Tag: Queensferry

Making use of the Place Standard in Queensferry

Place Standard launch and Queensferry Placemaking

On 10 December we attended the launch of the Place Standard.  The Place Standard has been developed by the Scottish Government, A&DS and NHS Scotland.  The launch was attended by a range of professionals and community representatives from across Scotland.  Speakers included Alex Neil, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioner’s Rights, Sir Harry Burns, Professor of Global Public Health and our very own David Leslie, Senior Manager, Planning and Transport.

We’ve been using the Place Standard for the Queensferry Placemaking exercise and this project was mentioned a number of times at the launch as an example of how to link the community view with the planning process.  The Queensferry and District Community Council (QDCC) commented on the process saying,

“QDCC were delighted to be involved in trialling the Place Standard as we now have a ‘shared vision’ for the Town.  QDCC is grateful to all of the Council’s Planning team who supported and helped to organise the Placemaking Workshops and to the residents who participated.”

Queensferry Placemaking update

Since the last Placemaking exercise on the 27 October we’ve been making progress by:

  • Collating all the information from the events – summary results and compass diagrams;
  • Meeting with the Community Council and Queensferry Ambition to discuss the outcomes of the events; and
  • Holding a focus group with other Council services to find out more about the work they are doing in Queensferry and how the outcomes of the Place Standard exercise can be put in to action.
Queensferry placemaking results summary December 2015
Queensferry placemaking results summary December 2015

We’ll be continuing to work with other Council services to develop the details  and we are planning an additional Place Standard exercise with local businesses for 12 January 2016.

In the New Year we also intend to hold further focus groups with the community and developers.  We’ll keep you posted as this progresses.

Queensferry placemaking exercise

Queensferry Placemaking exercise update (October 2015)

Final dates 2We are holding a third and final community engagement event at Queensferry High School on Tuesday 27 October between 16:30 – 20:00. This event is for people who could not attend the initial events. Feedback on the initial events was very positive. 85% of participants that filled in a feedback form said they found the event was either ‘good’ or ‘really good’. 

 

Queensferry Placemaking exercise update (September 2015)

The two placemaking exercises have now been held and we’ve produced an Interim Report on the feedback so far.  We had a great response from approximately 100 people with lots of ideas and issues raised.  The local community have asked us to run another session for those couldn’t make it to these two sessions.  A date and venue for this are yet to be arranged, but if you’d like to attend please contact Lucy George and we’ll keep you posted.  We’ll also share the details on the blog and Twitter.

The Council, Queensferry and District Community Council and Queensferry Ambition will be holding a Placemaking exercise to get your views on what you think works and what doesn’t work so well in Queensferry.

What is placemaking?

Places that work well for the community have a significant influence on the health and wellbeing of individuals. The opposite is also true – places that do not work well have a negative impact on health and wellbeing. The aim of placemaking is to create successful places.

Poster for the Queensferry placemaking exercise
Poster for the Queensferry placemaking exercise (opens as a PDF)

We can measure the success of a place through use of a tool called the Place Standard which has been developed by A&DS, the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland. This consists of a series of indicators that allow the community to assess things like access to green space, general maintenance of an area and perception of safety.

The Scottish Government’s policy on Architecture and Place – Creating Places sets the context for how we can deliver great places.

How can you get involved? 

We will take groups of people through the exercise in facilitated sessions. We’d like as many people as possible to take part.  This is the first time we have used this process and it will provide a unique opportunity for the community to get involved. It will build on the work undertaken for the Town Centre charrette.

When

  • Thursday 6 August between 4:00PM and 8:00PM
  • Saturday 8 August between 09:00AM and 1:00PM

Where

Queensferry High School

What will happen after the exercise?

This process will give us lots of information about Queensferry which we can use to inform what we do as a Council and how new development can support the qualities of Queensferry.

The outcomes will be shared with the developers of the new housing sites identified in Second Proposed Local Development Plan so they can shape their proposals to take account of the strengths and weaknesses identified by the community.