I’ve been working in planning for more than two decades now.  Although the bulk of that has been in Local Government this will be the third time I’ve been an active member of the ICN.  Each time I’ve found the forum to be a fantastic source of knowledge.

I came to the profession by accident, having previously spent time working in animal welfare and security, but really got hooked on what planning could achieve (given the right circumstances – but that’s a discussion for other networks!).  I ended up as a Chief Planner in local government but was really pleased when I heard how most consultants regarded me as a pragmatist who just wanted to get the right things happening in the right places, and the wrong things stopped.  Mind you it would have been nice if they’d told me that when I was there instead of after I’d left!

I decided at the beginning of the year to set up my own consultancy, which has been a bit of a whirlwind.  But one of the greatest sources of comfort has been the ICN and some of the genuinely kind members on here who have freely given up their time to advise me and make sure I’m working in the right direction.  I can’t say I was surprised; the network was the same when I joined it first time around about 15 years ago (the only reason I left was because I was working full time for an LPA).

You’ll see a dog in the photo; that’s Storm.  At the beginning of the year I also had to finally accepted my health was such that I was now deemed to be disabled.  Storm is an Assistance Dog who accompanies me everywhere and to be honest as much as I thought it would be an issue I’ve found my clients love her (just a shame I can’t teach her to type then I really could sit back and relax!).  I’m one of the many with a “hidden” disability and my eyes have really been opened to what that means.  The friendship and support a network like the ICN can give to those of us who are, or might suffer at some stage, is invaluable so having the opportunity to step up and help was something I couldn’t miss out on.