Pegasus Group has been shortlisted in two categories at the RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence.

The prestigious annual awards celebrate the exceptional work being carried out by town planners across the country.

RTPI award 2021 logoAs well as being a finalist in the Planning Consultancy of the Year category, Pegasus Group’s Michelle Simpson-Gallego and her team have been shortlisted in a new category – Planning Heroes in a Pandemic.

This award seeks to recognise planners who have gone ‘above and beyond’ in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the beginning of the lockdown, a team of planners from Pegasus Group looked at ways to track and report on how Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) across England and Wales were adapting during the COVID-19 crisis.

Michelle Simpson-GallegoThe team, led by Michelle Simpson-Gallego, provided weekly updates to clients and stakeholders in the public sector of the self-contingency measures being applied by LPAs, giving them easily accessible information about the working procedures, practices and committee meetings, allowing planning activities to continue ‘business as usual’ whilst officers and administration teams worked remotely. This has had significant implications for the planning system including the determination of major infrastructure schemes like the approval of HS2 Station in April 2020.

As a finalist for a consecutive year in the Planning Consultancy of the Year category, the Pegasus Group submission showcased the Group’s breadth of specialist services and some of its most prestigious case studies throughout 2020, whilst demonstrating how business growth goals were achieved despite the pandemic.

In announcing the finalists, RTPI President Dr Wei Yang FRTPI said: “For over 40 years, these prestigious awards have celebrated the exceptional work undertaken by town planners.

“In the middle of a global pandemic, the Awards for Planning Excellence are more relevant than ever and I am pleased to see this year a new category, ‘Planning Heroes in a Pandemic’, has been created to recognise planners’ commitment during this difficult time.”

The winners will be announced at a virtual ceremony on April 29.

For more information about Pegasus Group and its services, please contact us.