Meeting to shape our built environment

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  1. KEY TAKEAWAYS REPORT – Roundtable: Delivering Net Zero Carbon in Kent & Medway

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    Roundtable:  Delivering Net Zero Carbon in Kent & Medway – Progress & Barriers

    Thursday 20 April 2023

    Synopsis

    Most local councils in Kent and Medway, alongside Kent County Council, have declared a Climate Emergency and are working on strategies to achieve net zero carbon. As the climate crisis intensifies, this Roundtable discussion explored what progress on climate action has been made and what barriers need to be overcome. It was an opportunity for the public and private sectors to come together and share learnings. 

    Key Takeaways 

    In Kent and Medway, the energy used in buildings and for transport collectively account for over 90% of greenhouse gas emissions (source). The county is also growing, with a projected population growth of 300,000 people by 2050, meaning that new development could significantly help or hinder decarbonisation efforts. This means that the planning and design sectors have a central role to play in decarbonisation over the coming decades. 

    Over the last few years, climate action in the public and private sectors has been ramping up. Local authorities have increased the number of staff and invested resources into net zero carbon while forward-thinking developers and architects are pushing for, and delivering, higher sustainability standards. However, meeting the fast pace of change is challenging. There is a need for upskilling across the planning and design sectors. Local authority planners, who now need to understand technical energy strategies to assess applications, don’t always have the knowledge to push developers further on sustainability. A seemingly blurred boundary between planning and building control considerations is also causing confusion. One architect in attendance explained that they are using pre-app discussions as an opportunity to upskill planning officers in the latest sustainable design approaches. This collaborative and open approach is seen to deliver better planning outcomes. 

    Changes in the policy landscape in recent years has not helped progress. Planning reform and new building regulations have not yet provided the tools needed to effectively drive forward sustainable development. The proposal for national design management policies and mandatory design codes could be helpful, though the latter risk being either too vague or too prescriptive. Ultimately, there is a need for a shared set of standards around net zero carbon with enough flexibility on design to reflect local circumstances and character. 

    Attendees acknowledged that new developments alone can only deliver so much change. To achieve net zero carbon across the region, there is a need for behaviour change and new infrastructure to facilitate sustainable lifestyles. Investing in infrastructure like sustainable transport modes, local energy grids and water harvesting, would go further towards decarbonisation than focusing solely on energy efficient buildings. 

    Local authorities, and particularly elected members, have an important role to play in this but currently struggle to manage contentious issues. Although climate change is rising up the agenda, local politics tends to be dominated by local concerns such as parking. This means that seriously reducing transport emissions through behaviour change is seen as too politically difficult to pursue. Strong local leadership coupled with the right communication approach is needed to overcome these barriers. 

    Despite the challenges, attendees were generally optimistic about the changes that are happening in the county. A positive next step would be to develop a means of celebrating best practice examples of sustainable projects in Kent and Medway to share learnings and inspire further action. 

    Participants 

    Alex Richards, Hollaway Studio / Chris Hughes, Esquire Developments / Chris Lamb, Design South East / Dave Harris, Medway Council / Eleanor Trenfield, EDLA / Hardeep Hunjan, Barton Willmore now Stantec / Mark Pullin, Ebbsfleet Development Corporation / Onur Osman, BPTW / Peter Lacey, Duchy of Cornwall / Ross O’Ceallaigh, Design South East / Simon Harrison, Ebbsfleet Development Corporation / Simon Ryan, Locate in Kent / Sophie Stiles, Ashford Borough Council / Wendy Lane, Gravesham Borough Council.

    The Roundtable was chaired by Design South East Director, Chris Lamb, using the Chatham House rule.

  2. KEY TAKEAWAYS REPORT – Roundtable: Meeting Housing Demand in Kent & Medway

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    Roundtable:  Meeting Housing Demand in Kent & Medway – tools and priorities
    (Online)

    Thursday 24 March 2022

    Synopsis

    Across Kent & Medway, councils are facing huge demand for new housing against the backdrop of uncertainty in planning reform. Drawing on the findings of the recent House of Lords report, Meeting Housing Demand, this Roundtable discussion was a chance to debate and share knowledge about what tools are needed to deliver on housing targets and ensure high quality design. The roundtable was chaired by Director of Design South East, Chris Lamb, using the Chatham House rule. The discussion opened with a short talk by Hilary Satchwell, Director of Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design and trustee of Design South East.

