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Application form
Please make sure you have read all the notes carefully before you start to fill in the application form. This application form can either be completed by hand or electronically - it is available on the Planning homepage at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning. Please complete all five sections. The deadline for submitting applications is 27 August 2008. An acknowledgement letter will be sent to the person who has completed this form.
1 Please provide a name and contact details of the lead organisation responsible for this work.
Name | Robert Hunter |
Job title | Countryside Development Officer |
Organisation | Stirling Council |
Address | Countryside Service, Viewforth, Stirling, FK8 2ET |
Telephone | 01786 442751 |
Fax | 01786 443003 |
Email | hunterr@stirling.gov.uk |
2 If this is a joint application, please list the other partners who had a key role. You should also inform your partners that you are nominating the project for an award.
1 Stirling Area Local Access Forum | 2 |
3 | 4 |
5 | 6 |
3 Tick one nomination category
4 Title of entry | Stirling Council Final Draft Core Paths Plan - The Consultations |
Please complete the form on the following pages by providing a brief summary of the piece of work you have entered. You must also conclude with a key reason as to why you think this work merits an Award. Only the two A4 pages supplied here can be used and your text must fit within the boxes. The font size should be no less than 12pt.
The judging criteria are set out below. Please tick only the key criteria relevant to your entry:
You must describe how the project relates to the criteria which you have ticked.
Description of project
This project focuses on the consultation work of the Stirling Council Countryside Service in delivering a Core Paths Plan from the conception to the production of the Stirling Council Final Draft Core Paths Plan. This involved three informal rounds of consultation to find out what routes people were interested in, their views on an initial set of proposed core paths and their reaction to what other people had proposed in each previous consultation stage. |
Describe the background to the project
Part One of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 (the Act) requires access authorities to produce a core paths plan. This built on the work already carried out by the Countryside Service to develop path networks round communities as part of a Community Paths Project. The Act only requires a 12-week consultation period and with little statutory guidance or previous experience, the Countryside Service had to devise and implement a detailed consultation plan. |
What are the aims and objectives of the project?
The aim is to fulfill a legislative obligation using a detailed participatory approach. The objective is to produce a fit for purpose plan, which meets the current needs of the residents and visitors to the Stirling Council area outside of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. It is important to ensure that everyone who wants to be involved in the process can be involved in the process and, where possible, their views are taken on board. |
Over what timescale has the project been developed?
The project has been continuously worked on over a 37 month period between February 2005 and March 2008. This can be broken down in to three distinct phases. - Completion of the Community Paths Project in March 2006, which began in 1998.
- A 14-month consultation period on the subsequent Draft Core Paths Plan between July 2006 and September 2007.
- A six week consultation on 'What the Public Said about the Draft Stirling Council Core Paths Plan' (What the Public Said) allowing people to view what others had said in October and November 2007.
|
Explain the process and action taken
The Community Paths Project visited each community council area and asked people where they went.
The consultation on the draft plan saw a 'drop-in roadshow' with 43 stops involving each community, whilst 'What the Public Said' involved six area meetings. People's views on countryside access were collected using a dedicated questionnaire. At each of the last two stages of consultation, information was available in a variety of locations and online. It was also possible for people to register their views online. All stages had an awareness programme of press releases, letters to potential land owners, newsletters with staff available to attend any meetings as requested. |
Explain the role of the key partners
The Stirling Area Local Access Forum played a crucial role at all stages of the process and in particular through reviewing all the comments received at specially organised meetings. Their advice was invaluable in helping to shape the different plans. |
What results were achieved?
The Community Paths Project identified over 2,750 miles of path. 162 miles of these were proposed as core paths using seven criteria. Over 2,704 people took part in the next round of consultation (at meetings and online) with 389 of them submitting 734 comments. 35% agreed with the Plan as it stood, 38% asked for a modification and 12% did not agree with the Plan. Over 156 people took part in the 'What the Public Said' consultation with 66 people responding. Many were complimentary about the standard of the process. 2684 copies of the questionnaire were distributed with a 46% return rate. |
In summary, why does this piece of work merit an Award?
We believe that this project has been successful in engaging the public in the planning process and goes above and beyond the statutory and recommended guidance. This view is borne out by comments from the public, such as: "A lot of hard work put in by the countryside team - Much appreciated." "A very comprehensive study and systematic approach to this issue: thank you for your efforts." "We would like to congratulate the team on the excellent consultation, the response to feedback and the satisfactory outcome for Killearn." |
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