Chair of SE judging panel

Karen Britton is the Head of Planning and Economic Development at Maidstone Borough Council. She leads a team of planning and economic development specialists, as well as managing the Maidstone Innovation Centre. The centre supports businesses in med-tech, life sciences and healthcare.  Her team is also shaping plans for two new garden communities. Together, they’ll deliver around 7,000 new homes, alongside jobs and new infrastructure. Before joining Maidstone, Karen worked at Canterbury City Council as Planning Manager, where she led the planning policy, heritage and planning enforcement teams.

Karen is a Chartered Town Planner with a wide range of experience across Northamptonshire and Kent, at both county and borough level. She’s led multiple Local Plans and heritage projects, including work on the Canterbury World Heritage Site Committee and the high‑profile Barnwell Manor legal case. She’s also been a guest lecturer at the University of Kent and has worked closely with local communities on neighbourhood plans. Along the way, she’s developed town centre strategies, masterplans and development briefs.

In 2019, Karen led the Canterbury team to win the South East RTPI Planning Award for Heritage and Culture. The winning project, A Heritage Strategy for Canterbury District, put heritage right at the heart of the council’s social and economic work.

Karen is a strong supporter of the RTPI’s Chief Planner of Tomorrow scheme. She’s passionate about making planning feel fresh, relevant and accessible — reaching new audiences, from local communities to school students.

Chair of South East region

Lara has worked across the built environment sector gaining experience in regeneration, planning and sustainability and has been a Chartered Member of the RTPI since 2013. She has a particular interest in improving the planning, design and management of the public realm as well as improving engagement with communities and stakeholders. Lara is Head of Regeneration and Sustainable Economy at Mid Sussex District Council leading teams delivering sustainable economic growth, regeneration and achievement of the Council’s Net Zero targets.

Lara say, “I am passionate about promoting built environment professions, working with schools and pupils of all ages to help them learn about the importance of our built environment and the key roles planning and other professions play. These awards are a great way of showcasing the fantastic work we do and the huge contribution planners and planning make.”

Stephen is a Chartered Fellow of the RTPI, Deputy Head of Profession for Defence Infrastructure Organisation and Fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.  With over 30 years of experience working across the UK, in the public and private sectors at National, Regional, County and District levels he is also a member of the RTPI South East Regional Activities Committee.  His work for the MOD has involved projects as far afield as the Ascension Islands and Belize.  He led the Town Planning work on the RTPI-SW & Sanctuary Award Winning Salisbury Plain Army Rebasing Plan, part of the largest relocation of British people since the Second World War  He’s currently working on some major redevelopments to deliver thousands of houses and new technical accommodation through consolidations of sites used by UK and US Visiting Forces.

Stephen say " Being a judge is a privilege and I’m keen to see achievements recognised and championed as good practice for others to learn from and follow."

Vice-chair of South East region

Joney Ramirez-Soto (pronounced ‘Honey’) is a Chartered planner and an Principal Strategic Planner at Oxfordshire County Council . She is originally from Venezuela, where she obtained a town planning degree and worked as a planner for 3 years. In 2012 she moved to the UK and worked as a planning officer in policy and DM on different LPAs in London and the South East. She specialises in residential, commercial and leisure developments and enjoys spending time with her partner, her baby and her 2 dogs, as well as singing in a choir. She volunteers with Bookmark, a charity that helps children improve their reading abilities.

Eleanor is known for her friendly yet no-nonsense approach. She has a range of public and private sector experience gained across the public and private sector ranging from preparing Local Plans to promoting schemes of 2,500+ homes.  Over the years Eleanor has developed an interest in community and Neighbourhood Planning helping a number of groups turn their ideas into 'made' plans. In 2014 she was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to Neighbourhood and Community Planning. Eleanor is a past chair of the Southeast Regional Activities Committee and is also an assessor for the RTPI’s APC process and sits as the Associate Route representative on the Membership Assessment Advisory Panel (MAAP).

Ellie says "I’ve always be passionate about celebrating excellent planning practice when so many are keen to talk down what we do. Joining the judging panel gives me an opportunity to look at some of the best projects across the South East and celebrate what planning is achieving."

Chris is an Associate Professor of Spatial Planning at the University of Reading. He is a chartered planner and started his career as a planning policy officer in English local government, following a PhD at the University of Sheffield. His research interests focus on issues of professionalism, decision-making and multi-scalar plan-making. He joined Real Estate & Planning in August 2019 as a Lecturer in Planning, with research interests in plan-making and professionalism.

Chris previously worked at Anglia Ruskin University and as a Planning Policy Officer for Bassetlaw District Council. Prior to this, he studied for his PhD at the University of Sheffield. His PhD draws on different ways in which the ‘public interest’ can be understood, and how these variations are present in plan-making. The fieldwork explored case studies of spatial plan-making in Central Lincolnshire and the Peak District National Park, using multiple qualitative methods. At the core of Chris’ research interests is understanding the relationship between normative theories of planning and the practice environment; both how planning theory should shape practice and how practice should influence the development of theory.

Chris says "I really enjoy learning about the people and exploring the interesting projects that are entered into the awards – it’s great to be part of recognising what good planning can achieve!”

Karen Jones is a retired planning law solicitor.

She is a highly regarded planning and environmental lawyer with over 30 years' experience in advising on strategic planning, planning appeals, public inquiries and environmental law, particularly nature conservation law.

Karen is a legal associate of the Royal Town Planning Institute (LARTPI) and holds both an LLB (Hons) Law and LLM Environmental Law from University College London. She previously taught at the College of Law and has lectured at the University of Reading's renowned School of Real Estate & Planning, part of Henley Business School.

Peter is currently a Principal Planning Consultant at SLR Consulting, based in Southampton. He has been a planner for 20 years, with most of that time spent in consultancy with various firms based in Hampshire, including Gillings Planning and Turley.  

Peter’s experience has focused on medium and larger scale residential schemes, both planning applications and site promotion. Peter also works with a range of clients to secure consent for care and nursing homes, particular for more complex projects or for more challenging sites.  

He also has a background in working with LPAs to help them prepare Local Plans and Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedules.  Outside work, Peter is a Scout Leader and enjoys live theatre and stand-up comedy.