This news article had kindly been written by Amy Powell, Mark Dobson and Laura Archer.
Day One – Dover
The RTPI South East had the pleasure of welcoming President Lindsey Richards to the region in November, with her visit starting in the iconic town of Dover. It was great to start the day at Dover District Council offices where Lindsey met with officers working in development management, planning policy, enforcement, planning support, heritage, climate change and ecology before heading our to explore current projects in Dover using the newly opened Fastrack bus service which connects Dover town centre with Whitfield – a village to the north of Dover with an allocated 6,350 homes to be delivered - and highlighted the importance of securing infrastructure ahead of housing and economic development to ensure that new housing developments and places of work are well connected to new and existing communities. Along the route is Connaught Barracks, sitting atop Dover’s towering cliffs and overlooking Dover Castle.
Sarah Platts, Head of Planning and Development at Dover District Council
Lindsey met the team at the Dover District Council offices
The Lee Evans Partnership hosted a Young Planner event
Back at sea level, our tour continued with a walk along Dover High street, focusing on the improvements to Market Square and Bench Street, both providing civic spaces that are at the heart of Dover’s community, and which will deliver significant economic benefits to the town and wider region through supporting its existing residents, developing new creative skills and industry, and attracting visitors.
No regional visit would be complete without a trip to a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed building, and the tour of Dover District Council’s refurbishment of Maison Dieu did not disappoint. Partially grant funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the former Town Hall is being restored to provide level access from the high street, civic spaces, holiday let accommodation for those seeking a truly unique stay, and leisure and entertaining spaces for local businesses and events. The excitement and enthusiasm from Dover’s team and the contractors on site demonstrated the special value that historic buildings can bring to all its users through collaborative partnerships between local authorities, local businesses and the community and we wish them all the look for their opening next year.
We then visited GrowUp at Discovery Park in Sandwich. GrowUp is a highly innovative and leader in vertical farming and is situated in large warehouse at the northern end of Discovery Park. The planning journey of securing the site shed light on the different conditions that highly innovative and growing industries need in place to secure investment and scale up ideas and businesses. The initial step for GrowUp was to first secure a local source of renewable energy to power the farm, which is located on the opposite side of Discovery Park, and the second was to secure planning permission quickly and effectively with minimal cost so the business could secure further investment in the site and delivering the buildings. The designation of Discovery Park as an Enterprise Zone in 2011, and later redeveloped under outline consent for new buildings and changes of use across the park, created the right environment for GrowUp to make an initial investment, and allow for future expansion as the business grows and demonstrates how local authorities can attract new businesses and drive economic growth in their areas.
Lindsey visited the GrowUp farm in Sandwich
Heading back to Canterbury, we then attended a Kent young planner event ‘Meet the RTPI President’ kindly hosted by Lee Evans Partnership at their offices. This was a great opportunity for young planners within the region to hear from Lindsey in an informal setting.
Day Two – Canterbury
The second day began with a visit to the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Kent. The president and committee received a warm welcomed from the planning and resilience course lead Professor Samer Bagaeen and Head of School Chloe Street-Tarbatt, along with the professorial academic staff and current planning students. The chair of the South East region, Laura Archer, started the visit in explaining the role and work that the committee does in organising CPD events, training and networking across the south east; and Alex Payne, chair of the Kent Young Planners Network highlighted the support and social benefits in encouraging the planning students to join and get involved across the RTPI. Lindsey Richards, RTPI President, then set out why planning is both a challenging profession in the current context of tight resourcing, public and private sector remuneration and near constant state of reform, but also an incredibly rewarding career path for delivering the public good through place-making and development. As well as highlighting her goal to promote planning in schools to raise awareness and inspire young people to consider planning as a career path as part of her BALANCE (Build A Legacy And New Community Equality) initiative to support a diverse and robust pipeline of young professionals entering planning and fortifying the profession for the future in a world that needs town planners. The talk prompted a number of thoughtful questions from the students and wider discussion among the staff and committee members on how planning can be improved to deliver social and environmental benefits for society, including improved design of buildings and places and moving away from car-dependence. The visit prompted a number of lively conversations before the group had to thank our hosts and return to Canterbury for lunch in preparation for visiting the cathedral.
Visiting the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Kent
The final visit was to Canterbury Cathedral and precincts, a Grade 1 listed building and UNESCO world heritage site that forms the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. We were given a wonderful guided tour by Joel Hopkinson, Head of Estates and Fabric, Melodie Robson, Group Sales & Travel Trade Manager and Simon Yule, Commercial Manager, who expertly explained the rich history, holy spaces, architectural styles and heritage found across the Nave, Cloisters and Chapter House, Crypt and Quire that form the magnificent building and ornate structures. We learned about the significant costs, challenges and expertise involved in persevering the building, and sensitivities involved in making even small alterations to the existing fabric set against installing new facilities to improve public accessibility and visitor experience. We were deeply impressed by the care and attention involved in maintaining and reflecting on how to preserve, and where necessary, update this architectural masterpiece for the future. The trade-off involved in such a significant site and its uses as an active holy site, listed building and tourist attraction was summed up by the recognition that we are still learning how to balance heritage and planning, and whilst there are no definitive right answers, there are good questions to ask. Leaving in awe of the cathedral, we had time to have a quick look around the Christmas market being held outside of the Cathedral building again for the first time in 200 years before leaving.
We would like to thank all those who kindly and warmly provided their time to showcase some of the excellent planning work and projects happening across the county, and the president and committee left proud of the work in the region and looking forward to returning to Kent again soon.
