The Kent No Use Empty scheme has won the top award in the Partnership Working category in the inaugural Placemaking Awards 2013. The results were announced at the end of January at the awards ceremony held at the British Museum.
The Kent award announcement reads as follows:
This project was launched by Kent County Council with local authorities in Swale, Shepway, Dover and Thanet as a means of transforming the county's 9,000 long-term empty homes into quality housing, while also improving the physical urban environment. The initiative offers free advice and interest-free loans of up to £175,000 to those wishing to refurbish long-term empty properties. It has put more than 3,000 properties back into use and has now been rolled out across the county. It is being used as a model by councils in other parts of England and by the Scottish and Welsh governments. Judges loved the partners' innovative approach in this project.
The awards are a joint venture by Planning and Regeneration & Renewal magazines and are described as follows:
The Placemaking Awards recognise and publicise projects, plans, people and organisations that are making places better. Open to individuals and organizations in planning, regeneration, economic development, urban design, sustainable development and community development.
The aim of the Placemaking Awards is to be as inclusive as possible for the Built Environment, to showcase not just projects that have come to fruition but also ideas, plans and the people and consultacies behind the process of planning and to highlight all aspects of the Built Environment including the best practice that each and every planner has at the core of their work.
Further details can be found on the awards website.