The Royal Town Planning Institute: Wales Branch Y Sefydliad Cynllunio Trefol Brenhinol: Cangen Cymru OCTOBER/HYDREF 2005 Times they are a changing Planning Summer School 2005 and beyond Helen Williams reports on changes to the format of Planning Summer School and the recent School in Edinburgh. Town & Country Planning Summer School has been running residential training events for planners and those involved in planning every September since 1933. A different university is used each year with the one used most often in the past being St Andrew s. We try to use campus universities in different parts of the United Kingdom so that we visit Wales, Scotland & the regions of England. We are still searching for a venue in Northern Ireland that meets our requirements. This year s School at Heriot Watt was the fifth year of the new style Summer School and was the most successful for some time. Following local government reorganisation in 1996, and the increasing numbers of planners entering the private sector, the numbers attending began to decline. An in depth analysis highlighted what we all suspected, that however keen people were to go to Summer School, very few had the time to spend a whole week away from the office.it was therefore decided to change INSIDE: Also, in this edition of the Newsletter: Planning Aid Wales City Planning in Cardiff Alwyn s 50 years CDN launch new office in Conwy the format and run three four day schools rather than a short Councillors School and a seven day officers School. After a great deal of hard work and some inventive marketing it would seem that what some felt to be a gamble has paid off. The numbers this year were very good and at one stage we nearly had to put up the sorry we are full signs up. We had very good feedback and lots more planners from the private sector. We have also changed the name of Councillors School to Elected Members School in an effort to attract Assembly Members from Wales and the English Regions & the Scottish Parliament. We are making increasing use of the Summer School web site for marketing, information on the programme, joining instructions for delegates and copies of presentations. If you want a flavour of the topics covered this year and in previous years please look on the web site. www.planningsummerschool.org. Next year we hope to be able to take bookings on line for the first time. Of course, what is much more important is the fact that everybody had a good time in Heriot Watt (even though it was a long way to get to those famous landmarks of Edinburgh) and we all learnt a lot from some excellent speakers. It was Bill Morrison s last year as President and he managed to persuade speakers from as far afield as Nevada, Washington DC& Melbourne to give up their time to address an audience of keen young planners and send them away with an increased sense that they had chosen the right career after all. The venues for the next three years are already booked and work will start next week on putting together a programme for next year s Schools which will take place at the University of Kent in Canterbury. The incoming President is Mike Holmes, who has been associated with Summer School for many years. His day job is the Head of Planning & Transport at Bournemouth but his Summer School job is essentially to put together a programme of approximately 80 plenary speakers and workshop leaders whilst second guessing what will be the hot planning topics in September 2006. With the help of a local organising committee based in the Kent area, a programme of study tours will be devised to give delegates a flavour of the latest projects in that part of the country. Keep an eye on the web site for speakers, topics and opportunities to win a free place. Summer School in 2007 will be returning to Swansea and in about June of next year we will be looking for volunteers to join a local organising committee to help make it a fourth successful visit to the Principality since 1990.If any of you would like to know more about what is involved please get in touch with me at helensummerschool@hotmail.co.uk Chairman s Annual Dinner The Annual Dinner is being held at Aberdare Hall, Cardiff University, on Friday 18th November 2005. Guest speaker: Leonora Rozee, The Planning Inspectorate Formal dress optional Tickets available at 35 Cheques payable to RTPI Cymru to be sent to: Sue Rice, 15 Lark Rise, Brackla, Bridgend, CF31 2NU T: 01656 648721 E: rice_sue@hotmail.com Members of other professional institute s are welcome.
