As the year draws to a close, there is much to reflect on and celebrate. In 2017 we offered advice to over 40 publicly funded developments and 21,000 homes, supported the Timber Awards, the Student Awards, Seeding Success and the Education Buildings Scotland Conference, ran forums for practitioners, published news, features and resources across our many channels, piloted new approaches to place-planning, advised on the reform of Scotland’s planning system and spoke on conference platforms at home and abroad. Alongside this we published a new strategy, settled in to new ways of working and welcomed new colleagues to our team.
All of this was done to make Scotland’s built environment a better place for the people who use it and none of it would have happened without the passion and commitment of the staff and Board at A&DS and all our wonderful partners. As events like the Grenfell fire show, getting the design of our buildings and places right cannot be optional if we are serious about creating places that work for everyone. So as we look forward to 2018, I want to thank you for your support over the last 12 months and wish you all the very best for the festive season!
Jim MacDonald, Chief Executive
PS - In this newsletter we've included links to some of our publications published in 2017.