Roger Hepher
Director, HGH Consulting
Roger Hepher is one of the co-founders at hgh Consulting
He holds a Degree in Town & Country Planning a Masters in Town Planning; and is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and an Academician of the Academy of Urbanism.
After successfully heading Hepher Dixon from the mid 1990s, Roger was Savills’ national Head of Planning, leading a team of nearly 200 planners, from 1988 to 2014, and sat on the Board of Savills UK. He co-founded the company that is now hgh Consulting in 2016.
He is active in the affairs of the British Property Federation and London First. He was a member of the coalition Government’s Planning Sounding Board; was appointed by Nick Boles (then Planning Minister) as a Red Tape Challenge Champion; and was a member of the expert panel advising Bridget Rosewell OBE’s review of Planning Appeal Inquiries.
Roger is an experienced planning strategist and leader of professional teams. He also has considerable experience as an expert witness at public inquiries, planning hearings, development plan examinations, Upper Tribunal (formerly Lands Tribunal) hearings, CPO inquiries, High Court proceedings and Select Committee hearings.
Steve Quartermain
Former Chief Planner & Director, Quartermain & Consultant, HGH Consulting
Paul Morrison
Chief Executive, Planning Inspectorate
Ian Anderson
Chief Executive, Iceni Projects
Ian is always seeking to identify opportunities to add value for his clients, and to further the growth of Iceni.
Having previously been a director at Town Planning Consultancy and subsequently
RPS, Ian has experienced working for both private-run and PLC planning firms. In turn, Ian worked for a private property company, led by two entrepreneurs, where he both acquired sites and managed them through the planning process.
Ian has taken the key ingredients that made those businesses successful and instilled them into the fabric of Iceni: A business mindset characterised by hard work, strategic vision, common sense, topical awareness, and speed of thought.
Ian relishes working with clients, be that on site identification, business planning or project strategy.
Ian currently works on a range of strategic, retail, and residential projects, and also serves in an advisory capacity to a number of property companies.
Iain Gilbey
Partner – Head of Planning, Pinsent Masons
Iain specialises in all aspects of the law relating to town and country planning and related environmental issues. He is a senior partner with Pinsent Masons’ market leading planning law team, and leads the firm’s Residential Sector. His primary focus is on large scale mixed use and residential led projects in London, urban extensions and large scale settlement, garden villages and commercial and sporting stadia projects. His practice encompasses advice on all non-contentious and contentious planning matters, including Court challenges, public inquiries and other tribunals. Iain is recognised as a leading planning lawyer by the Legal 500, Chambers Guide and Planning Magazine’s Annual Legal Survey.
Claire Dutch
Head of UK Real Estate & Co-Head of Planning & Environment, Ashurst
Clare Fielding
Partner, Town Legal
Clare is leading our team through its next phase of growth.
Clare’s legal practice has been focused on substantial London projects. She regularly advises on complex planning strategy, viability issues, Community Infrastructure Levy, JR risk, and on property-related corporate transactions.
Her style is collaborative, problem-solving and people-centred. She regularly speaks on diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Legal 500 2021 said: “Clare is very pragmatic, and her work is a very good example of the public and private sector working together. She’s very good on strategy.”
Clare is currently working toward accreditation as a business coach.
Andrew Taylor
Group Planning & Communities Director, Vistry Group
Andrew is Group Planning & Communities Director at Vistry Group and leads the company’s planning function. Countryside develops private, affordable and privately rented homes through partnerships with landowners, registered providers, institutional investors and local authorities, with a focus on urban regeneration schemes and delivering landscape led developments and new settlements.
Before joining Vistry, Andrew was Head of Planning for Countryside in the Eastern Counties and prior to that spent over 18 years in planning authorities in the south east of England. He has experience of both urban and rural planning from small scale exception needs housing to master planning new settlements, major town centre redevelopments and international airport expansion.
Andrew chaired the Royal Town Planning Institute Board of Trustees for 4 years to December 2016 and took on the role of Hon. Treasurer in January 2017, continuing as a Trustee and on the RTPI’s General Assembly.
Andrew Chairs the Leeds Beckett University Partnership Board, is a member of the Women in Planning Advisory board and Chair of the National Planning Forum’s Management Committee, championing planning and inspiring all those involved in the planning process and in delivering the new planning agenda.
