Nikola Miller: 2011 Young Planner of the Year

I am extremely passionate about planning and my enthusiasm is evident to all who meet me. I believe as Young Planner of the Year I would be an ideal ambassador for the profession. Through my work and voluntary positions, I reach out regularly to a many planners, and would seek to further these existing links through the delivery of relevant and effective CPD/networking opportunities, APC advice, student mentoring and training.

I believe that as planners we should look not only within the profession, but also to related professions and beyond, promoting planning as a positive process for change and a mechanism to emerge from recession through the delivery of viable developments and sustainable economic growth.

Citation

Nikola is an incredibly capable and enthusiastic young planner who has already brought a lot to the profession. She will continue to add greatly to the profession throughout her career and deserves to be acknowledged at this stage for her excellent contribution.

Having already worked in a number of different planning roles, Nikola contributes a wealth of knowledge to the profession and boasts a variety of skills and experience which I believe would outweigh most of her contemporaries. Nikola is heavily involved voluntarily with the RTPI and Planning Aid. These roles add to her long list of capabilities, further highlighting her continuing commitment to the profession.

Kathryn Hume, Planning Aid for Scotland

Experience and achivements

Professional Qualifications
MA (Hons) Geography University of St Andrews (2005)
MSc Urban and Regional Planning Heriot Watt University (2006)
MRTPI (2008)

Current Position
Planning Consultant Smiths Gore (November 2011 Present)

Employment History
Graduate Planner GVA Grimley Ltd (2006-2008)
Planner GVA Grimley Ltd (2009-2011)
Development Officer Planning Aid for Scotland (secondment 2010-2011)
Planner Miller Developments Ltd (May-October 2011)

Experience
Nikola started her planning career after graduating from the University of St Andrews in a summer placement with North Ayrshire Councils Development Management department, after which she gained an MSc in Urban and Regional Planning from Heriot Watt University.

Nikola joined GVA as a graduate planner whilst completing her masters, moving on to planner position once becoming chartered. She has undertaken a varied workload as a consultant, from the preparation of a Masterplan for the redevelopment of Scottish coastal village John O'Groats, to the preparation, submission, and negotiation of 15 simultaneous planning applications for a large-scale mixed-use redevelopment Edinburgh city-centre.

Nikola completed her Masters dissertation on emerging Scottish Government Policy on community engagement. This initial interest in engagement has remained with her, and a key part of Nikolas consultancy role has been to design and deliver community engagement programmes for large-scale applications and Masterplan/Development Brief sites. This led to Planning Aid for Scotland (PAS) offering Nikola a secondment, a position which allowed her to further develop her understanding of planning and engagement from a different perspective, reflecting on the impact of planning on communities.

As Development Officer, Nikola worked to develop and deliver training to communities, encouraging better engagement with the planning system. She had a particular focus on creating an education programme to engage primary children in planning, which has (amongst PASs other achievements) resulted in nomination for SCVO Charity of the Year.

Following this secondment, Nikola joined Miller Developments as an in-house planning consultant, utilising her consultancy and consultation experience directly on a number of large-scale mixed use developments nationwide.

Nikola has now moved on from urban planning and regeneration schemes to the rural planning sector, joining the planning team at Smiths Gore in November 2011, working on a range of rural planning work from small-scale housing in the countryside applications, to large-scale site promotions for a range of clients, mainly large rural estates.

Nikola is an enthusiastic individual, passionate about the profession. She is committed to continuing professional development, both personally through volunteering for PAS, and also the professional development of other planners as the current Convener of the RTPI ELBF Chapter, leading the committee in organising and delivering CPD/networking events for members. As well as building relationships with other planners, Nikola is committed to forging links between planners and other related professions, pushing planning to the forefront of discussion on a national level. She has organised a joint hustings event with BEFS prior to the recent Scottish elections, bringing together parliamentary candidates from political parties and built environment professionals to discuss planning issues.

Nikola already represents young planners through her role on the Scottish Young Planners Network (SYPN) Steering Group, working with the group to provide APC advice to young planners, an annual conference and other CPD/networking opportunities. She is a role model for planners at the beginning of their career and has maintained links with her planning school, becoming a mentor for undergraduate planning students.

Outwith the profession, Nikola is a keen runner and singer in a local Edinburgh band.