Planning excellence throughout Scotland was recognised yesterday at a prestigious awards ceremony.

Finance Secretary John Swinney presented the Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning 2007 in Edinburgh.

This year's overall winner is the Kilmarnock Conservation Area Maintenance Guide, which provides property owners with practical advice on enhancing the historic environment – such as dealing with defects on their properties and organising repairs. It was hailed by the judges as "an innovative regeneration and conservation project".

Mr Swinney said: "These awards demonstrate the range of exciting planning and design initiatives around Scotland. I congratulate all nominees, particularly those who have won a commendation or award such as the Kilmarnock Conservation Area Maintenance Guide, on their quality work.


"Planning has a crucial role to play in helping the Scottish Government achieve its aim of increasing sustainable economic growth."

He concluded: "We are committed to a planning and development regime which is much more joined up than it is today, that is efficient and combines greater certainty with speed of decision making for the benefit of everyone in Scotland.

Projects in North Ayrshire, Argyll and Bute, Dundee, Midlothian, fife, East Ayrshire, Aberdeen and South Lanarkshire have also been recognised.

The Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning were launched in 1997 and have since attracted almost 400 nominations. The judges for this year's awards were Joan Burnie, Associate Editor of the Daily Record; Richard Holland, Strategic Planning Director at Taylor Wimpey Developments and Fiona Moriarty, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium.

(JM)