
Imogen Hopkin
Committee member of West Midlands Young Planners' Committee

Imogen Hopkin
Committee member of West Midlands Young Planners' Committee
Imogen is a Senior Planning Officer at Cherwell District Council and has worked in various Development Management teams for Local Authorities since July 2018. Alongside her earlier roles, Imogen completed her Master’s degree part-time in Planning Built Environments at Birmingham City University. Imogen deals with a range of planning applications, from householder applications to major developments. Imogen has recently submitted her APC and is hoping to achieve chartership in the (very) near future.

Mark McFadden MRTPI
Chair of West Midlands Young Planners' Committee

Mark McFadden MRTPI
Chair of West Midlands Young Planners' Committee
Mark is an Associate Director in CBRE’s Midlands and South Planning & Development team, based in Birmingham. He advises a range of clients on the delivery of mixed-use regeneration, infrastructure and logistics projects. He is experienced in strategic planning and business case advisory, having recently supported local authorities with applications for Towns Fund and Levelling Up Fund. Mark has been involved with YPWM since 2019 and is leading on organisation of the Conference with the Committee.

Frances Keenan MRTPI
Committee member of West Midlands Young Planners' Committee

Frances Keenan MRTPI
Committee member of West Midlands Young Planners' Committee
Frances is a Planning Manager at Spitfire Homes with five years of experience in both the public and private sector. She completed her Masters in Planning and the Built Environment from Birmingham City University and became a Chartered Member of the RTPI in June 2022. Frances is responsible for managing the planning elements of all development projects from initial review stage through to completion on site.

Polly Mathews
Committee member of West Midlands Young Planners' Committee

Polly Mathews
Committee member of West Midlands Young Planners' Committee
Polly currently works at St Joseph Homes as a Land and Planning Manager, covering the West Midlands. During her time at St Joseph, Polly manages a number of sites through all planning phases, including pre and post planning, and enjoys working closely with each of the sites to see them progress from typically brownfield sites, to flourishing new communities.
Polly joined the WM Young Planners Committee in February 2019, and has been involved in organising a number of events, and now takes on the role of co-chairing the 2023 Committee.
In her free time Polly attempts to learn Spanish, and enjoys taking time out to go travelling.

Molly Stanley
Committee member of West Midlands Young Planners' Committee

Molly Stanley
Committee member of West Midlands Young Planners' Committee
Molly Stanley is a Principal Planner at CarneySweeney based in Birmingham City Centre. She currently advises a range of private sector clients on residential, commercial and logistics developments ranging from tall buildings to large-scale employment park expansions. Molly has previously worked with Local Authorities across the West Midlands on Local Plan preparation, as well as spending six months on a work placement with Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council in 2017.
Molly joined the RTPI West Midlands Young Planners committee in 2019 and became a chartered member of the RTPI in Spring 2022. She also sits on the Women in Planning West Midlands committee.

Louisa Ward MRTPI
Co-Chair West Midlands Young Planners' Committee

Louisa Ward MRTPI
Co-Chair West Midlands Young Planners' Committee
Louisa became a chartered member of the RTPI in early 2021. Louisa is currently engaged in projects in the housing, commercial, industrial, education and defence sectors. In March 2020, Louisa had an academic paper published in the Planning Practice and Research journal. The paper, titled ‘Disability, Terror and Safety in the City: Charting Individuals’ Spatio-temporal Encounters with Counter-terrorism Measures in Birmingham, UK’, responds to recent calls for further work on vulnerable people’s experiences of official planned attempts to create safe cities.
Louisa joined the WM Young Planners Committee in March 2020, and has been involved in organising a number of events, and now takes on the role of co-chairing the 2023 Committee. In her free time Louisa enjoys going travelling to see new places, whether that is the UK or overseas.