Dr Victoria Hills looks back on her time at the RTPI.

In my first six months, we launched the RTPI’s first equity and diversity plan, and within my first year the first climate action plan. The launch of the Corporate Strategy in 2020 set us on a course for success.

I’ve enjoyed spearheading certain projects and initiatives, of which there are many, but to name a few: the Chartered Town Planner Apprenticeship, which has transformed hundreds of lives, establishing a displaced planners fund, establishing a mentoring platform, the continued digital transformation of the RTPI member experience, driving forward the retrofit of the London office, opening a Cardiff office and relocating the Edinburgh office.

I was keen to enable the RTPI to be a membership organisation for the membership, to ensure we articulated the membership offer, and to listen to members. So hosting initiatives such as Heads of Planning Everywhere (HOPE), and roundtables with our major consultancy and housebuilder members, for example, have been critical to us moving forward together.

I formed new partnerships, for example with Public Practice, and ensured the RTPI was open to new ways of thinking. I grasped the opportunity to further establish and develop the RTPI’s reputation and influence within the international planning arena, signing a number of Memorandum of Understandings.

Transformational approaches and government changes

When I joined the RTPI, I wanted to help the organisation find its voice, to become the respected and trusted confidant of governments and stakeholders, to be in a position of influence and to also shine a light on all that is good with the planning profession.  That saw a transformation of the approach to policy, public affairs and communications which, teamed with our world class research capabilities, has proved to be hugely successful.

It’s fair to say we were not short of opportunities to ‘make some noise’ about planning, and since joining the RTPI, there have been 12 housing and planning ministers, eight Secretaries of State in MHCLG, and five prime ministers.

From attending party political conferences (nine in total), and being a founding member of UKREiiF, (attending all three to date), to giving oral evidence to Parliamentary Select and Bill Committees, no opportunity has been missed to be visible and present.

I was recently asked what the hardest challenge was, and for me it was trying to run an organisation from home when I was still relatively new into the organisation.

Positive planning narrative

My proudest achievement is being able to influence the narrative on planning in a positive direction. On 26 November the Chancellor of the Exchequer presented her 2025 Budget speech. If you remove the two paragraphs relating to the Office for Budget Responsibility leak, then the word ‘planning’ appears as word 17 in this speech. It comes before trade deals and any reference to investment elsewhere.

The RTPI has long advocated for investment in capacity and capabilities of planning and planners, and so it was with great pride that we read the announcement for an investment of £48m over three years.

This is quite possibly the largest single investment into planning made by any government globally, ever.

We not only made the case for investment, but we also brought home the funding. This result is due to the huge effort of the staff team and the active member volunteers who have worked hard to make the investment case. We can all go happily into the new year, knowing it was a job well done.