Speakers

Tamsin currently works as a Planning Manager at Hayfield Homes, a 5-Star House Builder based out of Solihull. She started her planning career in Planning Consultancies, working at both RPS and Turley, before moving to Hayfield to focus on residential development.

Tamsin has been on the RTPI West Midlands Young Planners committee since 2020. Tamsin is also a member and supporter of other organisations within the region, such as Women in Property. In her spare time, she enjoys keeping active by running and going to the gym.

Paige is a planning lawyer at Shoosmiths based in Birmingham with experience acting for both public and private sector clients including private landowners, developers, local authorities, registered providers/housing associations and lenders.

Paige has also worked for Milton Keynes Council, and whilst undergoing her training there, she was recognised for her commitment to her role and awarded Junior Lawyer of the Year 2018 by Lawyers in Local Government.

Susan is a Chartered Town Planner with over 30 years' experience as a planning practitioner in local government and over 13 years in the development industry. She was Head of Planning for six years at Northampton Borough Council and has a proven track record in successfully managing the department through a difficult period of change and transformation. Since 2014 Susan has worked as an independent planning consultant working with both public and private sector clients.  She has practical experience of dealing with a wide range of projects from rural exception sites to new settlements and sustainable urban extensions with a proven track record of working in partnership in a multi-agency and disciplinary environment. Susan was Chair of the Board of Trustees from July 2019 to December 2022 and is now President 2023.

Richard is a Senior Director at CBRE based in Birmingham with over 25 years public and private sector planning experience.  Richard specialises in large scale infrastructure projects, such as the HS2 Interchange Station in Solihull and the West Midlands Rail Freight Interchange in Staffordshire.  He also advises on complex major city centre developments, with recent examples including City Centre South in Coventry, New Garden Square in Edgbaston and Curzon Wharf in Birmingham city centre. 

Michael is a Director in the Savills Birmingham Planning team. Michael joined Savills as a non-cognate graduate in 2006 and has since amassed considerable experience in facilitating the delivery of residential development through the planning process from Local Plan promotion through to construction on-site, including complicated strategic projects, across the Midlands.

Claudia Carter is Professor in Environmental Governance and Planning at BCU and MA Planning Built Environment Course Lead.  Claudia’s research relates to urban and rural planning, environmental policies and management.  Of particular interest are social-ecological challenges, the societal and environmental impacts of consumerism and painfully slow awareness of, and responses to, rapid climate and environmental change.  Claudia enjoys working in inter- and transdisciplinary teams testing new approaches and methods, including exploring the creative process of board games as a way to facilitate engagement, learning, collaboration and change.

Richard Cocker is a dedicated Landscape & Playground Designer (Trustee for Play England), trained to MLA in Landscape Architecture (Planning and Design) with a proven record over the last 20 years of using his passion and flare to create landscape designed play spaces that not only look aesthetically pleasing but provide a positive user experience. As a trustee for Play England his aim to provide the very best information to anyone considering a play space and want it to really engage with our future adults.

Lloyd Collins has recently been appointed to Environment Bank’s cross-disciplinary team of ecological, planning, technical, geospatial, and legal BNG specialists as Principal Planner. Lloyd works closely with our developer clients and the wider team to guide land and planning directors and their consultants through the often high-stakes BNG aspects of the planning process. Lloyd has many years of experience in the private sector and spent several years leading projects for a range of retail, mixed-use, leisure and hospitality, residential, and commercial clients across England, and Wales, and leading on Sustainability.

Rob is Managing Director at RCA Regeneration Limited, having established the company in 2009. He is a dual qualified Chartered Town Planner and Chartered Surveyor and a Registered Valuer with extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. For a large part of his career, Rob has specialised in valuation and appraising development projects for the award of grant, as well as assessing viability of projects on behalf of developers and local planning authorities.

Alexa Culver is General Counsel at Environment Bank. A lawyer with over 12 years’ experience working on land and planning-based projects and in the emerging fields of Natural Capital and environmental legislation, Alexa ensures that all legal aspects of our Habitat Bank model are robust, and legal transactions progress smoothly as we bring forward our national network of Habitat Banks.

Maria is a Chartered Town Planner with over 16 years experience in the public sector.  Maria joined Birmingham City Council in January 2020 as Head of Development Policy. Maria’s current role includes leading planning policy and economic policy for Birmingham. Maria chaired RTPI West Midlands in 2018 and is a member of the RTPI West Midlands Regional Management Board. Maria is also a member of RTPI general Assembly. Maria was named the West Midlands Young Planner of the Year in 2013, was shortlisted for the national Young Planner of the Year in 2014 and was featured in The Planner’s Women of Influence in 2019 and 2023.

