St Cuthbert's Garden Village Success

The Garden Village was highly commended at the 2021 North West RTPI awards.

The work to drive forward a transformative scheme for Carlisle has been highly commended at a regional planning awards ceremony.

St Cuthbert’s Garden Village Strategic Design (SPD) was entered by Carlisle City Council for the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) North West Awards for Planning Excellence.  

The initial judging saw the SPD being shortlisted and the team were called for a panel interview with the judging panel. This led to the SPD being put through to the finals of the competition - hosted at the RTPI North West annual dinner in Manchester. 

There were over 90 entries across a number of categories and the St Cuthbert’s SPD was awarded a ‘Highly Commended’ in the Plan Making Excellence category. 

Carlisle City Cllr Paul Nedved, Portfolio holder for Economy, Enterprise and Housing, said:

“This is a great accolade and showcases the SPD and St Cuthbert’s on the regional stage. Our St Cuthbert’s Garden Village team and Hyas developed the document to ensure that the proper planning processes are in place and that the development is of the highest quality. It is now being put to use in the development management process as early developer interest in St Cuthbert’s continues to grow.

“I’d like to pass on my congratulations to all those involved in driving forward this exciting project for Carlisle.”

Steve Hill Director with Hyas Associates added:

“We set out with the intention of producing a practical guide that defines and promotes the high quality of development we want to see come forward in St Cuthbert’s. By working closely with the City Council and ensuring we involved a wide range of interested parties, we feel we have achieved our aims. The SPD will help drive forward innovation and good place making in the Garden Village and it’s fantastic to get this external recognition for our work.”

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) North West Awards for Planning Excellence celebrate outstanding planners, plans and projects that demonstrate the power of planning in our regions.

A spokesperson from the RTPI said:

“This year's awards finalists highlighted the positive contribution that planners make at the heart of our communities, shaping places and helping to build sustainable places.

“This year we received more than 100 entries from across our nine regions.

“The St Cuthbert’s Garden Village SPD work was well written, researched and well supported by technical survey and community engagement - the latter being praised for its innovative methods. Overall a fantastic example of long-term robust policy making.”

St Cuthbert’s Garden Village is one of the largest projects of its kind nationally and the largest in the north of England. The scale and location of St Cuthbert’s Garden Village (SCGV) provides a genuine opportunity to make a difference - in a well-planned and coherent way.

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