Regional Activities Committee

Matt is a Divisional Planning Manager at Richborough, promoting strategic residential and commercial sites across the UK.  With 17 years’ experience, he has a unique insight into the profession, having worked in the public sector (West Lancashire and St Helens) as well as for developers (The Emerson Group – Jones Homes/Orbit Developments) and consultancies (Indigo, WSP, Nexus). He graduated with a Distinction in the Master of Civic Design at the University of Liverpool in 2007 and became a Chartered Member of the RTPI in 2011.  Matt joined the Regional Activities Committee in 2021.

Ben has spent most of his career working for Camden and Cheshire East Councils, writing planning policy and monitoring housing supply. He currently divides his time as a Principal Planner (Policy) for South Ribble council, independent consultancy and tutoring. He’s a supporter of ‘Garden Cities’ (having relocated to the Northwest from Welwyn Garden City) and new technologies which could ultimately lead to better informed decisions.

Darren is a Director at Pegasus Group in Liverpool. He comes from a multidisciplinary background having previously worked client-side in wind energy and residential development before moving into consultancy. He now advises public and private sector clients on a variety of developments across England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man. He holds two master’s degrees – a Master of Town and Country Planning (Hons) degree from the University of Manchester, and a Master of Science in Design and Construction of Zero Carbon and Ultra-low Energy Buildings from the University of Dundee. Darren is Chair of the Planning Aid England North West Task Group and co-founder of the North West Neighbourhood Planning Network.

Joanne is the Local Plans Manager (North) for the Home Builders Federation and represents the members of the HBF in seeking to influence the production of planning policy in the North of England. Joanne is an experienced policy planner with more than 20 years in the profession. After starting her career in the private sector Joanne has mainly working within local government, contributing to planning policy for Stafford, Halton and Cheshire East. Joanne is strong supporter of the planning profession and is currently the Honorary Sectary of the RTPI NW region and has previously served as RTPI NW Chair and as a Trustee of the RTPI. Joanne is a member of the CPD Task Group and is keen to help to support our local members through professional development and other RTPI services and events.

Ian is a Planning Director at Stantec with 17 years-experience advising public and private clients across residential, commercial, retail, leisure and conservation based projects advising on development management, plan-making and EIA processes. Ian sat on the RMB as EDI Champion in 2022 & 23. He is passionate about adding social value and ensuring that planning is used as an effective tool to engage across all sectors of the industry and its stakeholders; including the community. Ian is a member of the Education and Careers Regional Activities Committee and has focused on promoting planning as a career in local schools as well as mentoring a number of Licentiates through the APC process.

Emilly is a chartered senior town planner at Arup, based in Manchester, specialising in strategic sustainable policy with expertise in policy development, masterplanning and stakeholder engagement. She has worked across England on local, regional and national scales to support the delivery of positive transformational change within communities. Emilly is passionate about improving the accessibility and inclusivity of the planning profession to share the value of planning with everyone. In addition to being the North West Chair in 2023, Emilly has been a part of the Education, Careers and Mentoring Task Group, where she works to help promote careers in town planning, since 2019.

Kieran was the RTPI North West Chair in 2022 and is now the lead of the LPA Champion task group on the RAC. He is passionate about providing support for local planning authorities through tailored training and raising awareness of best practice. He is a Land & Planning Manager at Countryside Partnerships Manchester having previously worked for Kingswood Homes and as a planning consultant before that at Hive Land & Planning and Stantec.

Jake is a Chartered Town Planner with over 10 years-experience working in the private sector. He graduated from the University of Manchester in 2013 and has worked in various private sector roles, including planning consultancy, multi-disciplinary practice and more recently the housebuilding sector. Jake joined the Regional Activities Committee in 2017 and has been involved in various Task Groups. He chaired the Education and Careers Task Group in 2018 with a focus on reaching out to schools to promote planning as a career and re-launching the annual school competition to give an insight into different aspects of the profession. Jake is currently Task Group Leader of the Awards, working alongside other committee members and judges to administer awards for planning excellence within the North West.

Ian has taken an unconventional route to planning after running a Greater Manchester magazine whose cultural content increasingly considered planning issues. Now part of the Infrastructure Planning team at WSP, Ian has over 5 years' experience on schemes from active travel and sustainable transport to renewable energy. He formerly worked at Wardell Armstrong preparing Planning, Crime Impact and Health Impact assessments, and was elected as a Chartered Town Planner in December 2019. Ian joined the RTPI NW Regional Activities Committee and the RTPI NW Young Planners Committee in January 2019 and has arranged and chaired various CPD events and webinars, including Participation in Planning, Reallocating Road Space, and Planning for Healthy Communities. In his spare time, Ian engages with sustainable transport and active travel campaigns and is passionate about enabling safer, more liveable streets.

