Glowing views of the Charrette?

It seems that the use of charrettes to engage with the public is becoming very popular.

Moray Estates held the first one in the Highlands I believe:

Extract: Architect's Journal

"In September this year (2006) Andrés Duany captured the imagination of the UK media when he ran an 11-day workshop in Inverness to draw up a masterplan for a new settlement, to be called Tornagrain. Duany's debut in the UK came about because DPZ has always had strong links with the Prince's Foundation.

Day one of the Tornagrain charette consisted of an opening address by Jim Mackinnon, the Scottish Executive's chief planner, and a mass tour of the site. Meetings with local planners, Scottish Water and highway engineers followed. Throughout the period the design team gave pin-up demonstrations to locals."

people and participation.net tell us

"Design Charrettes are 'a fun and innovative way to engage the public, especially in projects where there is a significant landscape, streetscape, or other interesting design element.

Design Charrettes are public workshops that include community members, design professionals, and other project staff. Charrettes can take place in a single session or be spread out among two or three workshops. The goal of the charette process is to capture the vision, values, and ideas of the community - with designers sketching to create alternatives and ideas as fast as they can be generated by the participants."

So:

Did we enjoy the Charrette in the Highlands?

Did the Charrette set out to capture the vision and ideas of the community as highlighted (extract above) on the participation.net web site?

What really changed as a result of the public input?

Why did the Chief Planner for Scotland give an opening address?