Alastair joined the Defra Marine Planning and Licensing team in October 2019 as a Senior Policy Adviser. He advocates for ambitious marine planning and licensing policy and inputs into cross-government commissions on planning reforms, working with ministers and a variety of stakeholders. He previously worked at Natural England (NE) in the marine planning team where he was responsible for responding as a statutory consultee to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects alongside development management, development plan and marine licencing casework along the coast. He also worked for the NE terrestrial planning team and for the planning team at the Environment Agency.

Alastair is a Chartered Member of the RTPI and is currently regional Chair of the RTPI North East. Alastair previously served as Vice Chair of the Young Planners' Steering Group and on the Regional Activities and Policy Committee. He was North East Young Planner of the Year 2022.

Katherine Verlander is a senior officer at Newcastle City Council with over 30 years’ experience in Planning and Policy. She has worked previously in local authorities in the north east, Essex and London. Her public sector experience is focussed on local plans and social policy, including: regeneration; growth and viability; partnership working; core cities; community cohesion and engagement projects.  At the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Katherine was the team leader responsible for progressing the local plan that included Barking Riverside–transforming the area into a new London district for over 10,000 new homes. Katherine is currently responsible for housing policy for both Newcastle and joint local plan partner Gateshead Council and contributes to regional planning by leading an interim NE housing group of local authorities. Her other interests include driving forward with digital planning efficiencies, mentoring planning students and guest lecturing at Newcastle University.

Matthew is Head of Planning at Hamilton Willis Land & Development, an independent development land consultancy specialising in strategic development land.  He is a Chartered Town Planner having obtained his Master’s Degree in Spatial Planning and Development from Cardiff University in 2018.  Matthew predominately focuses on the residential sector with experience across the full breadth of project scales including the promotion of new settlements.  However, Matthew’s experience extends to commercial, renewable energy and environmental based projects as well.  Matthew has a keen interest in Planning Policy and CPD and is contributing to the RTPI’s role in both as part of his role on the RTPI NE Regional Activities Policy Committee. Matthew is senior Vice Chair of the RTPI North East and is looking forward to directly shaping the RTPI’s regional activity over the coming years. 

Lucy is a Planner at Lichfields, having joined in 2023 following the completion of her Master’s degree in Urban Planning at Newcastle University. Prior to this, Lucy completed her undergraduate studies at Durham University where she studied Geography, graduating with a BA (Hons) degree in 2022. Lucy has a particular focus and interest in town centre regeneration and the built historic environment. She has experience assisting in the preparation, submission and management of planning applications for a range of minor and major developments and has experience across a variety of sectors including retail, leisure, commercial, residential, healthcare and infrastructure. Lucy is currently Vice Chair of the RTPI North East Young Planners’ Committee.’

Justin joined Banks Group 30 years ago having previously worked in opencast coal planning. At Banks he has covered a range of projects, mainly housing but also including wind farms, waste landfill and clay extraction. He leads a team of seven planners at the company. Now that Banks has formed a house building arm, Justin is heavily involved in preparing detailed schemes for delivery of new homes, and very much looking forward to seeing long-standing projects become reality. Justin has regularly participated in local plan examinations and consultations on national policy. In his spare time Justin plays guitar with two bands.

Jen is Projects Director at Argon, a North East based developer specialising in the development of premises across a range of public and private sectors.  Jen is involved in the whole life cycle of development projects, from site finding, inception and feasibility, through planning, funding, legals, and construction, to completion.  Whilst Jen’s role now encompasses a wider remit, planning remains an intrinsic part of her responsibilities.  

Jen is well-connected within the North East property market and has over 18 years of experience in planning across the private and public sectors, having held various roles in local authority and consultancies, and working her way up from Graduate to Director. Jen has a BA Hons and Diploma in Town Planning from Newcastle University, became a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute in 2012, and is a past Chair of the RTPI North East region (2023).

Ifeanyi is a Principal Consultant at WSP. He is a Chartered Member of the RTPI and also a Full Member of the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Practitioners and a Chartered Environmentalist. He has over two decades of experience across town planning, education, marine licensing, environmental assessment and project management. With previous employment history spanning the Environment Agency (EA), Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) prior to joining WSP in 2024, Ifeanyi has overseen many environmental assessments, including those relating to Habitat Regulation Assessment (HRA) and the Water Framework Directive (WFD), for several high-profile infrastructure projects including Sizewell C Nuclear New Build (NNB), Hinkley Point C NNB, Boston Alternative Energy Facility, Westernmost Rough and Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farms. He also has extensive knowledge and experience of marine licensing and regulation.

