Placemaking now sits at the heart of almost all policy development and delivery in Scotland. It is both an objective and a process. However the cumulative resources needed to deliver effective placemaking across all Scottish project scales and geographies are significant. Where, therefore, will the funding come from to match demand? How do we reconcile the differing needs of both the public and private sectors? What will it take to move placemaking in Scotland from planning to delivery?
Scotland is not short of projects with the potential to deliver successful placemaking. However the objectives of the public sector and the challenges facing the private sector often conflict, threatening to limit placemaking at scale. The public sector expects the highest environmental standards and quality of public realm, driven by the need to support sustainable and successful communities while driving for net zero. Developers increasingly argue that development is now becoming too expensive to do with all the add-ons required by policy and sought during development negotiation.
Can the Scottish Government and the Scottish public sector put more resource on the table to draw the private sector into investing? The public sector balance sheet is not strong. Is it possible for Scottish Government investment to be more tailored, joined-up and coherent across sectoral, service and project boundaries?
This conference looks at what it will really take to deliver on Scotland's placemaking potential. It considers the key factors to be addressed across national and local government and the role of other agents and players. It reflects on the challenge of ensuring placemaking projects are not thwarted by silo practices in how budgets, policy and decision making are controlled by various partners.
The conference examines these challenges in three sessions:
Topics to be discussed
Head of Development
Midlothian Council
Director of Design
Architecture & Design Scotland
Emeritus Professor of Management
Queen Margaret University
Executive Director of Place
City of Edinburgh Council
Director of Sustainable Economics
Ramboll Group
Managing Director of Development, Europe
Nuveen
Senior Urban Designer
The Urbanists
Director, Strategy, Place and Economy
Scottish Futures Trust
Chief Executive
Austin-Smith:Lord
Fiona Clandillon
Head of Development
Midlothian Council
Fiona is leading on the delivery of an ambitious capital investment strategy for Scotland’s fastest growing local authority. This includes Scotland's largest passivhaus housing programme and a major expansion in Midlothian's learning estate to support existing and expanding communities.
Fiona has been working to realise the potential of land across Scotland for almost 20 years. As a chartered town planner, Fiona focuses on developing practical, collaborative solutions to unlock or accelerate housing sites to create new and better places for communities to thrive in and more and better homes for people to live in.
Heather Claridge
Director of Design
Architecture & Design Scotland
Heather is a chartered planner and urban designer, with a background in geography. She has over 14 years of experience working in the public sector. At Glasgow City Council, Heather has shaped place policy and facilitated urban regeneration. Heather joined Architecture and Design Scotland as Director of Design and will lead the advice work.
Richard Kerley
Emeritus Professor of Management
Queen Margaret University
Professor Richard Kerley is Professor of Management at QMU with a specific interest in public service management. He was previously at the University of Edinburgh and the Scottish Local Authorities Management Centre, University of Strathclyde . He has also been a visiting scholar at Yale University. Before entering academic life, Richard worked in advertising, hospitality and in prison education. He also worked for four different councils, in adult education and then latterly in staff and management development.
He is currently also a Non-Executive Director with Mainstreet Consulting and a Trustee of the Centre for Scottish Public Policy 2021. He has been on the board of various companies, charities, and arts organisations.
Richard is the author of various books, research papers, academic journals, and numerous articles in the quality print media. His most recent publications include an edited book on International Local Government, and he is currently working on a taxonomy of international local government.
Richard chaired the Working Party on Renewing Local Democracy; the report of which was published in July 2000, and which was legislated for in June 2004 as the Local Governance Act. He has carried out research projects supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Scottish Consumer Council, Alcohol Scotland, The Accounts Commission Scotland, Tayside, Edinburgh and Fife Councils, the Association of MBAs, and the Scottish Government. He has been engaged in consultancy projects by government; local governments; government agencies; voluntary organisations and international education providers.
Paul Lawrence
Executive Director of Place
City of Edinburgh Council
Paul’s responsibilities include planning, housing, transport, regulatory services and environment, as well as economic development and culture. Paul joined the Council in late 2015. Previous to this, Paul was Corporate Director for Place at Stockport Council – one of the ten local authorities in the Greater Manchester city region, with a similar range of responsibilities. Paul started his working life in the cultural sector, before being appointed as Head of Cultural and Economic Development at Newcastle City Council in 2000.
Stef O'Gorman
Director of Sustainable Economics
Ramboll Group
Stefanie is the Director of Sustainable Economics. She specialises in the integration of a wide range of costs and benefits within decision making and supporting clients with strategic decision making for a more sustainable, inclusive society. Stefanie’s consulting experience (supported by academic training in environmental management, natural sciences and economics) spans the planning, technical delivery, and management of policy and infrastructure projects. As an environmental economist she has a deep knowledge of climate science, natural resource use, ecosystem services and natural capital, circular economy and more widely the principles and practices of sustainability, in its widest sense. Most recently she has focused on the economics of cities and urban settlements with a view to delivering valuable and tangible social and environmental outcomes through improved design and delivery of infrastructure, the creation of investable propositions, alongside significant stakeholder, community and third sector engagement. Her work in this area concentrates on environmental and social outcomes and how to support client in making ‘better’ decision.