After his bachelor’s degree in urban and regional planning, Uche began his career in planning as a town planner and rose to a consultant in planning and architecture in November 1990. He managed a small firm in Lagos Nigeria for sixteen years until 2006 when he relocated to England working initially as a Development Control Officer for Eden District Council. He later became a planning director for Raymond-Schortz UK Ltd in December 2008, providing planning services to Local Authority including the Royal Borough of Hackney in London. Uche was seconded to the US where he worked in various capacities including as Director of Planning in a number of cities in Texas USA. He has been a member of the Policy Task Group for the RTPI RAC NW. He has also been RTPI Assessor for the APC (Assessment of Professional Competence). Uche is keen on selling planning knowledge globally and can assist with the RTPI IDN.

Paul is a Chartered Town Planner with over 14 years of experience in Environmental research, Environmental Impact Assessments, Resilience Planning and Mapping; practiced within the Oil & Gas sector, Higher Education and the Public Sector, and consulting for the World Bank, UNEP, Shell, US Department of State and other International Organizations. He has also engaged in extensive research in the Circular Economy within waste management systems. Paul is committed to facilitating the development of resilient communities via the integration of Circular Economy Principles in the Built Environment and currently partners with the African Circular Economy Network on works related to the Circular Economy. As a Senior Planning Officer within Development Management with the Isle of Man Government, he currently works to support the Islands drive to deliver sustainable communities.

Tom has worked as a Planner for eight years, initially in a rural practice in North Lincolnshire while studying part-time for a Masters in Town & Country Planning. Tom relocated to Manchester in 2016 to join the JLL Planning & Development team and provides advice to public and private sector clients across a range of sectors.

Georgina is a Senior Planner at Asteer Planning LLP. Having previously worked at Avison Young since September 2018, Georgina has experience of advising clients across a range of sectors, including residential, commercial, student, and mixed-use developments. Georgina was elected as a Chartered Member of the RTPI in December 2020 and currently sits on the Regional Activities Committee for the RTPI North West and is part of the Education, Careers and Mentoring Task Group.

John is a freelance planner, with a background in both the public and private sectors. He primarily assists LPAs with complex and stalled major applications, as well as appeals. John has worked for urban and rural authorities, and has a particular interest in heritage. He graduated from the Master of Town and Country Planning programme at the University of Manchester in 2014 and became a Chartered member of the RTPI via the Experienced Practitioner route in 2020. John joined the RTPI NW Regional Activities Committee in 2022.

Tom is a chartered town planner and has recently moved to Active Travel England, after 16 years of working in strategic planning at local authorities across Northern England. Tom graduated from the University of Manchester in 2006 with a Masters in Town and Country Planning and from Leeds Beckett University in 2019 with a Masters in Urban Design.  Tom lives in the North West, travelling over the Pennines to work for Active Travel England; having most recently worked in the region for Blackpool Council and spending the majority of his career to-date in Planning Policy at Kirklees Council in his native West Yorkshire.

Holly is a Senior Planning and Enabling Manager at Homes England, with a background in both the public and private sectors.  She has experience of working on a range of complex residential projects.  

Holly graduated with a Masters in Planning from the University of Manchester in 2016 and became a Chartered member of the RTPI in 2018. She joined the RTPI NW Regional Activities Committee in 2022 and currently supports the Awards Task Group.

Jemma is a Senior Planner in Deloitte’s Regional Planning and Development Team. She joined the team in September 2019, after graduating from Oxford Brookes University with an MSC in Spatial Planning. She has worked on a range of projects across Yorkshire and the North West, including a number large-scale EIA developments within city centre regeneration areas and on strategic sites, the production of Strategic Regeneration Frameworks, as well as smaller change of use and listed building applications.

Jemma was elected as a Chartered Member of the RTPI in December 2021. Jemma is keen to support others early in their planning career and is helping licentiate colleagues work towards their chartered memberships.

Nia is a Chartered Associate Planner at Fisher German, based in Chester, covering the North West and North Wales region. She graduated with a First Class Masters from University of Liverpool in 2018 and became a Chartered Member of the RTPI in 2020. Nia recently won RTPI North West Young Planner of the Year 2022.  She is passionate about the rural sector and planning for rural communities and agricultural needs which can often be overlooked. Nia likes to promote careers within the industry and mentors a number of Licentiates through the APC process.

Adrian has some thirty years’ experience in Local Government and has been a Chartered Member of the RTPI since 1994.  He has managed planning departments at District, Unitary and Metropolitan level as well has running other place based functions. His current post is Director of Growth and Regulatory Services at Trafford Council where he has responsibility for Planning, Housing, Regeneration and Public Protection. In December 2020 he was appointed to the Secretary of State’s Urban Centre Recovery Task Force.

Sophie is a Planner at NJL Consulting in Manchester having relocated from the North East in September 2023. She graduated her Masters Degree in Urban Planning in 2021 from Newcastle University whereby she was awarded the David Lock Award for her research titled “‘Rainbow Regeneration’ in Newcastle Upon Tyne’s LGBTQ* Scene: Working Towards Sustainable Inclusivity and Representation”. This research was then published in Cities Forum’s Urban Action Avenue.

