Meet the team

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.

Principal Infrastructure Planner, WSP

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 8 years' experience and is now the team’s Active Travel consents lead. 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, Planning for Healthy Communities, Planning for Gear Change, and EDI in Planning. In his spare time, Ian supports communities with enabling safer, more liveable streets.

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.

James is currently a 3^rd year student at the University of Liverpool, studying an Integrated Masters in Urban Planning. James, having grown up in Leeds, (Europe’s largest city without a Metro or Rapid Transit System) has always been intrigued as to why this has been the case and how planning may be able to provide a solution. In light of this, James has a particular interest in developing Urban infrastructure particularly transport and sustainable development within the built environment so that it is long lasting and fit for the future.

James is excited to learn more about planning from a professional and real world perspective, alongside his academic studies, as well as being part of the next generation of planners.

Sophie is a Planner at P4 Planning LTD 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, sport 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, elected as a Chartered Member of the RTPI in November 2023 and awarded as one of The Planner’s Women of Influence 2025. 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, working alongside charities such as LGBT Foundation and Manchester Pride to deliver diverse projects. Sophie volunteers within the RTPI North West Young Planners Committee, the Regional Activities Committee (RAC) and is the Chair of the North West’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) task group.

George is a Planner at Enabl, where he has prepared and managed planning applications for schemes of various scales, led projects and provided strategic advice for Local Authority clients and undertaken site finding for affordable housing developers. Graduating from the University of Manchester with an MSc in Urban Design & International Planning in 2022, George has a strong interest in the relationship between people and place and how visualisation software and urban design skills can enhance planning narratives. Previously, he has gained experience as a Research Assistant with a focus on improving population health through design and place-based solutions.

Josh is a Chartered Town Planner and Principal Planner in the Development Control team at Burnley Borough Council. He has worked in local government for around six years and graduated from Leeds Beckett University in 2022 as part of the first cohort of the Chartered Town Planner Degree Apprenticeship. Josh joined Burnley in November 2023 and deals with a range of minor and major planning applications relating primarily to employment and residential development. In his free time, he referees youth football and volunteers with Planning Aid England.

Rhiannan Farrell, Planning and Infrastructure Associate (Solicitor), Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP 

Rhiannan is a Planning and Infrastructure Consenting Associate (Solicitor) at Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP. Rhiannan offers a unique perspective having completed her training contract in-house in a shared local authority legal service, where she advised several London Boroughs on a number of aspects of planning and administrative law. 

Upon qualifying, Rhiannan moved into private practice, where she has continued to build and refine her expertise. She has experience advising a variety of clients, including local authorities, registered providers, landowners, statutory undertakers, private developers, and lenders. 

Rhiannan has assisted in the delivery of residential, commercial, and mixed-use large-scale regeneration projects, infrastructure projects, and Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs). Rhiannan also advises on Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPO), Stopping-up Orders and other statutory processes fundamental to complex development projects. Her expertise also spans various aspects of contentious and non-contentious planning and infrastructure law, including drafting and negotiating S106, S278/S38 and water/apparatus adoption agreements. Rhiannan has also advised on planning enforcement, judicial review, statutory appeals, Town or Village Green applications and the planning aspects of real estate due diligence.

Rhiannan is an Associate member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). She joined the RTPI NW Regional Activities Committee and the RTPI NW Young Planners Committee in September 2024. 

Rhiannan is passionate about promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion (ED&I) in the planning profession and is a committee member of the BAME Planners Network Steering Group. 

Oliver is a Consultant Planner at LUC, split between the Development Management and Policy Plan making team. He joined LUC in October 2022, after graduating from University of Sheffield with an MSc in Urban and Regional Planning. Oliver provides planning support on applications from pre to post submission across sports, leisure, and the renewable sectors. He also has experience in providing councils with local plan evidence through assessments and studies to inform planning decisions. Oliver became a Chartered member of the RTPI in February 2025. He has a strong passion in how to better the built environment through sustainable design to contribute to the mental, physical, and social well-being of its users.

Natalie is a Planning and Enabling Manager at Homes England working to unlock land for housing development across a range of projects including urban regeneration and large-scale urban extensions. Having focussed on Urban Design in her studies, Natalie is committed to securing high quality placemaking through planning and design.

Kamil Rog is an interdisciplinary planning advisor at AtkinsRéalis. He engages with pioneering approaches to biodiversity net gain and works to integrate nature-positive outcomes in development. His experience includes advising on green infrastructure and securing planning approval across diverse infrastructure and residential schemes. Kamil was nominated for the RTPI’s West Midlands Young Planner of the Year in 2021 recognising his diverse and forward-thinking approach to embedding social and environmental benefits in the development process.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamilrog/

Aarushi is an MSc Planning student at the University of Manchester. Seeing the challenging effects of ad-hoc decisions on the sustainability of neighbourhoods, she became curious about how evidence-based planning could shape more equitable cities. She has contributed to projects ranging from transport infrastructure to regional development frameworks and public consultation processes with planning authorities and consultancies. Planning, to her, is about creating places that work for people: socially, economically, and environmentally. Aarushi continues to be challenged - deepening her understanding of inclusive growth, climate resilience, and the role of policy in shaping better everyday environments. She looks forward to making a meaningful impact through people-first planning practice as part of the next generation of planners.