The Northern Echo

November 24, 2010 Wednesday

'Durham, be proud'

SECTION: Pg. 11

LENGTH: 204 words
HIGH-quality developments must be approved to ensure residents can remain proud of Durham for decades to come, a national planning chief has said.
Ann Skippers, president of the Royal Town Planning Institute, was speaking during a visit to Durham yesterday.
She said: "Durham's got a city centre which is unique, and World Heritage Site status, so design is critical. Often during a recession, design gets missed off, but it goes into people's quality of life.
"The quality of what we're doing now and what's getting planning permission must be of the highest quality, so in 50 years' time we can still look back with as much pride as wehave about Durham now."
Ms Skippers praised the new unitary Durham County Council. "I've been learning how the planning service is coming together, working with local communities to ensure the planning framework is in place, so Durham is an incredibly strong contender for new jobs and has a very high standard of environmental quality.
"Because it's such a new authority, we've got all the new people working together;
and bringing together is something I'm finding fascinating.
"What they're producing here is a very high quality service for local residents. I'm impressed with what I've seen."