Leading from the front - how Local Authorities can mainstream Design

Pamela is Planning, Building Standards and Environmental Health Manager for West Dunbartonshire Council. She has worked for the Council for over 17 years and previously worked for East Ayrshire Council. Pamela studied Planning at Queens University Belfast. She has a strong interest and is passionate in creating high quality places and buildings. West Dunbartonshire is one of the smallest Councils in Scotland however it is one of the more ambitious Councils and the planning process is being used to assist in changing the prosperity and future prospects of the area by creating high quality places.  

She is responsible for pioneering the Place and Design Panel, the first time a Design Panel has been set up in a more deprived area. She was also responsible for setting up the award winning  elected member briefing at the pre application stage a process that  together with the Place and Design Panel has become embedded in the planning process.   

She is Senior Vice Convenor of Heads of Planning Scotland (HOPS) Executive Committee. She was  pleased to be recognised as a “Women of Influence  - The Planner” in terms of her role in encouraging teams to work collaboratively across local authority, NHS, private sector and local communities and being not afraid to do things differently.

Victoria Hills MRTPI FICE is Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute with over 22 years in senior roles in planning, transport, organisational leadership and development. She latterly led the UK’s largest regeneration project at Old Oak.

Using the convening role of the Institute, she makes the case for resourcing planning and advocating the important role of putting planning at the heart of government delivery for the quality places that people want to live in. She is driving forward delivery of the RTPI’s Corporate Strategy for the 26,000 member strong RTPI, focussing on raising the profile of planning, elevating the value of professionalism, and promoting a diverse and inclusive profession to ensure genuine representation of the society in which we work. Victoria is also currently serving as a Commissioner on the Essex Climate Action Commission and sits on the Advisory Group to the Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Commission.

Vicky Robinson is the Chief Planning Inspector for Planning and Environment Decisions Wales - Wales’ dedicated service for scrutinising draft Development Plans, and determining applications for Developments of National Significance, planning appeals and specialist environmental casework. In this role, Vicky leads a team of Planning Inspectors and operational staff who process a variety of planning and environmental cases across Wales on behalf of the Welsh Ministers.

Vicky studied BSc (HONS) in City and Regional Planning followed by a Diploma in Town Planning at Cardiff University in 2004. Vicky was formerly Operational Manager for Planning and Building Control at the Vale of Glamorgan Council where she led the Planning Policy Team through the Local Development Plan Examination and managed the Development Management and Building Control regulatory functions.

Vicky is a practitioner representative on the Cardiff University and RTPI Partnership Board and was recognised in The Planner’s Women of Influence list 2024 for her work championing the planning profession.

Andy is an architect with over 30 years’ experience in the design and delivery of housing and regeneration for the private and public sector.

He has been a consultant at the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government advising on design quality, housing supply and estate regeneration programmes and was appointed Head of Architecture at MHCLG in March 2019.

He draws from extensive experience as former Chairman of a large, award winning architectural practice specialising in housing. He has co-authored influential reports on standards and quality in housing developments.

He is passionate about good design and has supported the newly established Design Team in MHCLG, promoting and advocating good practice. He is committed to working closely with communities on the design of their neighbourhoods and homes, and to supporting the architectural profession to achieve places and homes that reflect occupiers needs and aspirations.

Andy was former Chairman of the Housing Forum, a cross housing industry membership organisation, and is a member of the NHBC Foundation Expert Panel.