Karen Britton is Head of Spatial Planning and Economic Development at Maidstone Borough Council
When RTPI South East Regional Co-ordinator Susan Millington said: "Can you write a blog about being the RTPI Awards South-East Head Judge?" Well, me being me, I thought…. I’ll quickly research blogs. Who knew that in 2024, the top 3 blog topics people read about were on Personal Finance, Health and Fitness, and Travel, followed closely by Fashion? …so, my challenge is to cover all those here.
Unlike many awards, the RTPI South East Awards for Planning Excellence are free to enter, yes FREE. You do not pay to be a prize winner; honour is bestowed on you by the RTPI Judging Panel, but only if your entry demonstrates exemplar best practice - be that a planning project, a team, or a company. We are tough judges to impress, as we have a lot of planning experience between us from public and private practice, legal to academia, so we do not give out prizes lightly.
Best in region 2024 - Brighton 3Ts – Louisa Martindale Building entered by BDP and University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
The Louisa Martindale Building (© Nick Caville)
Health and fitness can be part of your entry, but it is usually the stamina of the judges that is important. Entries start in January when the Awards open and the judging process can take a number of weeks and includes interesting online scoring debates, interviews with young planners and site visits for some of the projects. Unlike The Traitors, those entering the Awards never know who from the judging panel voted them in or out and those that meet the national scoring level also get automatically entered to the national RTPI Awards later in the year.
Travel - we get to visit projects to make sure they match their description on their awards entry and of course we travel to the awards celebration. My most memorable was the Spinnaker, Portsmouth where the evening ended with the lifts breaking down, which meant a long walk down the windy internal staircase - much more fun than using the standard exit.
This year as Head Judge, I’m hoping to encourage more public sector planning teams to enter and put forward projects in their areas. My public sector colleagues do not like to blow their own trumpets, but I know there are many great examples out there of best practice.
Fashion is not my thing, but my teenage daughter will probably want to try out her new hair curling gadget on me for the awards evening. This year we are thinking of Oxford so come dressed to impress!
On behalf of the fabulous RTPI South East area judging panel, we look forward to seeing all your entries for this year's awards in due course.
The South East judging panel with host Christopher Young KC, No5 Barristers Chambers and RTPI President Helen Fadipe MBE
Become a judge
Our judging panels are made up of planning industry leaders who play a vital role in our awards' success. If you're interested in being a judge please contact your local nation or region officer by 1 March.
Volunteering
You can also find out more about the variety of volunteering opportunities available at the RTPI here.
Awards
The RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence are now open for entries. They’re the only free awards dedicated solely to celebrating the planning profession and there are 15 free-to-enter categories covering plans, projects, and people. Give your work the recognition it deserves and start your online entry now.
