This note has been prepared to provide advice to those attending a presentation design review session. It should be read in conjunction with ‘Design Review: the process' which provides more general information. It is based on the normal procedures for projects reviewed within the context of a full day Design Review meeting. In some circumstances, alternative arrangements may be made and the format varied.
What happens once a project has been identified for a review?
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Design Review Guide for presenters
(27.9KB) A member of the Design Review staff will contact the lead member of the project team and the relevant planning authority to discuss the review. Sometimes a preliminary meeting will be arranged to brief staff on the proposal and discuss the way in which it may best be presented.
Background information on the project is required to be incorporated into an agenda issued to panel members prior to the meeting. A copy of the agenda item is also issued to the project team and planning authority. Pro-formas issued to the lead member of project team and the planning authority should be returned a minimum of 14 days before the review is to take place. Designs may still be in development, and any drawings provided at this stage as briefing material may be superseded by those presented on the day.
To avoid delays and technical problems on the day of the review, material to be used in the presentation should wherever possible be delivered to A+DS's offices in advance.
In normal circumstances, one hour is allocated to the presentation and discussion of each project, divided up as follows:
20 minutes Presentation by project team
35 minutes Discussion
5 minutes Summing up by chair
Prior to the review session, staff will provide the panel with a brief introduction to the project. Once the session is concluded the panel and chair will take a short time to reflect on the summing up, and ensure that staff are fully briefed on the issues to be contained in the report.
The times shown above are subject to variation. When a project is particularly large or complex, or where two related projects are being reviewed, alternative arrangements may be made.
The Design Review panel normally consists of up to 5 panellists and is chaired by an A+DS Board member. A+DS staff also attend. Members of the project team likely to be represented include the client, planning consultants, architects, landscape architects and other members of the design team. Planning officers will also be present. If the proposal being reviewed will impact on a historic building or environment, a representative from Historic Scotland will also be invited.
As Design Review meetings are held in various locations arrangements may vary, but the normal format for review is based around a large table. Every attempt is made to include all those present around the table, but sometimes this may not be possible. A data projector, laptop and screen is provided, as well as pinboard or stands for displaying boards.
Proposals should be presented as clearly and succinctly as possible, concentrating on essentials rather than the details which can emerge in discussion. Background information already available to panellists in the agenda item should not be unnecessarily repeated. If the time allocated is exceeded the time available for discussion may be curtailed.
The form of presentation and supporting materials will vary depending on the size, and nature of the project and the stage it has reached in its development. The guidelines set out below are intended to provide general assistance to those planning a presentation, which should cover the following aspects of the project in the order shown:
The following information should be provided as appropriate:
Visual material may be provided in the form of display boards and/or a digital presentation. Information on display boards should be sufficiently clear to be viewed from a distance. Digital presentations should be accompanied by some form of hard copy, either display boards or A3 leaflets. The use of models to describe a proposal is encouraged. Wherever possible, material (other than models) should be sent to A+DS prior to the meeting taking place. A copy of the presentation should be made available to A+DS to be retained as a record.
Before any general discussion takes place, the chair will invite the planning authority, and Historic Scotland if present, to comment briefly on the proposals, and answer any questions the panel may have on the planning or historic context.
Panel members will then be invited to express views and ask questions of those presenting in turn. The discussion is intended to be exploratory and carried out in an informal manner, and all present at the meeting will be encouraged to contribute.
The chair will sum up by reiterating the main points that have been covered by the discussion, and will endeavour to draw together the consensus view of the panel into a series of constructive comments. These comments will form the basis of a report outlining A+DS's views on the proposals, which will be issued to the lead member of the project team, the planning authority, and where appropriate Historic Scotland, within 3 weeks of the review.
For those projects which are a current planning applications or where designs are otherwise in the public realm, any report issued following the review may be made available to the public and will be published on the A+DS website in due course.
For projects which are still evolving and have not yet reached the planning application stage, the report will be marked ‘restricted' and will not be made available to the public or published on A+DS's website.
Many of the projects seen by A+DS will be reviewed more than once, perhaps initially when the designs are still at an early and formative stage, and again either just before or just after a planning application has been submitted. Some projects may be reviewed more than once during the planning process. If it is considered unnecessary for the amended designs to be presented again, any subsequent review may take place internally and a new report or letter issued.
Feedback
Ministers attach great importance to the design review process. The development industry, as well as decision makers on planning applications and appeals, must demonstrate what account has been taken of the views of A+DS. Within six months of a review taking place, project teams and planning authorities are required to advise A+DS on how its views have been taken into account.