Planning

KPF, Bermondsey © Plomp

Supporting a growing city that works for all Londoners

In the midst of the pandemic, the government set to shake up the planning system through their “Planning for the future” reform, in order to fuel the post-pandemic recovery and “build build build” faster and better. COVID-19 and the successive lockdowns have also accelerated the digitalisation of the planning system, leading to significant, and potentially long-lasting, changes in the way we approach consultation and accessibility of information and data.

Is the current planning system fit to take decisions that will shape the London of the future? With the new London Plan to be imminently published, do we have the right tools to carefully plan for high-quality environments where people want to ‘live, work and play’? Do local authorities have the right skills and resources to deliver against the government’s white paper? How can communities get involved in shaping local places? And how should the regeneration of existing areas be best managed?

NLA’s Planning programme looks at the rapidly changing shape of London through examining spatial and strategic plans at a local as well as London-wide level.

MORE ONLINE AND PUBLISHED CONTENT

News

Videos

Research

EXPERT PANEL

CHAIR
Jonny Popper, Managing Director, London Communications Agency

Jonny Popper is co-founder and Managing Director of London Communications Agency, the public relations and public affairs consultancy supporting many of London’s major developments. Jonny has worked on some of London’s largest and most complex projects, for the public and private sectors, helping them through community engagement and planning. His current clients include Quintain, Tottenham Hotspur FC, the Parliamentary Estate, HB Reavis, Argent, Enfield Council and Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Anisha Jogani, Placemaking Team Leader, London Borough of Croydon
Anisha Jogani leads the Placemaking Team at Croydon Council, an award winning multidisciplinary team of urban designers, architects, landscape architects, heritage and conservation specialists, and cultural practitioners within the Spatial Planning service. She is an urban designer, researcher and curator and most recently worked at OMA AMO in Rotterdam, consulted the Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism team at the V&A and worked as a Tate Collective curator for young audiences at Tate Modern.

Anisha was recently an Ideas City fellow, an initiative run by the New Museum in Athens, is part of the Brighton & Hove Design Place panel and continues to guest crit at academic institutions such as Central Saint Martins and the Architectural Association.

Anna Sinnott, Planning Director, BDP
Anna Sinnott is a Planning Director within the Urbanism Studio at BDP, and has experience in both planning consultancy and masterplanning. Anna specialises in providing expert planning advice to design teams and works closely with architects and other professions on projects in the UK and abroad. Current projects include the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster, the redevelopment of London South Bank University and Tewkesbury Garden Town.

Brett Harbutt, Head of Planning, Quintain

Brett has almost 25 years’ experience in planning, with particular expertise in developing planning strategies for large scale residential led mixed-use development sites and managing multi-disciplinary teams through the planning process from pre-application discussions through to securing planning permission and construction on site.

As Head of Planning at Quintain, he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of planning at Wembley Park, the UK’s largest single site Build to Rent development delivering over 8,400 new homes.

Darryl Chen, Partner and Head of Urban Design, Hawkins\Brown

Darryl Chen leads Hawkins\Brown’s urban design studio and has successfully delivered significant strategic and regeneration projects in the UK and overseas. In London he continues to steer local authority work on town centre regeneration, public space and industrial intensification.

Darryl heads the practice’s research studio and has produced widely published studies into planning issues. His current research focuses on integrating social infrastructure at a planning level. He has led design units at the Architectural Association and Bartlett schools of architecture.

Gordon Ingram, Founding Director & Chairman, VU.CITY

Gordon Ingram is Chairman and one of the founding Directors of the pioneering interactive smart city platform, VU.CITY. Gordon is also a Senior Partner at GIA Surveyors, who specialise in dealing with Daylight and Sunlight (both internal and external), Overshadowing, Solar Glare, and Light Pollution. Gordon frequently provides evidence as an expert witness in Public Inquiries in relation to amenity, density and daylight/sunlight.

Lisa Webb, Senior Planning Partner, Gerald Eve

Lisa is a Senior Planning Partner in Gerald Eve’s Planning and Development department and member of the Executive Board. Lisa was a founding partner of Moseley & Webb who merged with Gerald Eve in September 2007. She advises leading UK and international owners, developers, investors and occupiers and has expertise in complex, high profile commercial, retail, hotel, residential and mixed use developments and regeneration projects across London. She is also Planning advisor to, and Board Member and Treasurer of, the City Property Association.

Mike Saunders, CEO (Co-founder), Commonplace
Mike has been a digital pioneer and entrepreneur for over 20 years, developing innovative digital businesses across media, public and commercial sectors for organisations from Sony Playstation to Kew Gardens. He has built several start-ups as well as worked in central government. Mike co-founded Commonplace to realise a vision of applying technology to connect people to places in order to accelerate positive change. Commonplace has since grown rapidly, being used by some of the largest organisations in the built environment in the UK, as well as in the US and Germany. It has won awards from the Nominet Trust, Big Venture Challenge and the national award for Best Stakeholder Engagement tool. It has engaged over a million people on 400 projects. Mike is also a Non-Executive Director of Trinity College London and previously served as a member of the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Public Engagement at Parliament, and of ActionAid’s Digital Advisory Board.

