Nations and Regions Panel

Catherine is a graduate of Queens University Belfast, and a senior planner in the Northern Ireland Civil Service with 29 years of experience working in the public sector. The last 15 years she has spent working on securing the transformation of planning and local government in Northern Ireland, developing expertise in change management in a fast-paced environment within the context of the devolved powers of the NI Assembly. During this major transformation project which took effect on 1st April 2015, she held a key post working on the making of the Planning Act 2011 which was the largest piece of legislation to be made at that time within a compressed timescale. She also led the introduction of community planning to Northern Ireland, developing cross-sector relationships and overseeing a significant capacity building programme.

More recently, to embed the new planning system in Northern Ireland, Catherine worked with the Welsh Government to assist with establishing regional oversight of the new local development plan system. She also project managed the Planning Engagement Partnership, collaboratively working with public, private and third sector organisations across Northern Ireland, whose report ‘Planning Your Place: Getting Involved’ was announced by the Minister in March 2022 containing recommendations on how to improve community engagement in planning and place shaping. She continues to work at the regional level on improving community engagement in the planning process, and legislative matters such as building safety, second homes and the historic environment.

Catherine is a Corporate Member of the RTPI Northern Ireland Executive Committee, and has an active role in the Residents Association where she lives in a Conservation Area. She is committed to harnessing the value of planning, to produce positive societal outcomes at local, regional and national levels. She is also enthusiastic in her pursuit of self development along with professional development, having provided a leadership workshop as part of a Women’s Mentoring Programme in the Northern Ireland Civil Service, and is an active member of the ‘More To Life’ Foundation which is a global community of people committed to transforming their lives and communities through their own personal development.

Jan Bessell has been a Fellow of RTPI since 2015 and has over 30 years’ experience as a planning professional in both the public and private sector. Jan is currently a Strategic Planning Adviser at Pinsent Masons and is a former Examining Inspector for the Planning Inspectorate. She is immediate past Board Chair of the National Infrastructure Planning Association and volunteers for RTPI as Vice Chair of the English Policy Committee and North East Regional representative on the RTPI General Assembly and Planning Aid. 

Andrew is Group Planning Director at Vistry Group which includes Bovis, Countryside and Linden Homes. Vistry 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, landscape led developments and new settlements.

Before joining Countryside/Vistry, Andrew was Head of Planning for a developer in the Eastern Counties and prior to that spent over 18 years in planning authorities in the southeast 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 was Hon. Treasurer for 6 years from January 2017. He remains a Trustee, on the RTPI’s General Assembly and is a member of the English Policy Committee.

Andrew is a member of the Home Builders Federation National Planning committee, the Policy and Technical Committee of the Land, Planning and Development Federation, 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.

Joanne is the Local Plans Manager (North) for the Home Builders Federation and represents the members of the HBF in seeking to influence the production of planning policy in the North of England. Joanne is an experienced policy planner with more than 20 years in the profession. After starting her career in the private sector Joanne has mainly working within local government, contributing to planning policy for Stafford, Halton and Cheshire East. Joanne is strong supporter of the planning profession and is currently the Honorary Sectary of the RTPI NW region and has previously served as RTPI NW Chair and as a Trustee of the RTPI. Joanne is a member of the CPD Task Group and is keen to help to support our local members through professional development and other RTPI services and events.

Laura is a Senior Planner at Gillings Planning with experience in the public, private and third sector. Laura has been involved with the RTPI since she was a student member in various roles including the Young Planner Trustee and Chair of the South Coast Young Planners Network.  Laura was awarded RTPI South East Young Planner of the Year in 2019 and featured on the Woman of Influence list for 2022.

Laura’s experience includes projects in the education, residential and care sectors. Laura enjoys running public consultation events and connecting with future generations with planning through school and university talks. Outside of work Laura runs a Brownie unit, where she goes by the name of Flamingo, loves reading, podcasts and enjoys long walks… especially when they end at the pub!

Thom is currently finishing his master’s degree in Spatial Planning and Development at Cardiff University, having previously studied at the University of Manchester and the University of South Wales. He has a keen interest in the built environment and how planning can solve many of the problems that we face in the 21st Century such as sustainability, climate change and the impact the built environment has on people living with dementia which is a focus for his dissertation. Outside of university life Thom is a spin class enthusiast and keen swimmer, father of a Russian Blue cat and enjoys long walks with his partner.