RTPI CYMRU - OCTOBER/HYDREF 2005 RTPI CYMRU October 2005 Hydref 2005 RTPI Cymru is the journal of the RTPI Wales Branch. If you would like to make a contribution to a future edition please contact the Editor: Neil Harris Tel: 029 2087 6222 Fax: 029 2087 4845 E-mail: harrisnr@cardfiff.ac.uk RTPI Cymru - Notice of Annual General Meeting Friday 2nd December 2005 Galeri Caernarfon Doc Victoria Caernarfon www.galericaernarfon.com for further information on the venue, including directions and a location map. Please remember this newsletter is written for you about you, so please put pen to paper and contribute! To receive regular updates and reminders of forthcoming events by e-mail send your e-mail address to wales@rtpi.org.uk THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE CONTRIBUTORS OWN UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED. THE WALES BRANCH OF THE RTPI IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR STATEMENTS MADE OR VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS JOURNAL. Editorial This issue of Planning Wales newsletter is one that marks the centenary of Cardiff s status as a city and also 50 years as the Welsh capital. Looking back at the city s growth and development highlights several important periods in city planning, most notably the Buchanan Reports of the late 1960s and the regeneration of Cardiff s docklands from the mid 1980s to the present day. Ewart Parkinson the city s first City Planning Officer writes in this issue, highlighting some of the successes and difficulties in his time working in the city. In addition, Emyr Evans reflects on his bird s eye view sketch of Cardiff from the mid-1980s. As Emyr writes, he found it peculiar for me to request him to write something on this. I first encountered the sketch as a planning student in Cardiff in the early 1990s for me, it pictured in detail the Cardiff I knew as a student, but also highlighted the suburbs and landscape beyond which I did not know. I appreciate Emyr s point that there are many other important issues to discuss including the new vision being established for the city and maybe readers can use the newsletter to do this but the sketch remains an interesting one to this day, not least because it would not be captured in the same way today. Speaking of anniversaries, the newsletter also features an item celebrating Alwyn Williams 50 years of membership of the Institute. I took up the opportunity of meeting with Alwyn in order to include a piece in Planning Wales. Like other interviews and meetings I have had this past year with various retired planners, I left with a sense that they had experienced good, productive and worthwhile careers, noting a range of achievements along the way. Maybe it s just a matter of looking back and remembering the good times, but I always wonder whether these people did experience planning of a different kind and in a different context than planners of today. Finally, this issue also includes a range of recent news items, from new offices for CDN Planning in north Wales to forthcoming events and the ongoing activities of Planning Aid Wales in helping communities engage in the planning system. Thank you to all readers and contributors for their support in bringing you the quarterly newsletter. Neil Harris 2
Lucie Taylor, Planning Aid Wales Case Manager, has been active in the last few months in assisting various communities that are engaged with the planning system. Here, she reports on two particular cases from September 2005 in Ceredigion and Rhondda Cynon Taff. Cymdeithas Elerch Association, Bontgoch, Ceredigion Cymdeithas Elerch Association (Bontgoch Community Association) in Ceredigion are working hard to retain their last remaining community facility in the village. An application was submitted by the Parish to convert the Church School at Bontgoch into residential accommodation. The Community Association have produced a business plan and feasibility study to show that the residents of the village can maintain it and bring it back into community use. Planning Aid Wales have advised in a planning policy perspective and provided much appreciated assistance on the planning procedure. The Case Manager, Lucie Taylor, attended a meeting on 29th September 2005 with Ceredigion County Council Planners and the Community Association to help mediate between the parties and to provide some expert independent planning advice, which assisted in the smooth running of the meeting. The business plan and feasibility study were submitted to the Council at the meeting and will be presented to Members of the Ceredigion County Council Planning Committee at the November meeting. Sharon Walters of Cymdeithas Elerch Assocation highlighted the difference that a little support can make to communities: "The planning process is complex, where do you find the information on policies, how do you overcome differing interpretations of policy? When we discovered Planning Aid Wales they quickly understood our issues and dealt with them efficiently. Our community will hopefully stop the loss of a much needed community facility thanks to PAW." RTPI CYMRU - OCTOBER/HYDREF 2005 Planning Aid Wales - casework update on helping communities Pontyclun Community Council convene to discuss the Mwyndy Proposal, submitted to Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council by the Welsh Development Agency Pontyclun Community Council, Rhondda Cynon Taff Planning Aid Wales is providing expert planning advice and support to Pontyclun Community Council which has been consulted on a planning application in their area. The