Simin is the 6^th Chair of Town Planning and Co-Director of the Centre for Researching Cities at Newcastle University. She is a Fellow of the RTPI, Honorary Member and former President of AESOP (Association of European Schools of Planning), Trustee of the TCPA and Trustee of the Academy of Social Sciences. Simin has been three times a judge in the national RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence and has served as expert advisor for the government (ODPM Planning Research Network, DCLG Housing Markets, DEFRA Social Science Expert Group), research councils in the UK (ESRC Strategic Advisory Network) and Europe, various planning schools in the UK and internationally, and major international research programmes. She is on the REF2029 sub-panel 13 (Architecture, Built Environment & Planning) and has held visiting professorships at universities in the USA (Virginia Tech), the Netherlands (Amsterdam & Nijmegen), Sweden (BTH), Australia (RMIT), Finland (Tampere) and Austria (BOKU). Simin teaches planning and has published widely on related subjects including the 16^th edition of Town & Country Planning in the UK.

EDF Power Solutions is part of one of the world’s largest electricity companies and our investment and innovation in renewable energy projects is reducing costs for consumers and bringing significant benefits to communities.

EDF  has an experienced team bringing complex development projects to fruition, across various renewable technologies, including onshore and offshore wind, solar, battery storage and hydrogen with more than 550 colleagues across the UK.

With decades of expertise in developing land across the North East and Yorkshire, Banks Property (part of the Banks Group) is dedicated to promoting high-quality, much-needed homes for people in the places where they want to live. We prioritise working with communities and landowners throughout the development fostering local social, economic, and environmental benefits through every project. This is what we call development with care. 

Elevating modern living, Banks Homes is a regional house builder that create homes designed by life. Placed for perfection and combining style as standard with innovative sustainable design to seamlessly blend elegance, quality, and practicality.

Hedley Planning is an award winning town planning consultancy, with a strong regional focus and a track record for unlocking complex sites and securing implementable planning permissions for clients.

Operating from two north east offices, our highly experienced staff advise a range of clients for housing, commercial and industrial developers and investors. Our experience sets us apart from our peers, we bring commercial knowledge to all schemes to ensure clients have clear, sound direction.

Ward Hadaway is one of the largest full service law firms in the North of England with a reputation for quality, innovation and adopting a practical approach to meeting our clients’ needs. With 93 partners and almost 500 staff, the firm’s partner-led approach with all clients is supported by a resource that has real strength in depth.

We operate from offices in Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester,Teeside and Birmingham and have a substantial client base of regional, national and international clients from the public and private sectors. We have specialists and acknowledged experts in a number of fields with many of our partners being highly rated by legal directories and more importantly the clients they work for.

The Planning team at Womble Bond Dickinson is ranked as a national leader, outside London, and advises on the full range of planning and highways matters, including compulsory purchase order work. The team acts for a national client base including developers, local authorities, landowners, house builders and energy companies and specialises in advising on major development schemes and nationally significant infrastructure projects.  The team represents clients in planning litigation and planning inquiries, advises on a significant number of complex compulsory purchase matters, and has promoted 25 Development Consent Orders (DCOs) to date across the energy, waste and transport sectors.

Combining local knowledge and contacts with national coverage and industry expertise, Savills is the largest planning consultancy in the UK operating from 60 offices. Within the north east, Savills are currently promoting land for over 30,000 homes across the region, whilst also supporting clients across a diverse range of sectors including mixed-use, education, industry and distribution, public transport and energy. Savills provides a “one stop shop” for support services including EIA, heritage consultancy, economics, health impact assessment, social value and sustainable design. Savills is the first real estate firm to be featured in the Times top 100 graduate employers.

Vistry is a leading UK housebuilder, delivering high-quality, sustainable homes and communities across all housing tenures. As a partnerships-focused business, we work alongside local authorities, housing associations, and investors to deliver large-scale regeneration and mixed-tenure developments that address housing need. In the North East, we have successfully delivered 575 homes and completed three partner deals in 2025 alone, building across 10 active sites.

Our expertise in delivering complex, multi-phased regeneration projects enables us to work closely with our partners to create thriving communities. With a strong track record in navigating funding challenges, enhancing design proposals, and developing targeted housing strategies, Vistry continues to lead the way in mixed-tenure development.