Gloucestershire Young Planners

Liz is co-chair of the recently formed Gloucestershire young planners. She took an unconventional route into planning having trained and qualified as a planning and environmental lawyer in private practice after completing her law degree at the University of Leeds.

In 2018 Liz completed her postgrad urban planning course with UWE whilst working for a local planning consultancy. After a short period working back in a law firm, Liz returned to planning consultancy in 2023, primarily focusing on strategic planning. She currently works at SF Planning at their Gloucester office. Liz enjoys it when planning gets really technical, she loves problem solving and finding interesting solutions to her clients’ issues.

Most networking events for planning and property professionals in Cheltenham and Gloucester are held in the evenings when Liz is usually putting her daughter to bed. Part of Liz’s motivation for joining the young planners’ group is that Liz wanted to hold fun and interesting events which were inclusive for working parents who may find it hard to attend events outside of school hours but still want to network and advance their careers in the same way as she does. Liz really enjoys working with RTPI young planners and helping to organise some great events in Gloucestershire which are accessible to as many people as possible.

Kimberley is currently an interim senior planning policy officer at Cheltenham Borough Council where she is working to deliver the new Strategic and Local Plan. She has joint chaired the Gloucestershire Young Planners group from February 2023 – 2024 with Liz Shield. Into 2024 Kim will be on maternity leave and passes the joint chair position onto Daniel Jones, but remains in the steering group.

She graduated from the University of East Anglia in 2013 with a degree in International Development and Politics. Following which she completed a part-time master’s in Town Planning at Anglia Ruskin between 2017 and 2019. Kim has 9 years of varied experience in Local Authority and Private Planning Consultancy work and is working towards her MRTPI.

As part of the team at DLP Planning in Bristol, Dan brings a unique blend of skills from his initial career in film and graphic design to the field of town planning. His journey into planning was driven by a keen interest in sustainable development, resulting in a master's degree in Urban Planning from UWE Bristol.

With previous experience at Evans Jones in Cheltenham, Dan has managed various commercial and residential projects. He now serves as a Co-chair of the RTPI Gloucestershire steering group, where he is enthusiastic about contributing to the planning community and supporting events that benefit planners across the region.

Claudia is currently working at Morgan Elliot Planning as a Chartered Town Planner and partner in the business, having in excess of six years of experience as a private planning consultant previously working at Hunter Page Planning/Ridge and Partners LLP. Having gained her chartership in May 2021, Claudia has gained a wealth of experience over the years in a range of sectors including residential, commercial, strategic, rural planning and Estate-led work, and has a passion for working collaboratively with a range of consultants to deliver sustainable, high quality developments that seek to address the climate change emergency.

Claudia was originally involved in the Gloucestershire Young Planners Group in 2020 and then subsequently in 2023 as the social media representative. She continues her role in this position and looks forward to establishing new relationships with the young planning community whilst seeing some familiar faces!

Emily is a Chartered Town Planner Apprentice at the sustainable leisure developer Habitat First Group. As part of her apprenticeship, she is currently studying a master’s in urban planning part-time at UWE Bristol. Emily has a range of experience within the construction sector from layout design to technical coordination, to her current role as a planning project manager. Her interest is in designing spaces for the future with particular consideration towards sustainability and healthy design.

Carl works as a Development Project Manager at Ecotricity, helping to lead the green energy transition and end fossil fuel dependency. Carl graduated with a Masters in Planning and Urban Leadership from the University of the West of England in 2022 and has previously worked at Evans Jones, Design West and WWA Studios as well as a freelance planning consultant.

This collective experience has rounded his perspective as he continues to develop his planning practice by advocating for responsible urbanism, design and planning that unites human and planetary health with the sustainability of environmental systems. Carl also holds a position on the board of his local Community Land Trust and co-founded the first professional co-working space in his hometown, Nailsworth.

Aiden is a driven planning professional with international experience spanning Australia and the UK. He holds an MSc in Planning and Urban Leadership from UWE Bristol, an MSc in Environmental Sciences from Macquarie University, Sydney, and was awarded the RTPI Future Planners Bursary in 2022.

With a background across geography, environmental science, and planning, Aiden takes an interdisciplinary approach to addressing sustainability challenges facing cities. He currently works as a planning consultant at SF Planning Ltd. advising on mixed-use and residential developments across Greater London and the South West.

Aiden actively volunteers with the RTPI Young Planners Gloucestershire and he is also an active member of Planning Institute Australia (PIA). His diverse international exposure across different countries informs his global perspective on planning and development issues.

Jack is a Chartered Town Planner who started his career with Ridge and Partners in January 2021. Jack has over 3 years of experience working on residential and commercial projects for public and private sector clients. His expertise includes; the preparation of site appraisals; the preparation and submission of pre-applications,  planning applications, and Appeals and the supervision of planning conditions.

Key projects include leading and managing small-scale projects (applications) with a national client (a government department). This has involved setting out planning strategies for each planning case study, leading planning meetings, writing planning statements and liaising with Case Officers. He has also played a key supporting role to senior colleagues with clients, and other stakeholders for medium-large scale applications, by liaising with the case officers, writing the planning statements, and attending planning meetings.

Braden graduated from University of Gloucestershire in 2021 with a Geography BA undergraduate degree. Braden then went on to study Urban Planning at UWE through the degree apprenticeship route alongside working at McLoughlin Planning. Braden completed the Masters in November 2023 and is currently working as an Assistant Planner with Mcloughlin Planning working towards his chartership. In his time so far at Mcloughlin Planning Braden has worked on a wide array of projects predominantly in a Development Management capacity.