application, which is for B1 business uses and residential development at Mwyndy, is accompanied by a great deal of technical information including an Environmental Statement and Transport Assessment. The proposed mix use scheme would be on 19 Hectares of land to the east and west of the A4119. The Case Manager and a Planning Aid Wales Volunteer are providing independent and impartial advice on the content of the reports submitted as part of the scheme. Planning Aid Wales is aiming to improve the capacity of all community and town councillors by producing an updated version of their guide Planning: a guide for Community and Town Councillors. The handbook is being prepared in partnership with One Voice Wales and will be prepared for their conference on 22nd October 2005. The example of Pontyclun Community Council helps to show that there are specific areas of capacity building that are required for community and town councillors and Planning Aid Wales is working to contribute to that end. In this instance, Planning Aid Wales is working with the Community Council to ensure that their comments to Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council on this planning application are well informed and well founded. Helping people to shape their environment Helpu bobl lunio eu hamgylchedd Planning Aid Wales - Cymorth Cynlluniuo Cymru Bay Chambers, West Bute Street, Cardiff CF10 5BB Siambrau r Bae, Stryd Gorllewin Bute, Caerdydd, CF10 5BB Tel:Fax - Ffon:Ffacs 02920 485765 Visit www.planning-aid-wales.org for further information and access to Planning Aid Wales services. Planning Student Quiz 2005 Planning magazine is again running the annual Planning Student Quiz in association with the Institute. The quiz is based on four regional heats at universities across England and Wales, culminating in a final in London. Planning schools in Wales are eligible for the heat taking place in Bristol on 3rd November 2005. Students from Cardiff University, NEWI, Aberystwyth and Bangor will be able to enter to compete against students from University of West of England. The organisation of heats suggests somebody at the Institute needs to improve their understanding of geography yet maybe the long trip from Wrexham or Bangor to Bristol (rather than Liverpool) will give the Cardiff students enough of an edge to steal the 100 prize? Details available from Hannah.coomber@haynet.com or 02082674928 3
Ewart Parkinson reflects (briefly!!) on 41 years of city planning experience in Cardiff To make Cardiff a truly worthy Capital of the Principality of Wales - the words were ringing round my head on the train back home to Plymouth. It was September 1964. I was recovering from being appointed the first City Planning Officer of Cardiff with these words from the Committee Chairman. I was conscious that South Wales had been in economic decline for forty years The Council had already appointed Professor Colin Buchanan as a Consultant. It was comforting that we already knew each other. All this was happening because the Head of the Welsh Office Bill Siberry had written to the Town Clerk giving reasons why Cardiff needed the services of a first class planning team. I started at the beginning of December. And the new City Engineer had passed over to me the small planning team that had worked under the previous City Surveyor. My first afternoon was spent at a meeting discussing with the College of Music and Drama where a new College might be located since it was outgrowing its accommodation within the Castle. A site amongst trees between the Feeder Canal and Cathays Park was eventually decided upon. The question was what Buchanan should be asked to do. The first thoughts were an analysis and plan for the Central Area of Cardiff. Or perhaps the Study should be for the whole city; RTPI CYMRU - OCTOBER/HYDREF 2005 City planning in Cardiff: a brief retrospective perhaps it should look ahead for twenty years or even to the year 2000; should it include a full Land Use/Transportation Study like the one completed for Chicago? At a meeting at the Mansion House one Sunday with George Thomas MP Minister of State at the Welsh Office it was decided that the Study should consist of a Main Study lasting three years with a Probe Study published at the end of the first year. WS Atkins would be employed as Transport subconsultants and Bill Luttrell of Economic Consultants as subconsultant for Economic and Social advice. The main cost would be in bringing the person who had been responsible Buchanan map for the Chicago Study and carrying out a survey of 10% of all households in Cardiff with a computer analysis of all their trips by origin, destination, purpose, time and mode over the period of a week. The total fee would be 300,000. In the early stages of the work it became clear that the Cardiff of the future would need new strengths: a trebling of the number of university students; a powerful retailing focus; a superb concert hall; a National Sports Centre; a home fit for the splendid Welsh National Opera; impressive financial and professional services; a new University Hospital and Medical School. In retrospect, one of the interesting yet unexpected benefits from the work of the Buchanan Team was the emergence of a vision shared by politicians and the people alike that Cardiff could become an important, efficient and beautiful city worthy of its Wood Street, Cardiff previously the City Planning and Development Offices currently in the process of being demolished to make way for a high-rise scheme adjacent to Cardiff Central Station. 4 City planning in Cardiff, late-1980s style where are they now?!