    The Roundtable was chaired by Design South East Director, Chris Lamb, using the Chatham House rule.

    Key takeaways

    The weight given to design and beauty in national policy is not reflected in local planning decisions

    Recently updated working in the NPPF gives additional weight to design quality and beauty, stating that bad design should be refused. However, this has not percolated down to local decision making across Kent, where it is felt that considerations around housing, carbon emissions, parking and transport are often given more weight in the planning balance. Particularly if Councils do not have a five year land supply, design considerations take a back seat to the need for housing.

    Planning is political, which can hamper housing delivery

    Meeting Housing Demand does not capture the fact that planning is inherently political. If local communities and councillors are opposed to development, it is difficult to deliver even much needed housing. However, when Councillors buy into the need for growth in well-designed places, they can become valued advocates and help to achieve better outcomes. Whatever planning reforms come to fruition, there will be a need for better relations between planning officers and councillors to work together on common goals. This might involve training for Councillors, and for planners to better communicate the complexities of planning decisions.

    Design codes have a role to play, but are no replacement for local authority design officers

    Design codes are a useful tool for specific sites but they risk becoming too generic if applied to an entire local authority area. Perhaps a more effective way of ensuring appropriate design is for each local authority to have a design officer. Developers appreciate the local knowledge and clarity of design expectations that a design officer brings. However, resourcing is a constant issue and authorities that do have a design officer find that they are overstretched. Therefore, design training for planning officers and Councillors is also needed. As one attendee put it, “good design tends to be driven forward by individuals”, rather than by codes and guides.

    SME housebuilders are welcomed but are not accommodated in the planning system

    SME housebuilders, which are championed in the Meeting Housing Demand, are generally welcomed by local authorities because of their attention to detail and sensitive design response on small sites. However, these SMEs risk being pushed out of the planning system because Local Plans generally focus on allocating large sites, which are brought forward by volume housebuilders. SMEs also struggle to compete with larger developers for tier 1 sites. This means they are more likely to develop in more peripheral locations, which are deemed “less sustainable” by planning authorities. These systemic barriers are preventing SME housebuilders from growing their market share.

    Participants

    Alan Wright, BPTW / Andrew Wilford, Esquire Developments Ltd. / Chris Johnson, Barratt David Wilson Homes / Chris Lamb, Design South East/ David Maher, Barton Wilmore / Hillary Satchwell, Tibbalds / Karen Britton, Canterbury City Council / Marion Geary, Maidstone Borough Council / Nick Fenton, Kent Housing & Development Group / Ross O’Ceallaigh, Design South East / Tim Bailey, Folkestone & Hythe District Council / Wendy Lane, Gravesham Borough Council

  3. KEY TAKEAWAYS REPORT – Roundtable: Achieving Net-Zero

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    Roundtable 3: Achieving Net Zero (Online)
    Thursday 11 February 2021

    Synopsis
    Priority 3 of the Kent and Medway Energy and Low Emissions Strategy outlines the activities and outcomes for planning and development.  New developments in the county are to be sustainable, carbon neutral and climate resilient, with an aspiration for ‘energy positive’ new developments and communities (communities producing more energy than they are using) by 2030. But what is the role of the developer? How is environmental viability considered within the development process? And how do public and private sectors best collaborate on delivering on zero carbon targets for Kent and Medway? 

    The Roundtable was chaired by Design South East Director, Chris Lamb, using the Chatham House rule.

    Key takeaways

    We need a universal definition of zero carbon
    This is about winning hearts and minds. De-jargonising carbon to create a clear overarching goal for all parties to work towards is critical for success; if we’re not all working towards the same thing we won’t get there.

    We need a national framework or set of rules
    Post-Covid viability questions are pushing zero carbon down the agenda. This can only be addressed through national legislation, creating clarity and consistency for everyone involved in planning and development. A zero-carbon national regulatory framework is required within both the NPPF and Building Regulations; to determine how we plan and develop places; to remove ambiguity and ensure consistency; and to put public, private and third sectors on the same page.

    We need cross-sector dialogue nationally and across Kent and Medway
    From national to county to local level we need joined-up thinking, and the coordination of stakeholders and political leadership.  We need a shared vision and shared resources to counter local variation and limited capacity. 

