When did you first join the RTPI? June 2016

When did you first get actively involved as a volunteer and what was your first role?

My first volunteer experience was in the summer of 2017 when I attended a workshop to assist community groups from across Greater Manchester with an interest in the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (since rebranded as Places for Everyone) and Neighbourhood Planning. My role was largely to chair roundtable discussions, explain the parameters of the GMSF and Neighbourhood Planning, and record details of key issues or considerations raised by community groups.

How did you get started?

I registered as a PAE volunteer (I don’t recall how I first came across PAE) and received an email seeking volunteers for the event. The event was organised by the North West Planning Aid England Task Group, led by Julian Jackson.

Can you tell us more about your experience as a volunteer since then?

Following my involvement in the community engagement event in Manchester, I was invited to join the NW PAE Task Group. Five years on, I now chair the group. We continue to support community groups and charities across the North West. Recent examples include community engagement workshops relating to emerging Local Plans in Blackburn and Darwen, Stockport, and Wirral. We are supporting several neighbourhood planning groups across the region, focussing on those in particularly deprived areas. We also provide bespoke project assistance, including project managing the planning for a food sustainability hub, café, and training kitchen for a food charity in Knowsley, and a not-for-profit café run by the Merseyside Domestic Violence Service in Liverpool’s Chinatown.

Outside of Planning Aid, I also volunteer as a member of the RTPI Regional Activities Committee, and I am a member of the Voluntary Advisory Board.

Beyond the RTPI, I volunteer as Planning Director for the Baltic Triangle Area Community Interest Company in Liverpool. My role with the ‘area company’ includes advocating on behalf of the Baltic Triangle Area’s stakeholders – its tenants, residents, and customers. This involves working with Liverpool City Council, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, and central government on everything from infrastructure improvements and the new train station, to creating opportunities for people to meet, collaborate, and grow.

What have you gained by volunteering with the RTPI?

I have met some great and inspirational people. Volunteering has opened up many opportunities for both professional and personal development. As anyone who works in the planning industry will know, town planning touches all areas of society and it’s unlikely anyone will work across all areas of planning during their career. Volunteering allows planners to experience parts of the industry they may not otherwise have the opportunity to get involved with. Amongst all the other benefits of volunteering, it allows us to become more well-rounded, and hopefully, better town planners.

What is the best thing about volunteering with the RTPI?

The opportunity to contribute to something important – it could be at the micro level, by helping with the volunteer advisory service, or at the macro level by joining a panel discussion on the RTPI strategy for combating the climate crisis. Whatever you do while volunteering with the RTPI, you also feel a sense of accomplishment and that your input has been valued. There has never been a time where I thought my time had been wasted.

For anyone considering volunteering, what advice would you give them?

Just do it. Say yes to every opportunity and work out the details later. You’ll be surprised by what you can achieve.