Sophie has experience working across various sectors of Planning (housing, heritage, commercial/retail, renewable energy, transport, tourism and more) working alongside private clients, organisations, charities, community groups and Local Planning Authorities. In terms of her passions, Sophie continues to strive to promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in Planning to deliver schemes for increased social and societal benefits.

Sophie was awarded RTPI North East Young Planner of the Year 2023 and was elected as a Chartered Member of the RTPI in November 2023. Using her platform, Sophie is keen to support others in their development as Planners as well as highlighting the importance of planning for diverse and complex urban places we occupy.

Lesley is Directorate Admissions Lead for Built Environment, Architecture and Acoustics at the University of Salford and Programme Leader for the MSc Town and Country Planning. She made the transition to teaching in November 2019, following a successful career in practice, with 25 years’ experience in planning, development and asset management for The Boots Company, De Montford University, Network Rail and The Arch Company. As a chartered town planner and surveyor, Lesley is interested in promoting multi- disciplinary working and collaboration in the built environment and introducing the next generation of future town planners to the profession.

Marc is a Senior Planner at RJP Town Planners, through which he also supports Network Rail as Consents and Environment Advisor for Northern Powerhouse Rail. He graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2014 and continues to be involved with the university as an eMentor for aspiring planning and geography students. Shortly after becoming chartered in 2016, Marc spent five years overseas travelling and working as a planner in Australia and New Zealand, getting involved in a big variety of projects and avoiding an even bigger variety of poisonous animals.

Carolyn has over 20 years of experience in planning policy primarily in the North West, working across all 3 tiers of Local Government in this area. Whilst at Salford council working on behalf of the ten Greater Manchester Authorities, she was also involved with Urban Vision Partnership which included work supporting planning authorities across the Country. She also managed delivery of the Greater Manchester Waste Plan and Minerals Plan. Now at Preston Council, managing the planning policy team, she is involved with delivery of the Joint Central Lancashire Local Plan as well supporting delivery of a number of neighbourhood plans.

Natalie is a chartered associate town planner in Arup’s Manchester Office. She has about 13 years of planning experience in East Asia, specialized in urban regeneration (master planning), stakeholder engagement and social value advisory.  Natalie is passionate to spread influence on embedding social value in the planning and design process to promote an inclusive, equitable and just society. Recently relocated from Hong Kong, Natalie is enthusiastic about engaging with RTPI members, actively seeking collaborations, and sharing insights drawn from her international experience.

Jade is a Principal Planning Officer for Salford City Council with over 15 years’ experience.  During this time Jade has managed various panning submissions within the commercial, residential, renewable energy, and minerals and waste sectors within both the private and public practice.  In addition, Jade has undertaken the role of Community Planner to assist a community with their particular needs and volunteered with Planning Aid.  These various roles have provided an excellent understanding of the planning system (including planning policy development) with experience in stakeholder engagement.  Jade is currently a member of the Regional Activities Committee for the RTPI North West

Ryan is Principal Planning Officer in Development Management at Rochdale Borough Council and has worked there since 2019. He graduated from his Masters in Town Planning and Real Estate at the University of Manchester in 2020 and is working towards becoming a chartered member of the RTPI. Ryan is passionate about securing high-quality design in new development and the role which placemaking has in the economic development of an area.

Usman's enthusiasm for urban planning took root during his undergraduate studies in Middle Eastern studies and Politics. While delving into the intricacies of the region, he determined a significant gap in the literature concerning the development of cities in the Middle East. Motivated to deepen his understanding, he pursued a postgraduate degree in Global Urban Development and Planning at the University of Manchester. Upon graduation, Usman secured a position as a Monitoring and Evaluation officer in a private consultancy in London, established by the council to advance development in the borough. Currently, he is employed at WSP as an assistant planner, actively working towards obtaining his RTPI Accreditation. During his leisure time, Usman enjoys traveling, hiking and socialising with friends.

Shaun is a Planner at New Energy Partnership where he assists on multiple projects through planning, co-ordination and design. He graduated his Masters Degree in Civic Design, Town and Regional Planning from The University of Liverpool in 2021 and has worked within the North West ever since. Shaun's planning experience has mostly consisted of work within Environmental and Energy Planning, where most of his professional passion lies.

Chris has been a member of the North West RAC for 18 years now. Chris has focused on promoting the profession, and the work of the RTPI, to wider audiences. This included editing the publications produced by the NW Region, presently the End of Year Reviews. Over 2002-2006, Chris completed a PhD looking at community engagement practices in Housing Market Renewal Programmes in the North West. Since then, Chris has worked as a consultant for Warrington-based BE Group. He specialises in providing Employment Land Study Evidence bases for Local Plans and property market assessments for masterplans. Outside of the office, Chris likes to explore the region in different ways, though fell walking and Geocaching.

Sam is a planning graduate from the University of Sheffield and Birmingham and has worked for Tesni Properties for over six years where he currently holds the position of Planning and Development Manager. Sam has been an Associate member of the RTPI since 2018, and is currently working towards becoming fully chartered.