    We have a goal, but urgently need a roadmap to achieve zero carbon by 2030 
    To achieve 2030 zero carbon goals everyone needs to be working towards them, and that means now. We need to develop a shared zero carbon roadmap and timeline for delivery. 

    We need to set clear expectations for developers and monitor deliver.
    Delivery is the key, so we need to work collectively to create a Kent and Medway zero carbon charter that we can use to unsure new developments will contribute to our zero-carbon goal.

    We know that there are several developers leading on this, but commitment is inconsistent.
    This is not just about setting goals and policy; the development sector is critical to success. We have seen the impact of an authentic, ethos-driven corporate commitment to zero carbon, and how land ownership and a sustainability-focused brief can push the carbon agenda. The goal now must be to extend that commitment across the sector.

    Achieving zero carbon communities is critical to sustainable development. But it won’t happen without collaboration, consistency and capacity.

    Participants
    Bartholomew Wren, Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council / Ben Kilgore, Esquire Developments / Brian Horton, Horton Strategic / Chris Bath, BPTW / Chris Lamb, Design South East / Christine Wissink, Kent County Council / Helen French, Sevenoaks District Council / James Bailey, Maidstone Borough Council / Jamie van Iersel, Dartford Borough Council / Julia Wallace, Folkestone & Hythe District Council / Lucy Kirk, Medway Council / Lucy Wilford, Barton Wilmore / Laura Lewis-Davies, Design South East / Mark Bewsey, DHA / Nick Fenton, Kent Developers Group / Nick Lee Evans, Lee Evans Partnership / Oliver Novakovic, BDW Homes / Peter Lacey, Duchy of Cornwall / Philipp Hall, On Architecture / Simon Burnstead, CLTH / Stuart Bean, Gravesham Borough Council

  4. KEY TAKEAWAYS REPORT – Roundtable: Business as usual?

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    Roundtable: Business as usual?

    30 April 2020 (Online)

    Synopsis

    The Covid-19 crisis has impacted business as usual models for all, including design, planning and development, so how is the sector coping during lockdown and what are the longer-term implications?  Considering redeployment of planning departments; the closure of construction; and the design requirements of the home as a workspace, we discussed the impact of the crisis and the opportunities for the sector in the recovery period.

    The Roundtable was chaired by Design South East Director, Chris Lamb, using the Chatham House rule.

    Key takeaways; the impact and opportunities

    Social interaction remains vital, but how we travel and how we interact with each other will change

    • How we think about, plan for and design places will change. We are thinking differently now about public spaces; how we travel (with a revival of walking and cycling), green spaces and access to local shops, and this has implications for urban design and infrastructure. Two schools of thought are emerging about the car: Firstly; this could be a time of decreasing car usage as this current car-free time allows us to experience cycling and walking more safely, which should encourage us to reflect on how we want to live post-Covid-19. Secondly, the opposite could be true. The health agenda may have championed sustainable travel, but if public transport is not so healthy now so will people favour car ownership?  Perhaps we will see a more considered approach, with the mode selected to suit the journey and if so we will need to design for an increase in walking and cycling, but factor in continued and possible increased car usage. Whilst the car might appear a safe haven – a germ free bubble – we must remember it is not safe, and not sustainable.

    This does not need to be the end of the high street

    • Town centres and high streets had begun to be revived by restaurants, pubs and leisure taking the place of retail, but we won’t see a return to this in the same way. As businesses find they no longer need staff in the office 5 days a week post-lockdown, people will work more remotely, but not necessarily from home 5 days a week.  Is there an opportunity for town centres and high streets to provide safe shared workspaces? In addition, small local high street shops are thriving as people rediscover the pleasure of shopping locally.

    The home will change internally and externally, becoming more flexible and open

    • The design of the home will change to accommodate the new ways of living and working, but this has to be supported by updated space standards for new homes. Having our own green space is becoming increasingly important, as is social interaction, and this should be reflected in design; front gardens and garden gates allow social but safe interaction, as opposed to the germ-free back garden bubble.  This leads us to question how we can harness data about how people are living so we can design for this.

    The workplace will change, impacting more than just the office

    • There will be a transformation of how we work and the provision of office space. Neither the public nor private sectors will go back to how they worked pre-Covid, and there will be a role for local authorites in facilitating flexible work-spaces. There will also be a lower number of people working on site, and this could expedite the use of modern methods of construction. Could prefabrication speed production given needs for social distancing? 

