Meet our Judges

Lynette has been a chartered town planner for more than 12 years. She is currently an Associate Director at Savills based across the company’s Peterborough, Cambridge and Lincoln offices. She is responsible for a wide range of planning projects across the Midlands and Eastern regions. Lynette joined Savills in January and before this worked for Lincoln-based planning consultants Globe Limited. She has also worked for Lincolnshire County Council, Harbrough District Council, and started her career at Weatherall, Green & Smith and Urban Practitioners. Until September 2017, Lynette was Vice Chair of the RTPI East Midlands and remains an active member of the Regional Board. Lynette is also a member of the RTPI’s General Assembly at present, representing the East Midlands. Outside of work, Lynette enjoys spending time with her young family, baking, running and going to gigs when time allows!

Jessica is an Associate Director at Turley based in their Midlands office and is Co-Chair of the East Midlands Women in Planning Committee. In her role at Turley, Jessica manages a diverse range of projects, with a particular focus on strategic residential planning. Outside of work, Jessica is a keen baker and enjoys travelling to interesting new places.

Chris is a Chartered Town Planner with just over 20 years’ experience in planning, working across several roles at Bolsover District Council in Derbyshire prior to becoming a Principal Planning Officer within the Planning Policy team. Chris’ most recent experience has been playing a leading role in the preparation of Bolsover’s new Local Plan and driving it forward to adoption. This has involved Chris being responsible for developing and bringing forward the Local Plan’s strategic site allocations, infrastructure projects, housing sites and advocating the Council’s case through the Local Plan Examination. Chris retains a passion for planning and the difference it can make in the world and he has a particular interest in harnessing the power of planning to help communities adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Whilst not new to regional activities, this is Chris’ first role with the RTPI East Midlands Branch.

Stephen is Team Manager in the Planning Policy department at Nottinghamshire County Council. With a planning career spanning 30 years Stephen is a committed and respected planning manager who delivers plans and services shaped by consensus and collaboration, working with colleagues, elected Councillors and local communities to support new development which meets future needs whilst safeguarding and enhancing the built and natural environment.

David has held various professional planning positions in a local government career lasting more then 30 years. He has been Director for Planning and Regeneration at Harborough District Council since 2015 and in this role, among other achievements, he has overseen the adoption of the district-wide local plan, and he is now busy preparing another plan to ensure the district's plan-led strategy remains up to date. He is also an experienced lead of the Council's Development Management Service which also covers Heritage and Conservation and Planning Enforcement. He enjoys leading the busy Planning Department with its variety of work to get involved in. 

Prior to becoming Director of Planning, David was Head of the West Northamptonshire Joint Planning Unit. This had the status of a strategic planning policy making planning authority providing strategic plan making services to the partner Councils of Northamptonshire County Council, Daventry District, Northampton Borough and South Northamptonshire Councils.

He has had a varied and full planning careers to date and is also experienced in leading Economic Development, Waste and Recycling and Public Open Space management services

Steve re-joined the RMB/RAC in 2018 after a long “break”, having previously served on the regional committee back in the 2000s. For next year, he is taking on the role of East Midlands representative on the RTPI’s Nations and Regions Committee. Based in Lincoln, Steve heads up the plan-making and placemaking studio, OpenPlan, which operates mostly in two strangely diverse regions: the East Midlands and the West Indies (Caribbean). Steve is particularly interested in developing the application of spatial planning skills and insights to build resilience and adaptation to the impacts of climate change. He sees national and international knowledge sharing and transfer as being crucial to effective planning.

Megan is 2025 Chair of the RTPI East Midlands Young Planners Committee, and Junior Vice Chair of the RTPI East Midlands RMB/RAC Committee. Megan is a Chartered member of the RTPI and CIH and currently works for Marrons as a Planning Director. She specialises in residential and economic development, including the preparation of Local Plan evidence, 5-Year Housing Land Supply Assessments and Economic Benefits Assessments. Alongside her strategic planning work, Megan prepares and manages a range of residential planning applications for local and national developers and housebuilders. Prior to joining DLP, she worked in housebuilding and strategic land promotion. Megan joined the East Midlands Young Planners Committee in 2021 and has assisted in organising both in-person and webinar-based events for RTPI members. Outside of planning, she enjoys travelling, reading and spoiling her nephew.