Previous winners
Click on each box to learn more about previous winners and commended entries. Case studies are included so you can read more about their entry.
Why should you enter the Awards?
Let's hear from our 2022 and 2021 winners:
Jonathan Bell, RTPI South West Head Planner of the Year 2022
It was such an honour to be nominated for Head Planner of the Year, and even more so to win the regional award. I am pretty sure any Head Planner receiving such an award would acknowledge that whatever they achieve, they can never achieve it alone, and its always about the team. I am no different. I have been part of an exceptional team in Plymouth for many years, and I have learnt so much from so many. My philosophy over many years has been to help build the foundations for positive proactive planning, and as with any foundation building, most is out of sight. But if its done well, planning is able to fulfil its potential at the centre of public policy, and planners are able to thrive. I know many are doing great things in the profession, often behind the scenes, so be encouraged to enter. This award demonstrates that it doesn’t go unnoticed.
Jessica Glover, RTPI South West Young Planner of the Year 2022
Winning the South West Young Planner of the Year Award last year was a huge honour which not only massively boosted my confidence in my planning ability, but as a nationally recognised achievement has significantly advanced my career and opened more doors to me. Even in Vancouver where I have recently immigrated to and work as a planner, my employers were impressed by the award at my interview, which gave me an edge over other candidates.
As young planners, we represent the future of planning and celebrating our contributions to the profession not only inspires other young planners but shares the milestones in the progressive work we do both for the planning profession and for the communities we live in. The award process also allowed me to self-reflect on what I had achieved so far both through consulting and volunteering, leading to me now working as a community planner, assisting councils, non-profit organisations and societies to address housing need and provide supportive housing initiatives to combat homelessness, poverty and social inequalities.
Clyst Valley Regional Park Masterplan – Overall Winner of RTPI SW Awards for Planning Excellence 2021
We entered because we believed we had delivered some excellent work but we wanted that to be tested and the RTPI awards was the ideal vehicle. It is a huge boost to the team to receive the award. It gives the whole Regional Park further momentum, is likely to attract more interest and resource from existing and new partners, and increases our profile internally with members and planning officers.
Others should consider applying because it could increase their professional profile and even if you don’t win, the process of presenting forced us to reflect on what we’d done well, and what we could do better.
Simon Bates, East Devon District Council
Joint Winner of Planning Team of the Year in the RTPI SW Awards for Planning Excellence 2021
Given the last couple of years, the scale of adaption we have all had to make in delivering high quality services and the effort that goes in behind that, this year to acknowledge and celebrate the teams achievements we entered the RTPI South West Awards for Planning Excellence 2021. This was a unique opportunity to reflect on the past 12 months and all of the achievements, all of the obstacles that have been overcome and all the innovation that was put in place to adapt and continue to deliver services. For us as a Local Authority jointly winning this award has reinforced the importance and strength of what we do, working together to achieve great places. It is wonderful that the team have been acknowledged in this way boosting morale and pride in the work we do encouraging us to continue to challenge the norms and grow.
Dawn de Vries, Service Manager at Sedgemoor District Council
Torbay Heritage Strategy 2021 - 2026 Highly Commended in Excellence in Plan Making Practice in the RTPI SW Awards for Planning Excellence 2021
We entered the awards because we felt genuinely proud of what we’d put together. Forming the link between the Planning Team and Torbay Culture meant we could approach a policy document in a new way and really try to be creative. We wanted to work creatively from the start, through positive stakeholder engagement and defining how the final document could be put together. We were really keen to avoid the standard approach which often feels necessary due to time and costs. Working collaboratively with HAP consultants and Torbay Culture enabled us to produce something unique based around stories. Creating a narrative really helped to bring the document to life and help make sense of over 800 responses to our consultation.
We are really pleased because this award recognises the collaborative approach and time taken to develop the strategy. The majority of the work took place from early 2020 and into 2021. The idea of reaching out to people felt even more important. From a Planning Team point of view, we felt the engagement was really meaningful and it enabled us to demonstrate we’d been through a rigorous process.
We felt we wanted to share the Strategy as a case of best practice. Entering the awards helped me re-assess the process we’d been through and help pave the way for a new approach to our policy documents. This recognition helps us promote more creative ways of working.
Jim Blackwell, Torbay Council
Frances Summers - RTPI South West Young Planner of the Year 2021
A few people contacted me and said they either wanted to nominate me for the RTPI South West Region’s Young Planner of the Year or that they thought I should nominate myself. They’d noticed work I’d been doing like Virtual Insight Days with Speakers for Schools and the fully accessible consultation on the Dorset Council Local Plan. I was shocked as I thought I’d simply been doing my job but thought, why not put yourself forward? We need more recognition in planning as it’s easy to get bogged down by the negativity we receive about our work. To have our efforts recognised positively is essential to boost morale. This is why I nominated my colleague, Chris Lee. He is not only a well-rounded planner who takes everything in his stride and manages to deal with anything thrown at him, but he is also a fantastic team player, the best kind of colleague! It was only right to recognise his good work and attitude.
Simply being nominated was lovely and really boosted my confidence, but winning the RTPI South West Region’s Young Planner of the Year has presented me with the opportunity to speak up for the things I believe in. I’m now on the Regional Management Board for the South West, I’m being put forward for the National Awards (terrifying), and I’ve been invited to speak at other authorities and plenty of schools. Having lived in many areas of the UK, working predominantly in schools, I’ve seen some of the inequalities that remain in our society, and how this can impact on a person’s options throughout their lives. These experiences drive me to seek social equality which underpins all my work. Having opportunities to speak up and try and inspire others to also strive for social equality is exciting.