Tullula Farrell is a Senior Consultant at Carrington West who specialises in providing permanent town planning recruitment solutions to private sector companies and local authorities. She has a number of years of experience in recruitment and is an associate member of REC. Tullula prides herself on building exceptional relationships with new and existing clients and candidates and delivering an outstanding service to all.

Tim Fawcett is the Birmingham Cities Lead at Mott MacDonald – a role which brings together the best of Mott MacDonald for the benefit of the West Midlands region. Tim is passionate about infrastructure’s role in its unlocking social, environmental, and economic potential and he challenges people to look for unintended consequences and unrealised opportunities. His background as a civil engineer, and 20 years’ experience of conceiving and delivering infrastructure and development projects globally, gives him a perspective on how an outcomes-focussed approach can allow stakeholders and project teams to both communicate and maximise benefits.

Charles is a Geographer and trained Planner with research and teaching interests in strategic planning/regional governance, community involvement, housing supply/affordability and planning history. His ESRC-funded doctoral research focused on the Green Belt, England's housing crisis and the planning system and is published in a range of practitioner and academic outlets. Charles' research is now moving into post-Covid cities and the greening of urban centres. A particular passion of Charles' is strengthening the links between the academy and planning practice.

Jessica is an Associate Director in the Savills Birmingham Planning team. Jessica moved to Birmingham in September 2015 to join the Savills graduate programme and now primarily works on strategic residential sites across the Midlands. Jessica has been on the West Midlands Young Planners committee since 2017 and has assisted in organising a range of CPD and social events during that time.

Sian is an experienced Director who Co-owns RCA, having worked for planning authorities, developers and planning consultancies over the course of a career spanning over 25 years. Sian is a chartered town planner as well as being a chartered surveyor so understands how to make development work. She spends much of her time overseeing the work of her team, and leading on major residential and renewable energy projects throughout the UK as well as providing expert witness services at public inquiries. Sian also acts for councils on complex enforcement casework including Gypsies and Travellers. 

In her spare time Sian enjoys snowboarding, crossfit and travelling with her family. 

Maggie Grogan joined Muse in 2020 and quickly made an impact, leading the creation of successful, sustainable places in the North West and securing new business.

More recently, she has turned her attention to developing Muse’s presence in the Midlands. In 2022, Muse was appointed by Arden Cross Limited, as regeneration partner for the 346-acre, £3.2 billion destination that will be a world-class environment for working, living, learning and leisure.

Mel Jones is Head of Transport Planning for Birmingham City Council.  A transport planner by trade, with a background in transportation policy, Mel has worked for the council for 22 years, having started on their transportation graduate programme.  In more recent years her focus has been on bringing together travel demand management with traffic management to keep the city moving during an intense period of development and regeneration and leading on the development of the transformational Birmingham Transport Plan.  As a busy working mother, Mel has little time for much outside of work, but is always sure to get her steps in – and is well known for baking a cake or two.    

Selina Mason is an Architect and masterplanner who is responsible for delivering high quality design and masterplanning across Lendlease’s UK and Europe urban regeneration portfolio. Currently she is also Development Director on Smithfield Birmingham.
Selina also has an Honorary Fellowship from RIBA and she is a Design Council Ambassador and was recently appointed by the Government to the Urban Centre Recovery Task Force.

Simon has worked for BCC for over 34 years in a number of roles but all related to the natural environment.

Currently the Strategic Lead for Urban Forestry and Nature and part of the broader Planning and Development Department, Simons work contributes to broader planning and development matters including natural environment input to master planning such as for the city’s Future City Plan, Smithfield development and of course Biodiversity Net Gain.

Matt is a Legal Director at Shoosmiths based in London and advises on all aspects of planning and highways law.  He has experience in both contentious and non-contentious matters, including complex section 106 agreements, highway agreements and stopping-up, compulsory purchase, environmental impact assessments.  Matt has gained significant experience in both making and defending judicial reviews and statutory challenges. 

Matt also has recent experience in advising on a range of nutrient neutrality, water neutrality and BNG issues within the development market.

Dr Mary Orhewere is the Assistant Director for Environmental Public Health, Health Protection & Place at Birmingham City Council. Mary has many years professional practice across a number of Local Authorities with a focus on public health. Her role across both health and place means that Mary is perfectly positioned to discuss the impacts of, and relationship between, the built environment and health.