Nick Cuff
Chief Commercial Officer, Pocket Living
Maria Dunn
Head of Development Policy , Birmingham City Council
Maria is a qualified planner working in the public sector since 2006. Maria became a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute in March 2009. Maria is highly experienced in the preparation of planning policy having been involved in the complete process of preparing the Wyre Forest District Adopted Core Strategy, Site Allocations and Policies Local Plan and Kidderminster Central Area Action Plan. Maria also has considerable knowledge of the Sustainability Appraisal process and neighbourhood planning. Maria was a member of the YP West Midlands committee between May 2010 and October 2013 and has been a member of the RTPI West Midlands Regional Activities Committee since 2013. Maria has been a Planning Aid volunteer since 2005.
Anthony Lee
Senior Director, BNP Paribas Real Estate
Anthony Lee BSc (Hons) MSc (Econ) MA (TP) PhD MRTPI MRICS is Head of UK Development Viability at BNP Paribas Real Estate. He is a chartered surveyor and chartered town planner specialising in development economics, financial modelling and valuation, and advises clients in the public and private sectors on a range of affordable housing issues. His team has recently advised local authority and developer clients on major strategic residential developments in London (Stag Brewery, Westferry Printworks, North Quay, Battersea Power Station, Chelsea Barracks, Leamouth Peninsula, Greenwich Millennium Village, New Wembley, Stratford City, Silvertown Quays, Tideway Wharf, Tottenham Hale, Creekside Village and Tottenham Hotspurs Football Club).
Andy Leahy
Managing Director, Bespoke Property Group
Andy began his 13 year career with Wimpey, starting out as a trainee engineer, rising to Development Director for their Eastern Counties operations based in Witham. His next appointment was as Managing Director of the southern housing operations for Raine Industries. Following the sale of the Raine Industries housebuilding business to Balfour Beatty, Andy became a consultant to Admiral Homes working on the sale of the company to Bryant Homes
Andy was then Development Director for Ballymore Properties Ltd from 1996 to 2004, working on major mixed-use schemes in London and across the country following the purchase of Railtrack
2
Property. Whilst at Ballymore Andy worked with the Irish Homebuilder’s Association and the Irish Government and funding institutions on the introduction of Affordable Housing policies.
In 2004 Andy set up Bespoke Property Consultants which specialises in providing consultancy services on financial viability of developments, Build to Rent projects, S.106 Agreements and Affordable Housing for developers, Registered Providers and local authorities. Bespoke is a niche practice with eight consultants and administrative staff.
Bespoke Property Consultants provides one of the country’s leading consultancy services on affordable housing and development viability. In 2005 Andy together with Stuart Morley of GVA Grimley, authored the Economic Assessment Tool for the Homes & Communities Agency, which is now in use throughout the country in support of planning applications. BPC works for a wide variety of councils and developers carrying out site specific financial viability assessments, affordable housing advice and infrastructure assessments. In relation to this Andy provides expert witness advice at planning appeals. Currently Andy with his colleagues is advising on schemes of up to 6,000 units each in the growth areas of Ashford and Cambridgeshire, as well as high density mixed use schemes in London and the South east.
Through his work with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Andy has advised on policy around Build to Rent, affordable housing and financial viability models. He has written guidance to assist fellow practitioners and is a consultee on regulation and development valuation for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. In 2019 Andy did a speaking tour in New South Wales, Australia on the elements needed to encourage a new Build to Rent Sector. Following that tour the NSW Government engaged with Stakeholders lead by Andy’s hosts the Committee for Sydney and ECF which lead to changes in taxation and planning policy in February 2021.
Andy was formerly Chair of A2 Dominion Enterprises (now called “Fabrica”) which is the development arm of A2 Dominion Housing Group a Registered Provider, targeting the key worker and open sale / rental markets. Andy is currently a non-executive Director of Orchard and Shipman Homes which is a new management only Registered Provider targeting the delivery of schemes in association with Local Authorities and Developers. Andy chaired the CLG working group on the financial viability of Build to Rent in planning which informed government policy advice for this emerging market.
Jenifer Jackson
Assistant Director for Planning & Transport Strategy, Richmond & Wandsworth Councils
Jeni has worked as a town planner in local government for over 25 years, covering Berkshire, Surrey and London authorities. Currently Jeni is the Chief Planner for the London Boroughs of Wandsworth and Richmond upon Thames, a role she has held since 2019. Both boroughs are currently working to progress new Local Plans and have a number of large scale development schemes including the redevelopment of the Stag Brewery site in Mortlake, the regeneration of the Winstanley and York Road estate in Battersea and the Alton Estate in Roehampton together with leading the team working on the regeneration of the Wandsworth portion of the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area, including the recently opened Northern Line Extension. In 2021 Jeni was on ‘The Planner’ Women of Influence list for her work with the teams during the COVID pandemic. In July the RTPI London Region recognised Jeni’s achievements leading two very distinctive Council’s planning functions through the ‘Head Planner of the Year’ Award. Jeni is also a member of the Town and Country Planning Association Policy Council and volunteers for Girlguiding UK as a Brownie Leader.