RTPI CYMRU - OCTOBER/HYDREF 2005 status as Capital of Wales. After the publication of the Probe and Main Study Reports with their detailed appendices we moved towards the creation of Centreplan 70. This was a vision of a pedestrian-dominated centre with a 100 million of public and private money (1968 prices) investment supported by a Compulsory Purchase Order for fifty-two acres of the key sites. It took ten years to complete the pedestrianisation of Queen Street. The threat of the closure of the steelworks, with its loss of 5,000 well paid jobs, came in the 1970s. This led to the Council s plans for the transformation of Bute East Dock and the land around it into Atlantic Wharf with its Central Link Road and a new County Hall a flagship of renewal in a desert of dereliction. Ten years later with the construction of the M4 and some of the links of the Peripheral Distributor Road leading towards the docks there emerged the creation of the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation with its 500 million grant from the Government. Exciting times. My tough times? Giving evidence at a Public Inquiry supporting the Hook Road proposal was tough. I believed that the decision of the Council reached through sound democratic procedures should be supported even though my own publicly declared professional advice was firmly against this proposal by the City Engineer. Another tough time was receiving a sub-poena by the Director of Public Prosecutions to give evidence against my own Chairman and others at a Magistrate s Court in 1968 and later at the High Court. He was found Not Guilty and returned as the Chairman. My best time? Perhaps the time in 1994 when the Council and WRU invited me to come back to be the Leader of the Concept Design Team for a new Millennium Stadium. The Stadium to become operational in 1999 for the Rugby World Cup. Town planning and civil engineering offer great creative careers. That Cardiff University is a Centre of World Excellence for Research in both those subjects (and Town Planning being also at the even higher Gold Standard) is a wonderful thing for Wales. Ewart Parkinson High-flyers in the city - the bird s eye view of Cardiff Emyr Evans reflects on his sketch of an aerial view of Cardiff from the 1980s. At a recent event in the Mansion House, Neil Harris asked me if I would contribute a short piece to this newsletter containing my reflections on the Birds Eye View of Cardiff which I drew in the 1980s. My initial thoughts were that this was a strange request and that there were far more relevant and topical issues to address. On reflection, I came to the view that there were aspects of this short story which were interesting and in their own way topical. For a start, our meeting in the Mansion House was about developing a future vision for Cardiff and that the Birds Eye presents an interesting vision of the city centre as it was nearly twenty years ago. If it were done today then Cardiff Bay would be in the forefront of the picture and the city centre relocated to the middle distance - a vivid illustration of the sheer scale of development that has taken place. The main rationale for preparing the illustration was to assist visitors to Cardiff to read and understand the features of the city centre in a way that conventional plans don t allow them to. The original idea had been to prepare 4 versions, with views from North, South, East and West, but more pressing business put an end to this diversional therapy. The most interesting challenge presented by the drawing was to expand the oblique aerial photograph, which I used as a basis for the drawing, to eliminate the effect of the curvature of the Earth and to modify the spaces between the buildings so that all the streets and pedestrian precincts 5 became visible. In the last few weeks we ve been developing options for redesigning St. Mary Street and our consultation exercise will use computer generated fly-throughs so that people can understand the proposals more clearly. The logic behind the Birds Eye View is therefore still relevant today but the technology available to planners and politicians is far more sophisticated. I sincerely hope that a consequence of this progress is that other skills are not lost to the profession. Emyr Evans is a corporate director with Cardiff County Council.
Alwyn Williams, formerly County Planning Officer for Glamorgan County Council, celebrated 50 years of Institute membership towards the end of 2004. Neil Harris caught up with Alwyn to reflect on his career in planning. Planners often remark that the effects of planning are long-term and diffuse and tangible results cannot be expected overnight. One planner who can look back on a range of successful projects with tangible results is Alwyn Williams who at the end of last year celebrated 50 years of membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute. The Branch thought it appropriate to mark such an achievement and Lyn Owen, former Branch Chairman and Secretary, suggested we include a piece in the newsletter. I did not know Alwyn myself, but knew of him and the fondness with which certain people spoke of him. Lyn suggested I meet with Alwyn and that I was assured of many good stories and insights Lyn was not wrong and Alwyn shared many interesting moments from his career. Family: married to Mary for 51 years, with one daughter and two grandchildren. Hobbies and activities: Playing golf, gardening, going to the theatre and spending time with grandchildren. Favourite place in Wales: either Gwbert, Mwnt, or Abersoch. Favourite buildings: the Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay and Glamorgan County Hall, Cathays Park, Cardiff. Alwyn Williams, like many planners of his generation, started his career in the Army before moving into planning. Prior to demobilisation from the Royal Welch Fusiliers, Alwyn applied to study what was then a new subject called Town and RTPI CYMRU - OCTOBER/HYDREF 2005 Alwyn s 50 years of Institute membership Country