Kevin O’Shea is a specialist recruiter providing interim and permanent talent solutions for UK local council planning departments. Having built extensive industry knowledge, focusing on exceptional client and candidate care, Kevin is now Department Manager of town planning and property, leading a division of high-performing consultants. His stellar reputation stems from successfully placing town planners of various disciplines, and he has attended many RTPI events to share his insight in the industry.

As Sandwell Council’s Capital Projects Manager, Alex has responsibility for a portfolio of major capital regeneration projects, including the Sandwell Aquatic Centre, which played host to the B2022 Commonwealth Games. Alex has worked in public-sector regeneration since 2018 and graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2020. He obtained chartered membership of the RTPI in 2022. Alex has sat on the WM YP Committee for over a year and currently serves as the committee Treasurer

Mark is a director in the Savills economics team and has an extensive background in property economics, development viability, and commercial market assessments.

Mark joined Savills in March 2018 and has been involved in helping to grow the economics team from 6 staff to nearly 20.  Mark has over 20 years experience and has worked in regional government including the Greater London Authority and London development agency as well as in local government where he was responsible for preparing local planning policies and assessing major strategic schemes.

Glen is an Associate Partner in the Planning and Development team based in Carter Jonas’ Cambridge office.  Glen has over 30 years of experience in planning and urban design, mostly gained in the public sector, and works within the firm’s Masterplanning and Urban Design Team.  Glen regularly advises on landscape and open space requirements and strategies for development sites and has experience in preparing and assessing townscape and visual impact assessments. 

Catriona is a chartered town planner with extensive experience working within and with local authorities and their partners. As Director of Catriona Riddell & Associates, she provides support on a wide range of planning issues but specialises in strategic planning, helping local authorities to develop their partnership roles and implement long term integrated strategic planning frameworks. Previous roles include Head of Strategic Planning at Surrey County Council and Director of Planning at the South East England Regional Assembly. Catriona is the Strategic Planning Specialist for the Planning Officers’ Society (POS), Vice-Chair of the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) and a regular columnist for Planning Magazine. In 2022 Catriona was awarded a Honorary Doctorate from Oxford Brookes University for her services to planning and became a Fellow of the RTPI.

Catriona say "The Awards are a brilliant opportunity to celebrate all the fantastic things planners do for people and places. I was delighted to be invited to be part of the judging panel this year as it allows me to see all of the entries, not just the winners, and how planning is influencing the way we live and work, how planning is being used to  build economic and climate resilience, and how it is improving the overall quality of health and wellbeing."

Harley has a particular interest in public rights of way, commons, and town and village green. He has assisted with a DMMO inquiry, and has published work in the Modern Law Review on recent developments in town and village green law.

Harley has a Master’s degree in Urban Studies which explored issues in urban planning and development. As part of his studies, he met policymakers and local government officials in cities across Europe, providing valuable insight into planning policy.

Andrew is a Senior Director at CBRE based in Birmingham working nationally in regeneration and economics. He advises clients on economic impact, regeneration strategies, business cases and public sector funding including levelling up submissions. Andrew has worked throughout his career in both the public and private sectors including director level appointments in local government at Birmingham City Council, Cheshire East Council and Worcester City Council where he has led planning, property, regeneration departments and advised on major schemes such as HS2 in Crewe and New St Station and Paradise Circus in Birmingham.

[email protected]

Mark is a rural partner responsible for Carter Jonas’ rural team based in Cambridge. Mark has over 25 years experience advising private and institutional clients on the asset management of rural property. On a national basis Mark also leads Carter Jonas Natural Capital offer, providing advice on public goods space and the embryonic markets for environmental services. Specifically, the team have gained specialist knowledge in the delivery of and market for Biodiversity Net Gain.

Sarah has over 16 years’ experience in planning across London Boroughs and the GLA and now leads the planning function at Birmingham City Council, one of the largest Local Planning Authorities in the country.

Sarah has expert skills across all planning disciplines and has significant experience in driving sustainable growth and delivering positive outcomes. She has a desire to create great places to live, visit and work, and is a passionate advocate of the planning sector.

Sandeep has over 25 years’ experience in the transport sector and is responsible for leading the development of strategic partnerships at regional, national and international levels to facilitate the development of integrated transport programmes ready for delivery.  Sandeep works strategically with partners to deliver the right transport solutions that benefit a wider investment, economic growth, creating great vibrant places and supporting our residents and business through greater connectivity through sustainable and clean transport options. Sandeep is also a board director for Colmore Business Improvement District and a member of METREX’s (The Network of European Metropolitan Regions and Areas) Managing Committee. 

