Meet our judges

Gareth is the Chair of the Awards' Jugding panel. Gareth is a Chartered Fellow of the RTPI with experience in both public and private sector planning including Development Management and Planning Policy for three local authorities in the south east.  He is currently a director of Whaleback Planning & Design, a planning consultancy in Sussex specialising in sustainable development in national parks.  Gareth manages of team of planners delivering outsourced planning application for local authorities as well as leading on several urban redevelopment schemes.  Gareth was Chair of the RTPI South East Region from 2015-2017 and has been a judge for the Regional and National Awards for Planning Excellence since 2016. Originally from Nottingham, he now lives and works in Brighton.

Eleanor is known amongst clients for her friendly yet no-nonsense approach to dealing with difficult policy matters and drawing out what really matters. Eleanor has a range of public and private sector experience. She is presently employed as a Planning Policy Team Leader for Cherwell District Council. Her previous experience was as a Principal Planner for WYG, based in their Milton Keynes Office where she is involved in a range of residential projects for both public and private sector clients. Other previous private sector experience has included work for Bidwells, where she was involved in the promotion of a range of residential developments from 50-2,500 homes, and for Pegasus Group in Cambridge working on appeals and plan promotion. In the Public Sector Eleanor has held various planning policy roles principally in Local Government. Her work has included input into a number of statutory plans including the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy, the Central Area Action Plan and most recently the South Northamptonshire Part 2 Local Plan, which was submitted in January 2019. Over the years Eleanor has developed an interest in Neighbourhood Planning helping a number of groups turn their ideas into 'made' plans. In 2014 Eleanor was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to Neighbourhood and Community Planning. Eleanor is the Immediate past chair of the South East Regional Activities Committee, Chair of the Women in Planning South Midlands and is also an assessor for the L-APC process. When she has dragged herself away from planning, she enjoys taking her son on heritage railways (well, using her son as an excuse to travel on heritage railways) and playing with Lego…!

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.

Simon is the Chair of RTPI South East region. He is a Senior Planning Officer and has gained his planning experience in central and local Government. He has focused on developing national and local planning policy, especially on retail, transport and infrastructure matters. Simon is a Chartered member of the RTPI and has been involved with the RTPI South East since 2018. He also supports the Kent Young Planners Network and has been a Steering Group member since July 2017. Simon takes a keen interest in infrastructure policy as well as issues surrounding community engagement in the plan-making process and promoting town planning as a profession. 

Stephanie is a Chartered Town Planner with seventeen years’ experience gained across both the public and private sectors. Stephanie’s early career in Local Government started as a Planning Enforcement Officer and subsequently moved on to Development Management dealing with small and medium sized planning applications. More recently, Stephanie has worked across the South and South East as a Planning Consultant on major development projects. Stephanie’s clients range from charities to universities, national and regional housebuilders, utility companies and commercial developers.

Beyond her role at Carter Jonas, Stephanie takes an active interest in local and community issues including providing planning advice and support to the local heritage steam railway. In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys walking and often attempts running in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with her two small children.

Chris is a Lecturer in 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.

Jo has over 20 years as a Chartered Town Planner having worked across a spectrum of sectors including town centres and mixed use, residential, waterways, aviation and health providing strategic advice, developing frameworks and leading stakeholder relationships. Her role as National Head of Planning at GL Hearn brings together a diverse and multi-disciplinary team across town planning, landscape architects, air quality, acoustics, stakeholder engagement, neighbourly matters, economics and infrastructure.

Jo is passionate about people and place-making, delivering long lasting social change, inclusion and diversity within the built environment. Outside of the day job, Jo is a member of the RTPI Membership and Ethics Committee and is an advisory board member for Women in Planning and supports a micro charity Global Girl Project, which mobilises young women around the globe for social change through community development and social action.

Daniel recently joined Oxford City Council. His previous role was as a Senior Planning officer working in the Local Plan team at Portsmouth City Council where he was responsible for formulating many of Portsmouth's new Local Plan policies that relate to climate change and the natural environment, including green infrastructure, open space, flooding, sustainable construction and energy.