Tim has spent the majority of his career working as a Planner for various local authorities in Somerset and was Head of Service covering the area of both Taunton Deane and West Somerset, where he oversaw the delivery of major housing growth leading to Taunton's designation as a Garden Town. In April 2019 Tim left the Councils to set up his own Planning Consultancy. He now works regularly alongside the Planning Advisory Service providing service reviews and training for local planning authorities across the country, with a particular emphasis on improving development management performance and Planning Committee decision-making. Tim Burton Planning  also undertakes private sector work advising architects and SME developers on how best to navigate the complexities of local authority planning processes. Tim is a regular volunteer member of the Design Review Panel and has recently chaired a number of their on-line review sessions. Tim has been a member of the RAC for just over three years and appreciates this opportunity to engage with other planners from across the region promoting the positive role of planning.

Philippa has worked in local government for over 30 years and has extensive experience in the planning and regeneration sectors. Following a number of years working for Sandwell Council in the areas of planning policy and regeneration, Philippa moved to Worcester City Council to manage the economic development and planning functions. She worked for a short time at Wychavon and Malvern Hills Councils concentrating on the production of the South Worcestershire Development Plan before returning to the Black Country to take on the role of project manager for the Black Country Plan.

Neil is a Chartered Town Planner and is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University. Neil has also supported Planning Aid Wales by acting as a director for over 10 years, including a year as Chairman of Planning Aid Wales. Neil has advised the National Assembly for Wales in its Inquiry into the Planning System in Wales (2011) and also previously chaired the Welsh Government's stakeholder group on the introduction of Local Development Plans in Wales.

Catharine is the Community Planning Manager for Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council and is responsible for managing and facilitating collaboration between a number of statutory partners delivering services to improve the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of local people. She has been a town planner for over 30 years having previously worked in Wyre Borough Council and Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council before returning to Northern Ireland to work in the voluntary sector on planning projects with community groups. A graduate of Birmingham Polytechnic, Catharine strongly believes in the importance of involving communities in making decisions which ultimately impact on their lives.

Catharine was RTPI NI Chair in 2023.

Duncan is a Chartered Town Planner with over 11 years’ experience across infrastructure consenting, environmental assessment and policy development. He leads on offshore planning and environmental policy at ScottishPower Renewables (SPR), with responsibility for co-ordinating policy and strategic work to facilitate the efficient deployment of renewables projects. Duncan advises on infrastructure consenting regimes, manages strategic stakeholder engagement and leads SPR’s response to offshore planning and environmental policy consultations across the UK and Ireland. He also leads on consenting and environmental strategies for SPR’s three ScotWind projects with a total capacity of 7GW.

Prior to joining SPR Duncan had 9 years’ consultancy experience, including leading the delivery of planning and EIA services for major infrastructure projects and managing Strategic Environmental Assessments to support the development of spatial plans across the UK.

Duncan has been involved with the RTPI since joining the West of Scotland Chapter as Events Co-ordinator in 2014 and has twice served as Chapter Convenor in 2016 and 2020. He is currently a member of the RTPI’s Scottish Executive Committee, lead member for planning on Scottish Renewables’ Barriers to Deployment – Enabling Group and developer representative on the Offshore Wind Industry Council’s Pathways to Growth Co-ordination Group.

Beth is a Principal Planning Policy and Climate Action Manager at Castle Point Borough Council. She has more than ten years of experience in local authority planning, having previously worked at Colchester City Council. Previous to this she worked in Waste and Minerals Policy and in the Lead Local Flood Authority teams for Essex County Council. She has a variety of specialisms from her roles, and her work interests include Garden Communities, Green Infrastructure and Community Engagement. Beth has recently started running and enjoys supporting Norwich City FC and the England Roses. She also loves travelling and exploring new places.

Abbie is the Honorary Secretary for Yorkshire in 2025 and was previously on the Yorkshire RAC and briefly on the East Midlands RAC. Abbie’s involvement with the RTPI stems from working with Planning Aid in Yorkshire to support communities engaging in neighbourhood planning in Leeds.  Since then, she has spoken at a number of local and national RTPI events on engagement in the planning process, having supported the development of a number of neighbourhood plans in Leeds early in her career.

 Abbie is currently the Strategic Lead for the South Yorkshire Investment Zone, using her experience of strategic regeneration, delivery, policy development, and partnership working to support economic growth in the region.