our designers knew about all the issues around the site development.
• Try to get people to come through the door – into the workshops. People are much less likely to read written information. We sent out newsletters before and after the Charrette to inform them of the process. We are sometimes surprised to hear that people did not know about the Charrette despite the written information we had sent them. Word of mouth can be very important.
• All community views cannot be incorporated. Some may not be possible due to site restrictions or other practical reasons. It is important to explain to the community why you think one option is better than another and show them the wider impacts of their option. We were honest about this throughout the process and encouraged them to continue to be involved even if something they suggested wasn’t possible.
• We wanted the community to be part of the process form the very start. To do this, we had to start from a blank sheet and decided to ignore the masterplan we had already carried out. It is much more difficult to adapt plans than move forward with new ones. And it is easier to engage the community in this way.
• Having consultants who knew how the Charrette process should work was invaluable. They knew how to get the best out of community engagement. They managed to get a balanced discussion between those who were more positive and those who were not. They then identified general feelings and fed these in to the design development.
• Before the Charette we arranged for Andres Duany – the owner of DPZ - to deliver three public lectures on town planning and urbanism and what we were going to try to do at Tornagrain. These were delivered at the University of Highland and Islands, the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and at the Royal Institute of British Architects. This introduced the process to decision-makers in the area and proved to be a useful way to get people interested in following the process.
What next?
The next phase of the Charrette is the development itself.
We will submit a planning application in summer 2008. If we are successful, then we hope to start building in 2011.