Planning this was, after all, prior to the implementation of the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 - at Manchester University where he was lectured, among others, by Lewis Keeble. At the conclusion of his course, Alwyn joined Manchester City Council as a planning assistant. Some two years later, he joined Lancashire County Council as a senior planning assistant, and after another two years moved in 1958 to Caernarvonshire County Council as deputy county planning officer. So, Alwyn had moved from one of England s great cities to deal with the beauty of parts of Snowdonia and the Lleyn Peninsula, as well as the mineral working activities of north-west Wales. In 1966, Alwyn became deputy county planning officer for Glamorgan County Council, working under Ted Bland, who he speaks very fondly of and describes as a great influence on his career. The area covered by the Glamorgan County Council from the Gower in the west to the border of Monmouthshire in the east, and stretching northwards to Merthyr brought an incredibly wide range of experience in one of the top five counties in England and Wales. Recalling an induction tour around the county with Ted Bland, Alwyn remembers the impression left on him by the extensive mining waste tips described by Alwyn as black slugs that scarred the landscape. One of Alwyn s first initiatives was to establish a unit tasked with land reclamation, assisted by grant aid from the Welsh Office. He did this in what was described to him by Ted Bland as a likely honeymoon period on succeeding Ted as county planning officer, during which he also restructured the planning department. One of the most important lessons that Ted gave to Alwyn and one which he in turn recommends to young planners today was to cultivate good working relationships with politicians, planners in other agencies and with other professionals in different fields. Alwyn s stories are full of characters from various disciplines engineers, architects, landscape architects and planners working closely as multidisciplinary teams. In addition, he was advised to become involved in as wide a range of other bodies operating in the area as was possible in order to help with the objective of making Glamorgan a better place to live, work and play. In listening to Alwyn reflect on his achievements at 6 Alwyn Williams, formerly County Planning Officer for Glamorgan County Council Glamorgan County Council, he is clearly proud of having restored the landscape quality to many of Glamorgan s valley communities, working closely with the various communities to introduce parkland, residential and commercial uses to mining areas. I asked Alwyn to identify his greatest achievement in planning, perhaps by identifying the project of which he was most proud the difficulty was that there were so many to choose from. The list of achievements was impressive from establishing the Kenfig National Nature Reserve, to designating the county s conservation areas following the Civic Amenities Act 1967, to the complete restoration of the Crawshaybuilt terraced workers housing at Bute Town in the upper end of the Rhymney Valley. Alwyn remembers being at a conference to speak on the last of these conservation projects, after which one delegate enquired on the project with a view to writing it up in one of his guides. The delegate was the architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, yet the project was unfortunately never written up in a guide. Alwyn s final career move was prompted by local government reorganisation in 1974, when he became county planning officer for Mid Glamorgan. Here, projects included a survey of chapels in the county and related grant-aid work through
RTPI CYMRU - OCTOBER/HYDREF 2005 Manpower Services Commission, helping to restore some of the most important architectural and cultural heritage of the valleys. Again, an initiative had preserved valuable buildings in the face of adaptation and change. During this time, Alwyn acted as President of the County Planning Officers Society for England and Wales in 1983-4, being the first Welshman to secure that position. Other roles included being a founding member of the Prince of Wales Committee, Chairman of the Technical Panel of the Standing Conference of Local Planning Authorities (succeeding Ewart Parkinson and employing Sue Essex as an assistant), as well as a range of other positions including chair of the South CDN Planning recently celebrated the official opening of its new office based in Conwy at a well-attended party at The Press Room Café in Conwy. A broad spectrum of key developers, landowners, agents and key public sector representatives all enjoyed a wonderful evening hosted by CDN Planning. The event, held on 22nd September, marks a strengthened presence in North Wales for CDN Planning. The new office at the Riverside Business Park, Conwy, complements the company s traditional base in Pontardawe, and is headed by Rhys Davies who, as Director, has responsibility for the North Wales Branch of the Institute. Alwyn retired in 1990, handing over to Mike Flynn, since when he has focused on his family and hobbies. Indeed, in spite of everything that he had recounted to me, and with so many achievements. Alwyn still felt a little disappointed that he had effectively retired from planning business since 1991. I assured him that if anyone deserved a proper retirement, and had made a valuable contribution to the profession, then it must surely be him. I left our meeting with a strong sense that Alwyn had experienced planning s good times, when the activity of planning was still being shaped, when resources were available to get things done, and when working with inspirational colleagues would leave a lasting impression throughout one s career. It is not currently fashionable to reflect on the past, what with talk of new agendas, culture change in planning and so on. Yet, I am increasingly interested in looking to the past as a source of ideas, understanding and most