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The Gilston Area Neighbourhood Plan was a double award winner at the Planning Awards 2021:

• It first picked up the Award for Plan-Making, given to the entry that best shows how a plan can have  a positive impact on the physical or environmental quality of a place or the economic or social well-being of its community.
• It also won the prestigious Editor’s Award given across all categories by the editor of Planning magazine  to the Plan that “represents the most exceptional achievement of all”.

The judges said the plan was “brave and innovative” and “demonstrates the power of collaboration between local planning authorities and communities”. Overall, they described it as “an exemplar approach to neighbourhood planning [in areas of] growth”.

HEGNPG Chairman Anthony Bickmore said:

“These two awards are a massive national endorsement of our Neighbourhood Plan, the first of its kind for ambition and scale”.

The Editor Richard Garlick said when he gave the award to the Gilston Area Neighbourhood Plan:

“this is the best, and maybe only way, to plan large scale developments in future.”

Besides the national awards, the Plan won the local ‘award’ at referendum with 97.8% of supporting vote on a high 37.20% turnout.