Martin Perry
Managing Director of Development, Europe
Nuveen
Martin is director of development for Nuveen Real Estate, specialising in large scale, retail led, mixed use development, and is responsible for management of developments in the UK and across mainland Europe. In particular, Martin is responsible for the Edinburgh St James regeneration project.
Martin joined the company in 2006 as a development manager, following a career in architecture, master planning and development after studying and tutoring in Oxford. Over his career he has been responsible for taking over 15 million sq. ft. of retail led floorspace through the planning system, as well as working on the delivery of three shopping malls and numerous individual buildings both in the U.K. and internationally. Martin has worked on the master planning and development management of two new town centres , numerous city extensions and regeneration projects as well as a number of retail refurbishment projects in the U.K. He has specialised throughout his career on retail led, mixed use with a particular focus on financially and socially sustainable environments.
Martin is also a member of the British Council of Shopping Centres and a qualified Architect and Urban Designer. He won the Individual Contribution Award at the 2017 Scottish Property Awards for his role in the development of Edinburgh St James.
Will Purdie
Senior Urban Designer
The Urbanists
Will is a chartered Architect and Urban Designer with a strong passion for regeneration and placemaking. Will joined The Urbanists in Cardiff to work on a series of projects working closely with the Design Commission of Wales and working with the Wales Placemaking Charter. Since joining in 2021, Will has produced placemaking plans for places in Wales; including coastal towns, post-industrial towns and neighbourhood plans within cities such as Cardiff and Newport.
Prior to joining The Urbanists Will had experience on projects throughout Scotland, including: masterplanning and residential developments in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and within his home city of Perth; assisting Perth and Kinross Council with the current Perth City Plan and Placemaking Design Guidance.
Tony Rose
Director, Strategy, Place and Economy
Scottish Futures Trust
Tony has responsibility for SFT’s activity across infrastructure strategy, place and economy. He is an MBA with over 30 years’ experience advising both the public and private sectors on complex infrastructure projects in Scotland as well as in the rest of the UK and overseas.
Prior to joining SFT he was a Director in the Infrastructure Finance team at a leading global advisory consultancy where he advised on the financial and commercial aspects of major infrastructure investments.
Tony leads the following workstream areas:
Asset Strategy and Workplace
Infrastructure Strategy
Place
Housing
Economic Investment
Real Estate
Graham Ross
Chief Executive
Austin-Smith:Lord
Graham joined Austin-Smith:Lord in 1998 having studied at Edinburgh College of Art and the Technische Universität Berlin, graduating with Masters in both Architecture and Urban Design.
Graham is an Executive Director of Austin-Smith:Lord. As an architect, urban designer and planner, he has been involved in a wide range of projects throughout the UK and Ireland.
Graham is a Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, an Academician of the Academy of Urbanism, a Recognised Practitioner of the Urban Design Group and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Graham has contributed to several published pieces of research undertaken for the Scottish Government. His work has received numerous awards, including five Scottish Design Awards.
Sponsor: Playfair Scotland
What we do
Playfair Scotland has unrivalled experience of the Scottish political scene in terms of knowledge of local, Scottish and UK government politics.
Politics has never been as volatile as it is following recent elections, and whatever your project or campaign, Playfair Scotland can provide you with excellent advice, guidance and expertise to help achieve your objectives. We can help you engage effectively with local communities, stakeholders and politicians at all levels of government.
Playfair Scotland will help you frame the debate and help make sure you get the fairest possible hearing for your proposals.
Strategic Communications
Playfair Scotland can work with and seek out those people who can be advocates for your project; communicate with them using the right messages through the right channels to ensure they engage and build a relationship with your service, company or brand to help you get the right decisions taken for the right reasons.
Community & Stakeholder Engagement
Playfair Scotland staff have some of the most extensive knowledge of consultation and community engagement available in Scotland. Our team has worked on campaigns all over Scotland from windfarms and housing developments to supermarkets and on the new generation of the country’s waste facilities. We have also worked on some of Scotland’s largest inward investments.
Reputation Management
The risks from adverse publicity have never been greater and news also travels faster than ever. With our extensive experience of working with local and national press (as well as our social media expertise) we can help protect your organisations reputation to avoid a crisis and ensure your messages get through. Don’t let your project or campaign get off to a bad start. Engage early and with a clear strategy in place.
Public and Media Relations
We have extensive experience of working at all levels of local, national and UK press, media and the public to position our client’s proposals as positively as possible. We can ensure that your narrative gets through to help you get results.
Research
With our team having carried out political research for key companies in the energy, retail, residential and waste sectors and for the Scottish Government, we are well placed to identify key issues for your proposals and how they are best positioned in a complex political environment. We will ensure that the information on which you base campaigns is both robust and accurate.
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