importantly as a clear indication that there is a tendency to exaggerate change and innovation in planning. Speaking with Alwyn was a genuine inspiration and evidence that there is a generation of planners still with a great deal to share. And his final few pieces of advice? Learn as much as you can, focus on getting things done, and it pays to get involved. Neil Harris CDN launch new office in Conwy Rhys Davies (left) Director CDN Planning (based in Conwy) and Kedrick Davies (right) - Director of CDN Planning (based in Swansea) at the launch of the new office in North wales Wales office. Rhys was formerly Head of Planning for the Cooperative Group at its Manchester Headquarters and is delighted to accept the role of heading up CDN Planning s operation in North Wales and the North West. I was brought up in North Wales and was always keen to bring the experience I ve gained throughout the UK, both with the Co-op and in planning consultancy, back to the area. I look forward to building on CDN s existing strengths and enhancing the client base both in the Private and Public Sectors. Rhys is especially pleased that the new office provides CDN Planning with a genuine all Wales presence with an experienced and dedicated Welsh speaking team in all its offices. Pleased with the response to the new office launch he s already confident of having ahead an excellent and varied work programme. The CDN team can be contacted at Ashdown House, The Riverside Business Park, Benarth Road, Conwy LL32 8UB, by telephone on 01492 581800 or by e-mail at info@cdnplanning.com 7
Accredited courses September 2005 witnessed the School s first cohort of students complete the new RTPI-accredited one year Masters courses with the submission of their dissertations. Students on the MSc Planning and Practice and Research and the MSc in International Planning and Development are now able to proceed to become Licentiate members of the RTPI and register on the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC see www.rtpi.org.uk for details). The Institute has been promoting the possibility of mentoring licentiates to its corporate membership- details can be found at the Institute s website. Staff Professor Fulong Wu has joined the School. He was at the School previously as a research associate and returns to Cardiff from Southampton University. Professor Bruce Stiftel is in the School for the Autumn semester and is here on a sabbatical from Florida State University where he teaches planning theory, environmental planning and dispute resolution. While in Cardiff, he RTPI CYMRU - OCTOBER/HYDREF 2005 Cardiff School of City and Regional Planning update is working with the Planning Research Group, looking into UK development permit processes and hoping to shed light on the strengths and limitations of planners negotiating behaviours. Prof Katsuhiko Neda (Nara University of Education, Japan) recently completed a 5 month period of research ending in-august 2005, researching retail developments and planning policy in the Cardiff area. Dr Helena Villarejo Gallende (University of Valladolid, Spain) is visiting the School until mid-december to investigate retail planning policy generally. She will be working alongside Professor Cliff Guy. Professor Stephen Crow CB has been appointed to chair the Government s Casino Advisory Panel. The independent panel has been formed to advise the Government on the areas in which the new types of casino created by the Gambling Act will be located. Anniversary and Professorial Lecture Series The School of City and Regional Planning marks its 40th anniversary in 2006 and is organising a series of lectures by its professorial staff in the 2005-6 academic session to mark the occasion. Full details will be available throughout the year at the School s website www.cardiff.ac.uk/cplan/ Welcome to new students The School welcomed its new Masters students for the 2005-6 session at a recent wine reception sponsored by the Cardiff Office of Development Planning Partnership. Francesca Savini and Nia Williams attended the reception on behalf of DPP to welcome students to Cardiff. Collaborative project on the Cardiff city-region. Cardiff County Council and the School are together funding a PhD studentship examining the Cardiff city-region, looking at the meaning, growth and governance of the city-region. The project commences in October 2005 and will be undertaken over the next 3 years. Contact Dr. Gill Bristow, bristowg1@cardiff.ac.uk, 029 2087 5388 for further information. Wales best public artwork In the last edition of Planning Wales, readers were asked to submit suggestions for Wales best and worst public art schemes. You were too kind to nominate your worst public art in Wales, but Atkins did send in their recently completed Chepstow Town Centre enhancement scheme under the best category. The scheme - completed in December last year has already secured a number of awards, including: The Local Government News Street Design Award Pedestrian Environment category. The Worshipful Company of Paviors award for Paving. The ICE Welsh Regional Roy Edwards Award Highly commended Runner Up in the Small Projects category. Commissioned by Monmouthshire County Council, the re-development was part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Welsh Development Agency and the Welsh Assembly Government. Further information on the scheme can be obtained from the project manager Colin Calver in Atkins Cardiff office on 029 20358007 or at colin.calver@atkinsglobal.com. and best young people s project? In the spirit of celebrating the best of planners work within Wales, you are invited to send in suggestions for the first edition of 2006 on innovative projects for involving young people in 8 planning, design and the built environment in Wales. Send us some project details and we ll try and feature a few of those that catch our eye. Please send details, including a photograph where possible, to HarrisNR@cardiff.ac.uk we look forward to seeing your entries!!