Current position:
Planning policy officer, London Borough of Haringey

Employment history:
Planning support officer, Cork County Council, 2005
Research assistant, Port of Leith Housing Association, 2007
Community planning officer, Planning Aid North, 2007

Professional qualifications:
BSc (Hons) in Geography and Economics, Trinity College Dublin, 2005
Masters in Urban and Regional Planning, Heriot-Watt University, 2007
Licentiate member of RTPI since October 2008

Experience and achievement:
Clodagh McGuirk joined the planning policy team at the London Borough of Haringey in January 2009. She took a lead role in the consultation for the local development framework core strategy preferred options. This involved rolling out a programme and facilitating workshops and events across the borough to engage with all members of the community in issues relating to this 15-year plan. Outcomes from the consultation have contributed to development of policies in the LDF and raised understanding of planning in the community.

Clodagh is also working on Haringey’s housing policy, including dealing with the provision of affordable housing in the downturn; its health and well-being policy, setting out planning policies for healthier lifestyles and community well-being; and the annual monitoring report assessing the performance of the borough’s planning policies.

As a community planner with Planning Aid North (PAN), she worked on projects in the North East focusing on community participation in local regeneration schemes and consultation on local policy. Her work with PAN was based on a community-led action plan approach to achieve the most sustainable outcomes. She has worked with many hard to reach groups, including young people, engaging with them in the development of plans and policies affecting their local environment and futures. She facilitated a community planning module at Newcastle University for planning students and supervised degree and masters research projects based on public participation in planning

As a voluntary research assistant with Port of Leith Housing Association, Clodagh helped to produce a regeneration strategy for the local community. This involved developing community projects with the team, external agencies and the community. She was a member of Leith Neighbourhood Partnership, a pilot scheme to develop a community engagement strategy for the area, co-ordinating local structures and identifying gaps in services. She wrote her dissertation on community development in urban Scotland and the delivery of regeneration initiatives.

Clodagh’s interest in planning and urban studies developed during her first degree in geography and economics and her first dissertation. which looked at the urban restructuring and micro-area planning in inner city Dublin. She is currently working on her assessment of professional competence and aims to become a corporate member of the RTPI in 2010.

Statement:
My career in planning has so far been challenging, varied and rewarding. I believe planning plays a vital role in promoting sustainable development and improving standards in our built and natural environment and ultimately, in our lives. Young planners have a central role in bringing this new culture of planning forward, and should be active in community engagement. I have enjoyed my experience of working with different communities, and my involvement in planning education with young people, and planning students. I would like to continue to promote planning as a positive and participatory career.

Citation:
Clodagh holds a strong belief that planners should always do their utmost best in ensuring community involvement in the plan-making process. She understands the importance of planning to our local communities and our daily lives. Within a short timescale, she has developed a wide-ranging programme for Haringey’s core strategy preferred options consultation. She showed great sensitivity, originality and flexibility in working with diverse communities in Haringey. She has orchestrated successful Planning for Real exercises in Haringey and arranged focus groups for hard to reach communities. She has worked in partnership with local communities to create tailor-made events ranging from neighbourhood meetings to an older people’s forum and successful discussion sessions on the built environment and young people’s needs.

Sule Nisanciouglu, Head of Planning Policy and Design, London Borough of Haringey

Author:

Judy Woollett

Publisher:

The Royal Town Planning Institute

Date:

23-Nov-09

Categories:

 

This article has been read 1902 times.