    Public engagement will become more inclusive and will move from information to interaction

    • Different methods of digital public engagement are being explored, with the biggest challenge not how to broadcast information online but how to interact with communities. Older generations have become more difficult to engage but a stronger voice is emerging from a younger demographic, presenting an opportunity to change the dynamic around engaging the community about the future of their places.  Targeted ads on social media are useful for consultation, and the screening of presentations via Facebook Live reaches a wider audience, but web-based engagement also invites unsolicited comments from outside the community.

    There is a great opportunity for planning, but one legacy of Covid-19 will be reduced funding for local authorities

    • Planning in Kent & Medway is working well; departments are busy, applications are continuing, and the first online planning committees have been successful. With changes in how people shop, travel and live, this is an opportunity to think creatively about the future of existing settlements; to re-engage people and re-energise places. It also has huge implications for how the county thinks about the locations of the many planned new settlements and their scale, densities and design. Could we see a preference for rural living? And to what extent will this determine where homes go? We know that density around transport hubs is more sustainable, but that means public transport. The current crisis will have a substantial long-term impact on local authority budgets, meaning that councils will have to be driven and resourceful.

    This is the time to question everything and for a national conversation about how we will live

    • How we live, work, shop, interact is changing. Our networks are becoming more local; more community focused.  Our need for social interaction will affect how we plan communities and support networks in the future.  Normal office life will not resume; we’ll see increased homeworking, increased cycling, increased use of local shops.  Covid-19 has started a national (global!) conversation but sustainable change has to be Government-led.

    Participants

    Adam Tillion, Barratt Homes / Alison Salter, Sevenoaks District Council / Andrew Wilford, Esquire Developments Ltd / Annalie Riches, Mikhail Riches / Chris Bath, BPTW Partnership / Chris Lamb, Design South East / Dave Harris, Medway Council / David Smith, Kent County Council / James Galpin, HMY / Katja Stille, Tibbalds / Laura Lewis-Davies, Design South East / Mark Pullin, Ebbsfleet Development Corporation / Rob Jarman, Maidstone Borough Council

    Further reading

    Quality of Life Foundation: What we do: https://www.qolf.org/what-we-do

    Quality of life at home research: https://medium.com/quality-of-life-foundation

  5. What we’ve learnt about online learning

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    As necessitated by Covid-19, we moved our Learning programme online – and it fast-tracked a move towards a flexible and accessible approach to blended learning.

    Defining the brief was easy: Continue to deliver interactive learning experiences.  As were the constraints: No face-to-face events – oh, and everyone is using a different online platform.

    Without time for the usual approach of designing, testing and evaluating before we went live, we dived headfirst into Google Classroom, SharePoint, Teams, Zoom meetings, Zoom rooms, Zoom webinars and, most recently, YouTube.  We developed resources, formats and templates, and found workarounds along the way, learning very quickly that there is certainly not a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to accessing online platforms.

    We talked to people who had teleconferencing burnout; we developed teleconferencing burnout; and we decided quickly that the interactive side of learning should be done live, in meeting or webinar format, and that anything which could be done independently – reading, researching, watching again, developing questions for speakers – could be done with a coffee, whilst simultaneously dealing with new ways of working, home-schooling, and household broadband negotiations…

    In addition to one-off webinars, the two main formats we’ve tried each include an introductory webinar, independent reading and a follow-up discussion webinar.  Initially we scheduled the webinars two weeks apart, then we tried a one-day approach with the introductory webinar in the morning and the follow-up discussion in the afternoon.

    The results are now in from these first online learning events, and whilst they confirm that one size does not fit all, the results also confirm that 100% of respondents want online learning to continue after lockdown.  When asked whether or not online learning should continue:

    • 30% of respondents said, ‘Yes, it’s so much easier than taking a full or half day out and travelling somewhere’
    • 70% said, ‘Yes, but it would be nice to have a combination of online and face-to-face events like study tours’
    • 0% said, ‘No, it’s fine for lockdown but I’m all Zoomed out and I want to see real humans again’

    The jury is still out on the best platforms to use, and the best format.  Interestingly, 0% of the two-week webinar cohort would like a one-day webinar format, and 0% of the one-day webinar cohort would like a two-week webinar format!  This might take us right back to the live testing and evaluating stage, but we do it armed with a wealth of knowledge and experience – and a whole new digital skillset.

