About RTPI Northern Ireland

The Irish Branch of the RTPI was formed in 1941/42, the first Chairman was Herbert G Simms ARIBA. It continued like this until 1974 when the Irish Branch was split into 2 autonomous sections North and South. George Worthington was the first Chairman of the Northern Section.

Since this time the committee has been chaired by a varied mix of chartered planners who have collectively worked, with a dedicated committee of volunteers to progress the profession, shape policy and create an environment that will be a legacy for future generations to be proud.

In March 2012 David Brown took over the chair from Diana Thompson. David has worked in the Northern Ireland Housing Executive for 15 years, while in contrast Diana's background comes from the private sector, having spent 11 years with the team at Michael Burroughs Associates in Holywood, Co Down.

RTPI NI Chair looks forward 

David Brown considers the year ahead and what he hope to achieve through planning for the profession and the people of Northern Ireland. David Brown is the 2012 Chair of RTPI NI, after formally taking on the role at this years Annual Dinner held in the Harbour Commissioners Building in March.

David has spent 15 years working as a planner in the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the Regional Housing Authority, after starting his career in DOE Planning Service in the late 1990s. He completed his Masters Degree in Town Planning at Queens University Belfast, and has a primary Masters Degree in Geography from Edinburgh University.

He has been a member of the RTPI Northern Ireland Committee for six years, and has been the NI representative on the RTPI Urban Design Network.

David is keen to build on the re-structuring of the Northern Ireland Branch Committee and has set up four Sub-groups with specific roles and responsibilities dealing with Policy, Events, Media and Young Planners. RTPI NI has 18 enthusiastic Committee members working alongside the Chair and the outcome of the year will be an all-round team effort.

This structure is also enhanced by the recent appointments of Roisin Willmott as Head of RTPI NI, and Claire Williamson as NI Policy Officer.

David's theme for 2012 is Planning for People. Under this theme RTPI NI hopes to deliver on three fronts:

• Continue to support RTPI members in Northern Ireland by delivering a programme of CPD events, professional advice, support and social events. This is set against the backdrop of Planning in Difficult Times, the current RTPI Presidential theme, as planners and others working in the built and natural environment, continue to struggle in tough economic times.
• Collaborative working with other like-minded professionals. Pooling scarce resources together is a sensible and desirable approach that adds value. RTPI NI hopes to engage and work with a range of bodies RSPB, IPI, PLACE, EPLANI, Academy of Urbanism, the Urban Design Group etc in 2012. We also want to continue to foster our links with RTPI Southern Ireland.
• Community Planning. From his work in the Housing Executive, David is convinced that one of the key aspects of good community planning is building local capacity - creating sustainable communities by investing in local skills. This needs to be supported by Professional Planners who can help communities have a clearer understanding of how the planning process works and more importantly how they can genuinely influence decision making. RTPI NI recognises that they have a role to play in this process providing advice and expertise on a voluntary basis to enable local people to have a more realistic chance of shaping their own communities. With this in mind RTPI NI have already begun the process of considering if and how Planning Aid can be redelivered in Northern Ireland. We hope to hold a Conference on Community Planning later in the year to consider the emerging debate on how Community Planning will be shaped by the on-going Planning Reform process and the wider implications of RPA, as we move towards 2015.

Reflecting  on 2011/2012

Diana Thompson reflects on her year as Chairperson and her commitment to planning in Northern Ireland.

It has been another hectic and eventful year for the RTPI in Northern Ireland. To have served as chair has been both a privilege and also a very humbling experience. I have learnt so much about planners and planning but also a great deal about myself.

When I took office last February; we were on the brink of major change taking place in Planning; the emergence of a new Planning Bill, proposals for the reorganisation of Local Government and the de-agentisation and re-branding of Planning Service. We were also firmly in the grip of the deepest recession in living memory and for the first time in more than 30 years major public spending retrenchment.

However I hope like me you are beginning to sense that the tide may well be turning. In particular the welcome announcement in Wednesdays budget that Northern Ireland is to get its first Enterprise Zone. Then there is also the Our Time, Our Place marketing campaign that seeks to firmly put Northern Ireland on the global tourism map. And in just a few weeks, another important milestone will be reached with the regeneration of Titanic Quarter, when its iconic visitors centre opens to the public.

And of course all of this is set in context of Minister Attwoods pledge to get to grips with the Article 31s with a view to determining a high proportion of them by June; and whatever the outcome; it shows a clear commitment to move forward and make progress.

In preparation of the planning reform programme and in anticipation of economic recovery, my theme for the year was RTPI Ready and I have been reflecting what has been achieved by the branch during my term in office:

• We have influenced the shape of policy;
• We have delivered for and supported our members; and
• We have communicated the RTPI brand to government and the public.

We have had a particularly strong focus onplanning policyand as a branch we completed over 30 responses in the last year on a wide range of issues. An important aspect of the policy programme is to ensure we capture our members views. During the year we have encouraged lively debate and in some cases have been able to have a full and frank discussion on issues of particular importance. It is right that the RTPI should provide the forum to do this our Royal Charter requires it; and it ensures that policy is robust, fit for purpose and developed for the public good.

We have delivered for and supported our membersby organising a number of low cost and relevant programme of continuous professional development throughout the year. There is no doubt that the year has been challenging; but the profession has remained strong and indeed the private sector in particular continues to grow.

We have effectively communicated the RTPI brand to our members, other professional organisations, government and members of the public throughout the year by a number of events and activities. These have included the bi annual Sustainable Planning Awards organised in conjunction with RSPB, the pre Assembly elections hosting sessions involving four of the five main political parties and I have been glad to represent the Institute on the Ministers Planning Forum. However in the longer term there is a requirement for training to prepare our local councillors for the devolution of planning powers and the RTPI hopes to play a positive role in shaping the way the new decision makers manage development and other areas of spatial planning.

But so much more needs to be done; it can be difficult to keep a pace with the rapidly evolving technologies and emerging social networking techniques. They are powerful forms of media and the RTPI needs to capitalise on all opportunities and become smarter in the way it delivers its message to the public and communicates with its members. It still saddens me when I hear members battle cry; what has the RTPI ever done for me? We intend to work very hard on communicating the message to our members over the next year.

The success of our local members have also been elevated onto the national stage through the award to St Annes Square for Local Regeneration and Renewal and the Presidents Special Award to the work of Planning Service over the past 20 years. We are comparatively one of the smaller regions of the RTPI and I am thrilled that we are able year on year to punch well above our weight and receive national recognition.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my year as chair and I hope that I have made a useful contribution to the profession. I welcome my successor, David Brown; who has set himself a full programme of events and activities for the year. I know he will be a diligent and enthusiastic successor. I hope we can continue to serve the local members well and together we can create a planning system that responds to and can drive forward our economy and make an effective contribution to the well being of our country and its citizens.