Committee Members

Having previously been part of the RTPI North West Young Planners Committee, Christian now works as a Planner at Lanpro and is based in their Norwich office. Since July 2019, Christian has been writing for the Urbanist Platform which is an online platform designed to engage people from all backgrounds and abilities within the built environment sector. A keen interest in the physical development of the built environment, and the social value that comes with that, has motivated Christian’s career and it is what drives his wider engagement with the industry.

Errin is a Graduate Planner at Savills in their Cambridge office. Having graduated from Queen’s University of Belfast in 2020, Errin joined the RTPI Masters Apprenticeship scheme at Savills and is currently working towards her chartered membership status.

Beth is a Principal Planning Policy Officer at Colchester Borough Council and has seven years’ experience in local authority planning; having previously worked in Waste and Minerals Policy and the Lead Local Flood Authority teams for Essex County Council. Beth is currently chair of the RTPI East of England Young Planners and has successfully established a committee in 2020. She has a variety of specialisms from her roles and her work interests include Garden Communities, Green Infrastructure and Community Engagement. Although not a participant in sports herself, Beth enjoys supporting Norwich City FC and the England Roses. She also enjoys travelling having been to Bali, Budapest and Prague in recent years and hopes to be able to travel safely again soon!

John Mason is a planning consultant with Carter Jonas, based in their Cambridge Office.  He joined the company as a graduate planner after studying at the Universities of Cambridge and Vienna, and got his RTPI accreditation in 2018. He now works on a variety of public and private sector projects across East Anglia, and is also active in Carter Jonas’ graduate training programme and their Diversity and Inclusion committee. John originally hails from the Midlands but has been living, working and studying in the East of England region for the last ten years. Outside of work John enjoys visiting housing estates around the world, and regularly takes trips to visit family in India.

Genny is a land planner working for Persimmon Homes Essex. Her role involves working on a number of major applications for residential development and associated infrastructure within Essex. She is responsible for coordinating and submitting the planning applications on sites (Outline, reserved matters, full, discharge of conditions, advert etc.) from start to finish. Her role also involves promoting strategic land sites at all stages of the local plan process.

Prior to this, Genny worked for Castlepoint Borough Council as a Planning and Planning Enforcement Officer. The four years she spent within the development management team involved dealing with a varied caseload of different planning applications. She was also responsible for dealing with applications for protected tree works and, investigating breaches of planning control, issuing enforcement notices where necessary.

Her academic background includes a Geography 2.1 BSc Hons from the University of Chester and a Town Planning Merit MSc from Anglia Ruskin University (an RTPI accredited course). She is a licentiate member of the RTPI and is currently working towards her APC to become chartered.

She is an active member of the East of England RTPI young planners committee and enjoys expanding her network and meeting like-minded professionals. She is a strong advocate for mental health and well-being and a trained mental health first aider. She enjoys learning new things and giving something back to the planning profession.

Asif is a Senior Planning Officer at Peterborough City Council, starting work in the planning department at Peterborough in 2017 as a Technical Services Advisor before becoming a Planner and then to his current position as a Senior Planning Officer. Asif is currently due to complete his MSc in Urban Planning at Sheffield Hallam University in September 2022 and will be looking to work towards chartered membership status after.

‘Jess has recently joined Barratt Developments PLC as a Planner, having previously worked at both Persimmon Homes and Taylor Wimpey. Jess has worked in the planning industry since 2018 when she graduated from UEA with a BSc Geography degree and has since gained much experience working on large-scale residential schemes. Jess has also completed a 3-year distance Learning MSc in Urban and Rural Planning with the University of West England (Bristol) and will soon commence the L-APC route to chartership with the RTPI.

Having lived in Norwich since 2015, Jess loves exploring everything the City and the wider area of Norfolk has to offer. Jess thoroughly enjoys expanding her professional network and meeting new people.’

“Katie is a Graduate Planner who works for a small planning consultancy based in Norfolk called Collective Community Planning Ltd. Her primary role is liaising with qualifying bodies who are developing a neighbourhood plan and helping communities shape their ideas through the development of a neighbourhood plan at the early stages. She previously worked for the planning policy team at the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, where she assisted with the Local Plan Review and multiple parish councils that were developing neighbourhood plans.

She gained in 2018 her BSc in Anthropology and Geography from Oxford Brookes University and, in late 2021, gained a MA distinction in Chartered Town Planning via the RTPI apprenticeship route at London South Bank University. She is currently working towards her chartered membership status with the RTPI. Outside of work hours, Katie particularly enjoys exploring new areas and walking along her local beach with her cocker spaniel Purdy.”

Katie is a Senior Planning Officer at Rochford District Council. Katie started at the council as a planning officer in 2019, following graduating from the University of Sussex with a BA in Geography and has recently graduated from LSBU with a Distinction in Urban Design and Planning. Katie has gained experience dealing with all types of planning applications, including minors and majors of up to 700 dwellings. Katie specialises in urban design and has recently become a recognised practitioner with the Urban Design Group and is currently a Licentiate Member of the RTPI with the intention to gain chartered membership.

Katie has recently moved to Greenwich and has enjoyed exploring the new area with her cockapoo Teddy.

Emily Grapes is a planning consultant with Carter Jonas, based in their Cambridge Office.  She joined the company as a Graduate Planner in 2020 after studying her undergrad at the University of Sheffield, and finished her MSc at the Bartlett School of Planning, UCL in 2022. She is now working towards her chartered membership status whilst working on a variety of commercial and residential planning schemes across the East of England. Emily grew up in East Anglia, and outside of work enjoys regularly training and competing in triathlons and weekly cinema trips!

Beth is a Planner in the Energy Projects team at East Suffolk Council, working predominantly on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects at all stages, from pre-application, Examination, to discharge of requirements. She also assists in responding to government consultations on national policy developments and determines planning applications for major development. She joined the council as a graduate planner in 2019, starting a master’s degree in Town Planning as a degree apprentice that autumn and finishing the course with a distinction in early 2022. Since then, she became the council’s first degree apprentice to successfully become chartered through the degree apprenticeship route in late 2022. 

She gained a BA in Geography and International Development at the University of East Anglia in 2018, followed by an MA in Politics and International Relations in 2019. Outside planning, she is a keen reader and gardener.

“Jade is a Graduate Planner in the Savills Cambridge Office having joined in October 2022 after graduating from Durham University with a BA Human Geography undergraduate degree. In September 2023, Jade will be commencing a master’s in planning, through the RTPI Masters Apprenticeship scheme at Savills, ultimately working towards chartered membership status.

Outside of work, Jade is an avid sportsperson, and both plays and watches football, actively supporting the growth of the women’s game”.

“Yolanda is a Graduate Planner at Boyer’s Colchester Office, joining in September 2022. She has a Geography and Urban and Regional Town Planning BSc from the University of Birmingham and is undertaking further studies in the form of a Level 7 Degree Apprenticeship at Anglia Ruskin University. This will enable Yolanda to draw upon her experience at Boyer in order to gain a Masters Degree, in working towards becoming a chartered town planner. Yolanda has gained planning experience through online internships and her work with the University of Birmingham Planning Society Committee. At Boyer, Yolanda consults on a range of projects including strategic schemes and smaller developments, including residential, commercial and tourist developments.

Yolanda moved to the East of England in August 2022 and enjoys exploring all that the East of England has to offer. In her free time, Yolanda enjoys running and bouldering and generally being outside.”