Waterford City and County Council’s Forward Planning team has been shortlisted in the ‘Excellence in Tech within Planning’ category at the 2022 RTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute) Award for Planning Excellence.
The RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence celebrate outstanding plans, projects and people that demonstrate the power of planning. These awards continue to recognise and reward the brightest talent in the profession; the most outstanding plans, projects and people helping to transform economies, environments, and communities.
The Waterford project shortlisted is the ‘StoryMaps’ mapping portal, which formed part of the draft Waterford City and County Development Plan. The portal improved access to information on the plan-making process, and supported communities and members of the public to engage in public consultation processes, especially during Covid-19.
Michael Walsh, Chief Executive, Waterford City and County Council said, “I am delighted that our StoryMaps portal has been nominated for such a prestigious award. A huge amount of work has been put into the mapping and public consultation of late.”
“Waterford City and County Council was one of the first Local Authorities in Ireland to illustrate its Development Plan maps through the StoryMaps medium. This new way of communicating provided an excellent interactive tool and facilitated complex spatial data to be displayed in a simple, efficient and effective digital manner. The success of using this method and medium of consultation has resulted in a paradigm shift in the way the Planning Department conduct future public consultations.”
Waterford City and County Council will vie for the award along with projects from the City of London, Carlisle City Council, London Borough of Haringey and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
The RTPI represents 27,000 planning professionals worldwide and promotes spatial planning, shapes policy, and raises professional standards. The Awards for Planning Excellence have been run by the RTPI for over 30 years to recognise planning excellence.
This year’s headline sponsor is WSP with other sponsors and supporters including Savills, Public Practice and Optimis Consulting.
Winners will be announced at a national awards presentation in London on November 30th.
Source: Waterford City & County Council