    We’ve included below a flavour of the feedback we’ve received and the steps we’re taking to continuously improve our service.

    Some headline figures

    • 100% of respondents said they’d like online learning to continue
    • 100% of respondents said their overall experience of the online learning programme was good or very good
    • 95% of respondents said they found it useful to hear both design and planning perspectives
    • 98% of respondents said they found it useful to have access to learning resources which they could access either immediately or in the future.
    • 2% of respondents said they’d rather just attend a webinar and/or face-to-face learning event
    • 59% of respondents said that 1.5 hours is the ideal duration for a webinar

    ‘This was one of the best online conferences I have experienced so far during lockdown.’

    ‘I found the webinar very useful and well set out. The opportunity to ask questions and have professional speakers to answer them. I like the format. Thank you.’

    ‘I think this was really well organised and presented and I liked the slightly different format of split sessions and additional relevant material.’

    ‘Was not as bad as I thought it would be.’

    Improvements we’re making

    We will continue to provide learning resources, and where possible, we’ll make them available ahead of the online learning event date

    • ‘Possibly the background reading could have been made available a little earlier.’
    • ‘It would be good if the learning materials were available before the event.’

    We’ve set up a new password protected area on the Kent Design website so you don’t have the hassle of logging into SharePoint or Google Classroom

    • ‘SharePoint access to resource – best know this further in advance so participants can prepare – or preferable not use SharePoint.’
    • ‘Too complicated to locate the documents through a third party, so I gave up.’

    We will use the webinar setting for larger groups for improved audio visual, but we’ll use meeting format for a small cohort

    • ‘Really easy to join up and as we get more familiar with using Zoom it will become easier. The Webinar format helped reduce all the background noise you can get on a meeting.’

    We’re going to state only the start and end times of an online learning event, so you’re not kept waiting

    • ‘Start times – prefer clarity over actual start and when you would like participants to login; seeing ‘waiting to start’ after advertised time does not give confidence.’

    We’re going to continue to experiment with different durations between the introductory and follow-up webinars

    • ‘From a time management point of view I found it easier to book a day ‘out of the office’ so I could read the resources provided as well as searching out additional literature that was signposted in the resources and presentations.’
    • ‘I think the set up was brilliant having a week in between, really gave a good opportunity to review all the resources which I think were such a positive of this online learning session.’
    • ‘Well managed, I think the format worked well. Webinars could have been closer together to keep some focus, but overall I think it went really well.’

    We’re going to continue to deliver online learning once lockdown is lifted, and we look forward to combining this with face-to-face events and study tours when safe to do so

    • ‘I really enjoyed the fact that we did not have to travel anywhere, made learning less of a rush and really appreciated the time to put together. Study tours etc would need to be actually face to face but I think this is a fantastic option moving forward.’
    • ‘I would be more inclined to attend more online training sessions in the future as it eliminates the need for travel and provides much greater flexibility. But study tours are invaluable so I wouldn’t want to see these disappear.’
    • ‘Thinking about the environment, it is really a good idea to run these sessions online in the future. That would help reduce trips, traffic, CO2 emissions etc…’

    A huge thank you to everyone who has participated in our online learning events so far, and for your support in the move towards a blended learning programme, making learning more accessible and more environmentally friendly!

    We look forward to seeing you online (and eventually in person) soon!

  6. UPDATED: New 2020/21 programme

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    While the coronavirus situation prevents us launching the usual programme of physical events, we are delighted to launch a full programme combining online, distance and – eventually! – face-to-face learning and networking events

    Spring/Summer 2020 Programme

    Online Learning 1: Understanding the National Design Guide
    24 April – Initial online session followed by independent further reading
    07 May – Follow-up online discussion

    Online Roundtable 1: Business as usual?
    30 April – Online Roundtable

    Online Councillor Professional Development 1: Assessing major applications: landscape and green infrastructure
    19 May – Initial online session followed by independent further reading
    02 June – Follow-up online discussion

    Online Learning 2: Designing for people, bikes and cars
    30 July – Initial online session and follow-up discussion accompanied by independent further study

     

    Autumn/Winter 2020 Provisional Programme*
    *Dates and format (either online or face-to-face) dependent upon Covid-19 restrictions

