Politicians in Planning Network (PIPN)
Politics and planning are necessarily interdependent. Together they play a pivotal role in giving communities access to the homes, infrastructure and public services they need to thrive.
The RTPI’s Politicians in Planning network includes around 800 elected representatives involved in planning and planning decisions.
The cross-party network was established in 2021 to help bridge the gap between planning professionals and elected politicians and support our shared ambitions for vibrant, healthy and sustainable places for communities to live, work and interact.
The network helps local authority and parliamentary politicians across all UK and Ireland’s planning systems to share best practice, to access information and receive a regular newsletter on planning matters free of charge.
PiPN hold webinars on topics relevant to PiPN members. To stay up-to-date with the latest PiPN news please join the network.
If you are a politician working in planning then you are eligible to join the network. For PiPN members who are interested in getting involved in upcoming sessions, please contact the public affairs team at publicaffairs@rtpi.org.uk
Previous webinars, events, and sessions
PiPN hold webinars on topics relevant to PiPN members. To stay up-to-date with the latest PiPN news please join the network.
Building Better Communities event
RTPI Northern Ireland held a Politicians in Planning Event on 27 October 2025, with representatives from both the private and public sector.
The purpose of the event was to explore the roles and relationships of those involved in planning decisions and maximise the system’s potential for positive change, clarifying roles, strengthening councillor-officer relationships and turning the planning system into a force for positive change in creating healthy, sustainable communities. We had representation from each of Northern Ireland’s 11 councils, with over 100 registrations and around 70 attendees on the day.
Speakers included:
- Andrew Haley, Chair Ministerial Advisory Group for Architecture & the Built Environment
- Councillor Billy Webb, President, Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA)
- Alison McCullagh, Vice Chair at SOLACE and Chief Executive at Fermanagh and Omagh District Council
- Rosemary Daly MRTPI, Chief Planner, Department for Infrastructure
- Kate Bentley, MRTPI, Director of Planning and Building Control, Belfast City Council
- Maria O’Loan, LARTPI, Head of Environment and Planning, Tughans LLP
Event was kindly sponsored by Tughans LLP
Politics in Planning
This webinar focused on the ways in which planners engage with elected members and other politicians, with the aim of understanding how both groups can work together proactively. Speakers included planning professionals and elected members who shared their experiences (both positive and negative) of settings such as planning committees, engagement in the Local Plan and interactions with Neighbourhood Planning. The session provided a ‘safe space’ in which planners and members explored their roles in the planning system.
Speakers included:
- Chair: Peter Home, Director, Gillings Planning
- Cllr Adrian Moss ,The Leader of Chichester District Council
- Phil Williams , Chartered RTPI Planner, ET Planning
- Prof. Samer Bagaeen FRICS MRTPI FRGS FRSA - Technical Director, Arcadis and Brighton & Hove City Council Member
- Benjamin Hindle, Principal Planning Officer ,Wokingham Borough Council
- Peter Ford - Principal Consultant at the Planning Advisory Service (PAS), part of the Local Government Association (LGA).
This webinar focused on the ways in which planners engage with elected members and other politicians, with the aim of understanding how both groups can work together proactively.