Peter Kemp, Head of Change and Delivery, Greater London Authority

Peter Kemp is Head of Change and Delivery at the Greater London Authority (GLA). Peter is an experienced Town Planner and Planning Lawyer having worked on major projects both inside and outside of London. Most recently before joining the GLA he was involved in managing infrastructure funding through CIL and S106 agreements for the opportunity areas of west London. Amongst other things the objectives of Peter’s current role is to transform how development data can drive change in the planning industry.

Riette Oosthuizen, Head of Planning, HTA Design
Riëtte established and headed up HTA Design’s award winning planning team since 2007. She trained as a Town and Regional Planner in South Africa, and holds a PhD in Urban Policy and Social Exclusion from CURS, University of Birmingham. HTA’s planning team have delivered a significant portfolio of successful planning applications, having secured planning permission for more than 10,000 new homes in London and the rest of the UK working collaboratively with HTA Design teams and other architectural practices. She 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.
Riëtte was included in the Planner’s Women of Influence list 2020, and is member of the Policy and Research group of the RTPI and the Planning Group of the RIBA.

Sarah Wardle, Associate Director, BECG

Sarah has a wealth of experience in developing stakeholder engagement and public affairs strategies across London and the South East. Sarah has worked has worked with major housebuilders, strategic land promoters, hotel operators, commercial developers, student accommodation providers, charities and housing associations to refine their consultation strategies.Sarah leads on a number of high-profile and complex planning and infrastructure projects at BECG such as the alternative expansion DCO at Heathrow Airport and the next phase of the White City regeneration for Westfield.

Outside of BECG Sarah is a Councillor in LB Barnet and is Vice-Chair of the Housing and Growth Committee, which has responsibility for Council-owned assets, the overarching growth strategy and oversight over the Borough’s strategic regenerations, including the Brent Cross regeneration.

Thomasin Renshaw, Director of Development, Grosvenor Britain & Ireland

Thomasin Renshaw leads Grosvenor’s major 2-acre mixed-use scheme in Mayfair called the South Molton Triangle. She previously worked for Muse Developments and London & Regional where she led a number of large, complex, mixed-use urban regeneration projects in London and the Thames Valle. She is also Non-Executive Director of Broadway Living Registered Provider. Thomasin holds a BSc Astrophysics (UCL), an MSc Surveying (University of Reading) and is a Fellow of RICS (Planning and Development).

Victoria Du Croz, Partner and Head of Planning, Forsters
Victoria heads up Forsters’ Planning team. She specialises in all aspects of planning law and her clients include major developers, retail operators and institutional investors. Victoria's experience includes advising on major urban developments and she has acted on schemes in most of the London boroughs. Her career highlights include advising on the high profile redevelopment of the Shell Centre and advising Hondo Enterprises on the redevelopment of Pope’s Road. Prior to joining Forsters in 2017, Victoria spent 14 years at Hogan Lovells.

David Joyce, Director for Housing, Regeneration and Planning, LB Haringey

As Haringey’s Corporate Director for Housing, Regeneration and Planning, David is leading the Council’s ambitious programme to build 1000 new council homes and ensuring that regeneration in Wood Green, Tottenham Hale and around Tottenham High Road takes a community wealth building approach which places residents and businesses at the heart of the economic renewal which will need to follow on from the devastating impacts of COVID 19.

He is working alongside Haringey’s elected members and partners to ensure that fairness and equality are underpinning values to guide this work, including through ensuring that the economic recovery focusses on tackling the climate emergency.

David previously held Director roles at both Camden and Lambeth. At Camden he oversaw the HS2 development at Euston and the implementation of the King’s Cross development as well as the £30 million West End Project. At Lambeth he was responsible for significant regeneration and development schemes along the South Bank at Waterloo and Vauxhall and also Brixton Town Centre.

Peter Barbalov, Partner, Farrells
Peter Barbalov has worked with the practice since 1999, acting as one of Farrells’ longest standing partners. Peter’s expertise lies in concept design and design development through to completion. His experience is wide ranging and includes buildings in the commercial, residential, retail, cultural and leisure sectors as well as urban design and interior design projects. Peter is responsible for complex, mixed-use urban regeneration projects throughout London and in Asia. Peter’s personal commitment and strong vision ensure that projects achieve the highest standards of design excellence and delivery.

See all NLA expert Panels

Gallery

Sponsorship Opportunities

There are opportunities to become either a Champion or Supporter of this programme. To find out more about how you could get involved in the events and output across our platforms please get in touch with the Membership Team via membership@nla.london

Prices start from £3,950 + VAT for 12 month support.