Bart is a Senior Planning Policy Officer at Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. He is working on the preparation of the borough’s new Local Plan as well as undertaking monitoring and providing policy advice to developers. He graduated with a MSc in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Birmingham in 2018 and was elected as a chartered member of the RTPI in 2020. He has previously worked in other public and private sector planning roles.

Laura was appointed Chief Executive of the WMCA in November 2021. Having previously led Transport for West Midlands, she has expanded her focus to include driving inclusive economic growth; increasing skills provision; regenerating land and housing; enhancing the environment and improving transport connectivity across the region.  Most recently Laura has led in securing the region’s Deeper Devolution Deal which will see a seismic shift in power and influence from Westminster to the West Midlands.

Sam is a Chartered Town Planner with skills and experience accumulated across the public and private sectors. In Sam’s previous role as Regional Strategic Land Director at Barratt Developments he worked with the Divisional Barratt and David Wilson businesses in the Northwest and West Midlands to manage their strategic land portfolios. In his current role with the HBF he seeks to represent the interests of the housebuilding sector in discussions about national and local planning policy in England and Wales.

Bethan was previously Head of Legacy at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and is now Head of Group Finance at Tara Group based in the West Midlands.

A Chartered Accountant by background, Bethan led a Legacy Team that collectively secured more than £80million in additional investment into the region. In 2023, she moved to support the WMCA in successfully lobbying central government to retain a Games underspend of c. £60million.

Bethan also spearheaded the Games’ ‘Gen22’ youth social action programme which has to date supported more than 1,500 at risk young people to access better opportunities.

Sarah is a Head Of Planning and Enabling in the Homes England Central Development team. Sarah has worked with Homes England and its predecessor organisations for over 15 years. She is responsible for managing a team of Planning and Enabling managers to help deliver the Agency’s development pipeline (from acquisition through to disposal), with a particular focus on large scale strategic development projects. She is passionate about Homes England’s mission to drive regeneration and housing delivery to create high-quality homes and thriving places. This will support greater social justice, the levelling up of communities across England and the creation of places people are proud to call home.

Will is a Principal Associate in the planning team at Shoosmiths. He advises on a wide range of planning legal matters from s106 agreements to High Court challenges and infrastructure planning/compulsory purchase. Will mainly act for developers and investors but does some work for the public sector. A career highlight is acting for Historic England in the judicial review claim brought by the action group “Save Stonehenge” against the Secretary of State’s decision to approve a new road tunnel beneath the monument.

Following a successful run as Director of Legacy for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Nicola Turner MBE now heads the official Games legacy charity, United By 2022, as Executive Director. United By 2022 is continuing successful Games initiatives which have made measurable difference in underserved places. Bring the Power, Gen22, Critical Mass, Volunteering and Social Value all aim to improve physical activity and wellbeing, civic pride and community cohesion.

Carly is a leading infrastructure specialist, leading multidisciplinary teams to secure consents for complex infrastructure projects.

Before Quod Carly was the Chief Planning Officer at EDF, leading planning and land teams to secure the consents for the Sizewell C nuclear power station, as well as gas and renewable energy projects. Carly is an advisor to Government on nuclear power matters, as well as providing strategic advice to developers on a range of energy projects.

Jenny Wigley KC is a barrister at Landmark Chambers specialising in planning, environmental and non-domestic rating law.  She frequently appears in planning inquiries, the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.  She represents developers, public interest groups, campaign groups, local authorities and central government agencies.  She is currently advising a large unitary local authority in defending refusals of Schedule 17 applications by HS2.  She is also representing National Highways in the High Court in statutory reviews of highway schemes and she is representing the Ministry of Justice in planning appeals for two major new prisons.  Jenny was nominated as a ‘Planner Woman of Influence’ in 2021 and she was appointed Joint Head of Chambers in May this year.

Kim practises across the spectrum of planning law, regularly appearing at inquiries on behalf of both developers and local planning authorities, representing both claimants and defendants in judicial review and s.288 appeal proceedings, and advising on a wide range of planning related issues. Kim also practises property law and is developing a particular specialism in the areas of overlap between the two disciplines such as land options, restrictive covenants and compulsory purchase.

In her first few years of practice, Kim has appeared in ten successful planning appeals (regularly led by Sasha White KC), balanced alongside high court and property work. She acted for the successful Appellant (led by Alex Goodman KC) in the recent Supreme Court decision in Day v Shropshire County Council which concerned a challenge to the grant of planning permission for housing on land subject to a statutory trust for public recreational purposes.