Councillor says design awards only ‘massage puffed-up egos’

A Mearns councillor has described the Aberdeenshire Design Awards as “elitist claptrap, a scandal and a waste of time”.

Dave Stewart said the scheme, which recognises excellence in design, was a waste of council resources at a time of financial cutbacks.

The awards will cost £6,000 and Mr Stewart said it was an expensive exercise to “massage the puffed-up egos of a handful of architects and their wealthy clients”.

The Aberdeenshire Design Award was established in 1997 as a means of raising the profile of good design, with the most recent award ceremony taking place in September 2012.

At the latest Kincardine and Mearns area committee, manager Willie Munro told Mr Stewart it was not the future of the awards that was being debated but rather nominations of successful projects completed in the past two years that merit detailed consideration for recognition.

Councillors Graeme Clark, Peter Bellarby and Carl Nelson all spoke out in their support of the awards, which they said were doing a great job in improving standards in Aberdeenshire design.