A charette workshop was proposed to bring stakeholders together to plan changes to places through consensus building. Charettes could help address contentious issues in communities and inform local development plans by exploring issues of local identity, design, and infrastructure practicalities. The goal is for charettes to result in an agreed way forward that most people are comfortable with by fostering ownership around a collective understanding of issues affecting a place.

1. Prepared by Diarmaid Lawlor, May 2013
Angus charette workshop
Summary note
We think the identity of places is often contested. Think of Carnoustie. There is a lack of local
consensus, split community views, rivalry between landowners. This affects attitudes to change, how
to make the place more attractive for its residents.
“locality driven prioritisation”
We want place based approaches for communities, issues and partners; visioning at local level. Our
ambition is for a joined up local plan and community plan. This is locality driven prioritisation,
making the most of what exists, achieving greater effectiveness, efficiently. It is placemaking.
Charettes can bring stakeholders together to plan change by consensus. They could inform local area
development around issues of design, identity and infrastructure practicalities. It might be a means
of addressing contentious community issues, or tackling issues like town centre improvement in
ways that are realistic, feasible and can be implemented.
A charette could also be strategic. It could explore growth within settlements, the scale of growth
and where. It could look at cross boundary issues, help clarify big issues and inform alternatives. This
might be one method for allocation of housing as part of the LDP process.
“engagement at the start of the process of change”
Charettes could be an opportunity to drive greater internal collaboration within the Council. It could
help sort out the corporate position on places in an Angus Council context. This requires professional
level cohesion. It’s also about pulling together the independent elected members. We would like a
corporate approach to places by all sectors
We also think charettes are an opportunity for engagement with communities at the start of the
process of change. This could help the rationalising community consultation on a range of ‘planning’.
It could help foster better corporate public sector and community relationships and processes.
“what motivates participation in changing places?”
We should involve a range of people and groups, from movers and shakers to participation through
schools. How do you guarantee the public will show an interest? We think it is important to build on
good practice as seen by the public and elected members, fellow professionals, local developers and
landowners. If the charette fixes on realistic issues, does it engage more people?
Delivering a charette is about a sequence of conversations using variety of methods with neutral
facilitators. This needs publicity. The focus is joined up thinking. It is not about one off sessions. Each
charette will be different, allowing realistic options based on the issues there for the best impacts.

2. Prepared by Diarmaid Lawlor, May 2013
“an agreed way forward for most people”
Does a charette raise expectations? Do public authorities need to manage their own expectations? It
is important to work out the right timing in each place: do charettes replace or augment existing
processes? How long do people have to invest in the process?
We think a desireable outcome from a charette is an agreed way forward for most people that
people are comfortable with, with agreed next steps. It can build contentment among participants
by focusing on achieving actual outcomes in shaping a satisfactory place to live and work in.
“ownership around a collective understanding”
Our aim is to promote delivery designed through consensus based on needs and industry priorities.
Charettes can help people understand why not everything can happen. This awareness grows
through participation in the process. The key is openness and transparency, public participation and
ownership based on a collective understanding of issues.