Frances Summers
Principal Consultant at Capita (Senior Planner at BCP Council from 25 September 2023), Part time Lecturer at The University of Gloucestershire
A late bloomer to planning, beginning her planning career at 32, Frances is a Chartered Town Planner with experience in policy, development management and academia.
Frances is an active staff member at the University of Gloucestershire where she spends some of her week embedding practice into taught modules and research. The remainder of the working week is spent in practice working hard to achieve good place making. Her key strengths lie in governance and building relationships which fuels her interest and ideas for planning transformation.
She always makes time to support colleagues and, due to this, she was nominated and subsequently selected as one of The Planners Woman of Influence 2021. Also, a winner of the RTPI’s South West Young Planner of the Year 2021, with nominations for RTPI Young Planner of the Year and Rising Stars Award 2022. When not at work, Frances spends time walking her two cocker spaniels, paddleboarding, reading and watching live music.”
Annabel Graham Paul
Francis Taylor Building
Annabel is a front-rank junior in planning law. She has acted in many leading judicial reviews and
planning inquiries of national significance. Clients include major developers and corporate landowners;
the UK and Welsh Governments; local authorities; statutory bodies, and private individuals.
Philip Barnes
Group Land & Planning Director, Barratt Developments PLC
Group Land and Planning Director for UK’s largest housebuilder. Represents Barratt on land acquisition and planning strategy. Previously Senior Director (Housing) for UK leading economics and planning consultancy. FRTPI,FRICS.
John Wacher
Strategic Planning Manager, Greater London Authority
John Wacher set up and has led the Mayor of London’s Viability Team since 2017. He oversees strategic policy and guidance and the assessment affordable housing and viability in strategic applications for the GLA. He is a co-author of the London Plan and led on the Mayor’s Affordable Housing and Viability Guidance. He is also the GLA lead on the Infrastructure Levy proposals in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill and the Building Safety Levy.
John is an expert on affordable housing, developer contributions and viability in the planning system and has chaired the London Authorities Viability Group for the last eight years. He has given evidence at a range of planning appeals and was lead officer at the landmark case Parkhurst Road, Islington. He also led on the first detailed guidance on viability by a local authority and the Islington Local Economic Assessment.
He has appeared before Examinations in Public, the House of Commons Housing Select Committee and the London Assembly Planning Committee. He holds a Masters degree with distinction in Urban Planning and Regeneration from Oxford Brookes University and first class BA honours in Geography from Kings College London.
Jane Seymour
Development Viability Expert, Greater London Authority
Jane Seymour works as a development viability expert in the Mayor of London’s Viability Team. She has over 16 years of experience in advising on planning and development matters working for a number of London Boroughs including Southwark and the two Mayoral Development Agencies. Jane’s role includes reviewing viability assessments for referable schemes on behalf of the Mayor to ensure the scheme provides the maximum amount of affordable housing. She has appeared as an expert witness at a number of appeal hearings including Westferry Printworks. Jane also sits on a number of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Working Parties and was closely involved in drafting the latest RICS Viability in Planning Guidance that was published in March 2021.
Lisa Fairmaner
Head of the London Plan and Growth Strategies, GLA
Dr Riëtte Oosthuizen
Partner, Head of Planning, HTA Design
Riëtte is HTA Design LLP’s Partner responsible for Urban Planning. She has been leading HTA’s multi award winning planning team since 2007. She is an expert in residential development, design and planning policy with over 22 years of experience as an urban planning consultant. She is passionate about working with communities, research on what makes good places, innovative ways of solving the housing crisis, planning policy changes and its impact on people’s lives.
Riëtte’s team of residential and residential led mixed use expert planners deliver bespoke planning advice and solutions to a wide range of clients from the public and private sector. HTA’s planning team have delivered a significant portfolio of successful planning applications for new homes in London and the rest of the UK working collaboratively with a range of design teams from HTA and other architectural practices. Aside from providing clients with planning advice, Riëtte is also closely involved in promoting HTA’s thinking on innovative solutions to solve the housing crisis, including a suburban intensification project - ‘Supurbia’ - and other untapped sources of housing provision in London, such as its rooftops.