1. Place Standard Irene Beautyman Planning for Place Programme Manager
Improvement Service

2. How can the Improvement Service help?
Place Standard
What is it?
What can we do with it?
How can the Improvement Service help?

3. Place Standard
How Good is Our Place?

4. What others have said….

5. So what is the Place Standard?.....
An assessment tool to evaluate the quality of place
It can evaluate places that are well-established, undergoing change, or still being planned
Developed based on evidence of the positive role that place plays in reducing inequalities.
14 simple questions
Can be undertaken by communities and/or professionals, individually or in groups
Provides a graphic output and creates structured conversations on key issues

6. Place Standard Tool..… What is it?
The Place Standard is a tool to assess the quality of a place. It asks people to consider 14 questions about important aspects of a place. The questions cover a broad range of both physical and social characteristics.
Place Standard Tool..…
street
neighbourhood
district
city
region
What is it like to live here?
Where can it be used?
The Place Standard can be used to access any place. It can be used in places that are well-established, undergoing change, or still being planned. It can be used in urban, suburban or rural settings and different scales; the boundary of the place will be defined by those using it.
Who is it for?
The Place Standard has been designed for a wide range of users. It can be used by spatial and community planning professionals, architects, urban designers, developers, the third sector and members of the community. Most importantly, it can bring these groups together to have an open and informed discussion about ‘Place’.
When can it be used?
The Place Standard can be used at any time. It can be used in the planning stages of a development, to review and monitor progress against an agreed outcome or to provide the impetus for change in an existing place. Importantly, the tool allows assessment to be consistent and comparable over time.
Why should I use it?
The Place Standard can help to maximise the potential of a place in benefiting health, wellbeing and quality of life. It does this by:
providing a framework for structured conversations about place
supporting public, private and third sectors and communities to work together
quickly and clearly identifying priorities for action in a visual way
supporting strategic decision making
providing a means to review and monitor progress.
How do I use it?
The Place Standard is very easy to use. Users consider each question in turn rating a place on a scale of 1 to 7. One means there is a lot of room for improvement, 7 means there is little need for improvement, the quality is as good as it can be. Then you plot the ratings on the compass and join the dots to make a ‘spider’ diagram.

7. Facilities + Amenities Influence + Sense of Control
In My Place…….. 1 4 7 3 2 5 6
Public Transport
Traffic + Parking
Streets + Spaces
Play + Recreation
Facilities + Amenities
Natural Spaces
Work + Local Economy
Housing + Community
Social Interaction
Identity + Belonging
Feeling Safe
Care + Maintenance
Influence + Sense of Control
Moving Around
Can I easily walk and cycle around using good quality routes?
Does public transport meet my needs?
Do traffic and parking arrangements allow people to move around safely and meet the community’s needs?
Do buildings, streets and public spaces create an attractive place that is easy to get around?
Can I regularly experience good quality natural space?
Do I have access to a range of spaces and opportunities for play and recreation?
Do facilities and amenities meet my needs?
Is there an active local economy and the opportunity to access good quality work?
Does housing support the needs of the community and contribute to a positive environment?
Is there a range of spaces and opportunities to meet people?
Does this place have a positive identity and do I feel I belong?
Do I feel safe?
Are the buildings and spaces well cared for?
Do I feel able to participate in decisions and help change things for the better?

9. How to use it? The Place Standard is very easy to use:
Users consider each question in turn rating a place on a scale of 1 to 7.
One means there is a lot of room for improvement, 7 means there is little need for improvement, the quality is as good as it can be.
Then you plot the ratings on the compass and join the dots to make a ‘spider’ diagram.

10. What is Shetland Place Standard?
Shetland Place Standard is a Development Services led project to avoid consultation fatigue and inform a range of policies, strategies and plans

11. Shetland Place Standard Design - 1
Project Board and Project Team
Web-based
Paper option
14 standard questions with localised prompts
3 Priorities
Spider diagrams

12. Shetland Place Standard Design - 2
Profiling questions:
Compulsory:
Postcode and area
Gender
Age group
Where did you hear about the consultation?

13. Shetland Place Standard Progress
Went live from 14th June 2016 to 10th July 2016
Analysis nearing completion
939 valid responses
4% of the total Shetland population
4,840 comments in total

14. Shetland Place Standard Analysis
Question analysis by:
Locality
Age group
Gender
Priority
Comment analysis by:
Nature of comment
Content of comment

15. How did folk hear?

16. Findings So Far

17. First Priorities

18. Shetland Place Standard What Next?
Initial public feedback - September 2016
Community Forums – September / October 2016
Public report – Early 2017
Overall report will form the basis of the locality plans and feed in to a range of strategic documents :
Local Development Plan
Local Housing Strategy
Shetland Transport Strategy
Local Outcome Improvement Plan

19. Place Standard When to Use
Gathering community priorities Informing CPP considerations
Identifying needs
Reviewing impact of initiatives
Business planning
Baseline data
Development planning
Planning consultation
Regeneration planning
Capacity studies for places
Needs assessments
Asset mapping
Data for consultant briefing
Design charrette briefing
Development briefs
Participatory budgeting
Development frameworks
Masterplanning
Option appraisals
Desktop review
Design and access statements
Design review
Cross sector working
Community action planning
Development management
Place Standard
When to Use
Early stages
Identifying needs and assets
Aligning priorities and investment
Empowering communities, allowing their views to be articulated
Design and development stages
Action planning
Informing or reviewing proposals
For continuous improvement
Monitoring changes and improvements
Community after-care or stewardship
Shared Learning

20. Contact irene.beautyman@improvementservice.org.uk