    Councillor Professional Development 2: Assessing major applications: layout, streets and parking
    08 Sept – Initial online session followed by independent further reading
    22 Sept – Follow-up online discussion

    Roundtable 2: Planning for the Future
    23 Sept – Online Roundtable

    Online Learning 3: Designing for the climate emergency
    09 Oct – Online session accompanied by a discussion and independent further reading

    Knowledge Exchange Network 2: Town centres and regeneration – one year on
    05 Nov – Online format

    Councillor Professional Development 3: Assessing major applications: architecture, materials and detailing
    24 Nov – Initial online session followed by independent further reading
    08 Dec – Follow-up online discussion


    New Year 2021 Provisional Programme*
    *Dates and format (either online or face-to-face) dependent upon Covid-19 restrictions

    Online Learning 4: Sustainability basics in planning
    29 Jan – Initial online session followed by independent further reading

    Knowledge Exchange Network 3: Historic environments
    04 Feb – Online format

    Roundtable 3: Achieving Net Zero
    11 Feb – Online format

    2-Day Urban Design School
    4th & 5th Mar – Online format

    Kent Development showcase (inc Knowledge Exchange Network 1: Strategic sites)
    19 Mar – Online format

    To be kept informed of news and events, register for e-newsletters here.

  7. New approach to learning in the lockdown

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    We have been working on the Kent Design 20/21 programme, exploring alternative ways of bringing the network together.  While the coronavirus situation prevents us launching the usual programme of physical events, we are delighted to launch a full programme combining online, distance and – eventually! – face-to-face learning and networking events.

    Our approach
    Our approach recognises that learning events in Professional Development  programmes often have multiple benefits for attendees:

    • Learning from the experts
    • Learning from other people’s experiences
    • Learning through activities and exercises
    • Discussion and networking with colleagues in similar and related roles
    • A break for reflection from the routine and pressures of work

    Some learning events can be moved online relatively easily, whereas others require a more sophisticated approach.  For example, we cannot simply replicate a four-hour seminar online, particularly at the current time when people are juggling multiple pressures including domestic and childcare responsibilities.

    We have therefore developed the following approach:

    Online Learning Programmes
    Online learning programmes will blend short, shared online presentations and discussion sessions with a mix of distance learning resources and online forums; a flexible and accessible approach to professional learning. Theses might include:

    • A live one-hour online session consisting of a short presentation and/or discussion with a guest speaker
    • A package of learning materials including slide shows, reading, articles and exercises which can be studied in as much or as little depth as required
    • An online forum with questions prompting responses from and discussion between, the learners
    • After 2 weeks, a concluding live one-hour online Q&A and discussion.

    Roundtables – online and face-to-face
    Roundtable discussions are the platform for a cross-sector discussion on current issues, enabling Kent and Medway’s local authorities and private sector partners to share their knowledge and learn from others.  These events will initially be delivered online, and we anticipate reverting to a face-to-face model when safe to do so – though it might be that we also have ‘dial-in’ options.

    Councillor Professional Development – online and face-to-face
    This series of one-hour online twilight sessions is designed to enable greater flexibility and increased Councillor participation within the Kent Design programme.  Each session builds on the last, examining context and character in greater detail.  These events will initially be delivered online, and we will explore the inclusion of face-to-face follow-up networking sessions when safe to do so.

    Knowledge Exchange Network – online and face-to-face
    The Knowledge Exchange Network is exactly as the name suggests; an opportunity for experienced officers and practitioners to get together to share best practice, shout about the successes and strategise the challenges!  These events will initially be delivered online, and we anticipate reverting to a face-to-face model when safe to do so.

    2-Day Urban Design School
    A 2-day introduction to designing places and the space between buildings.  Full details to be announced. 

    2-Day Study Tour
    A 2-day study tour visiting a number of exemplary developments across a region.  Full details of location and theme to be announced.

    We are confident that this new blended learning approach will create a Professional Development programme every bit as rich as our face-to-face programme.  Indeed, we intend to use this experience positively and to take the opportunity to integrate elements of online or distance learning into our programme to increase flexibility and access to learning going forward.

    Unable to access Zoom?
    We will be using Zoom as the online conferencing platform.  We appreciate there might be a small number of members who are unable to access Zoom, so please do let us know if you’re unable to participate, as well as which platform(s) you do have access to. We will do our best to accommodate you.