Speakers

John Cornell is the Natural Environment Team Leader at Greater Cambridge Shared Planning, a joint Local Planning Authority comprising the City of Cambridge and the district of South Cambridgeshire and is one the busiest LPAs in the county. John manages a specialist team including ecologists, Tree officers and Landscape architects who provide an internal consultancy service to planners ensuring the protection of the natural environment as a function of planning and development

Chris is the Design and Specialist Services Manager at East Suffolk Council, leading one of the largest in-house consultee teams in the East of England. With a career in Urban Design and Landscape Architecture, he has supported over 20 local authorities in enhancing design and placemaking through Design Codes, Guides, and his consultee roles. Currently, Chris oversees key initiatives, including the Place Review across East Suffolk and the county-wide Suffolk Design initiative.

Guy has some 20 years’ experience as a planning consultant in Cambridge and has worked across some of the largest and most important developments for Cambridge.  This includes projects across the knowledge and life science sectors including at Cambridge Science Park, Cambridge International Technology Park, Capital Park and Cambridge Biomedical Campus. 

Also residential-led developments including Great Knighton, Novo, Darwin Green and the delivery of Trumpington Meadows.  Guy is deeply involved in the Cambridge area and understands the challenges and opportunities it offers. 

Maggie is a town planner and chartered surveyor, most recently being a principal strategic policy officer working on a new London Plan with the GLA. She is a Public Practice Alum, having previously been a senior associate at Tibbalds and a Lichfields' planning director. Maggie is currently freelancing; she is also a design review panel chair in Greater Cambridge, co-chair of the Essex quality Review Panel, and a panel member elsewhere in the south east. 

Daniel Fryd has over 10 years of experience providing communications and public affairs guidance to councils, government departments, developers and infrastructure providers. He has led successful campaigns for national housebuilders and strategic land promoters, navigating the planning system’s challenges. Formerly a director at the UK’s top public affairs agency, Daniel has also advised senior government figures at the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government, including housing ministers Alok Sharma and Gavin Barwell.

From 2003 to 2024, Lewis led 280 training workshops for council planners across East England, particularly Essex. And was an Anglia Ruskin University Town Planning MSc module leader.  

Meanwhile, Lewis was Cambridge City Council Leader from 2014 and a City Councillor from 2004 to 2023. Plus periods as Combined Authority Deputy Mayor, and Chair of the Greater Cambridge Partnership Board and the “Fast Growth Cities”. 

His latest role helps homelessness charities build new “supported modular communities”, including for former rough sleepers.

Tom Holbrook is founding partner of spatial design practice 5th Studio and Professor of Architecture & Urbanism at RMIT University.

Tom’s design practice explores complex urban regeneration, sustainability and the resilience of cities. His work has been published internationally and has been recognised by a wide range of awards across the fields of architecture, urban design, infrastructure, planning and landscape.

Tom is a Design Advocate for the Mayor of London.

Rob is Head of Parks Consultancy where he is responsible for supporting the Trust in delivering greater impact by investing in opportunities maximise commercial, social and environmental returns and delivering opportunities for growing the Trust and the ‘Park’. A qualified accountant Rob has worked at senior levels in the private, public and social enterprise sectors leading regeneration programmes. Over the last decade Rob has focussed on the benefits of parks and the environment as Head of Corporate Projects at idverde UK, the largest green space service provider in Europe and as Director of the Future Parks Accelerator programme in Cambridgeshire. In 2021 he authored the national report Making Parks Count for the government.

Maria is Chief Executive at Cambridge BID prior to this she headed up Watford BID for 7 years. Before returning to the south Maria worked in Newcastle as a Senior Regeneration Manager and in Northumberland as a Head of Service responsible for Tourism, Economic Development, Town Centre regeneration, Arts & Culture and Sports Development. She led on and managed a number of capital and revenue projects, including a regeneration programme across the rural coalfield, development of a long distance walk and cycle routes, a new build Tourist Information Centre, car park and toilet block and the restoration on ancient listed monument.

Paul joined LandAid in 2015 and leads a small but mighty team to deliver a clear strategy to end youth homelessness in the UK. He is committed to making LandAid a great partner to work with, and a great employer to work for. He is always impressed by the best that the property industry can achieve, and sees huge potential in its companies and staff working together to achieve social change.

Andy Moffat is a Director in and Head of Savills East of England Planning Team.  He joined Savills in November 2019 following 25 successful years in local government planning, most recently as Head of Development at Huntingdonshire District Council, where he oversaw the preparation and adoption of the Local Plan.  He is involved in a wide-range of planning matters including land promotions, planning applications, appeals and enforcement across sectors.

Mark is a Planning Director at Savills with 25 years of experience and has worked in both the public and private sector.  Mark has led multi-disciplinary teams on a diverse range of major projects from residential to renewable energy via minerals and waste. He advises clients on all planning matters including applications, appeals and local plan representations. Mark also specialises in providing advice to the water industry.

Stephen is a Chartered Town Planner with 35 years experience in public sector planning practice. For the last 18 years he has been the Chief Planner with 4 separate UK planning authorities and commissioned bespoke studies and research for both policy development purposes and for the assessment and determination of nationally significant regeneration and development projects. Since 2016, he has been the Chief Planner for Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District Councils, leading an Award Winning “Shared” Planning Service of nearly 140 professional and technical staff, planning for and managing nationally important growth across the Greater Cambridge area.

Peter has worked in planning for 17 years (with Broadland, Hastings, and South Oxfordshire Councils, and at Carter Jonas). He specialises in strategic planning, is experienced in the preparation and scrutiny of Local Plans and has produced detailed reports regarding housing needs and socioeconomics.  Peter has represented a variety of clients (including developers, universities, and public sector bodies) at DCO hearings, and Local Plan examinations, and has appeared regularly as an expert witness in appeals. 

Alex Shattock is a barrister at Landmark Chambers specialising in planning and environmental law. He does a lot of work for green NGOs and campaigners, and has worked on cases involving e.g. climate change, habitats, road schemes, and energy projects. His recent work includes various infrastructure challenges in the High Court and acting for Friends of the Earth in the successful Cumbria coal mine legal challenge.

David has recently joined Hertfordshire University as a lecturer supporting their MSc Sustainable Planning course, following 35 years experience most recently as Executive Director for Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation responsible for its stewardship and first substantial growth in a generation.  He was previously Associate Director at Lichfields and Planning Manager for Linden Homes, along with various local authority roles and running his own practice.  He was 2022 RTPI Regional Chair and is Head Judge for the regional awards.

Jim has been a local authority planner for 25 years, having worked in cities and rural areas, wealthy and less so, and in four regions. He has worked on more than half a dozen local plans, including Green Belt release. He has experience of working with airports, as well as two NSIP employment developments.

The last decade of Jim’s career has been spent focussed on unlocking growth, changing mindsets and modernising services.

Emma Goodings is a passionate advocate of the how the place can make a difference to people's lives. She is currently Director of Place at Brentwood Borough Council and Rochford District Council in South Essex, responsible for managing the planning and economic growth teams. Current projects include the 4000 home Dunton Hills Garden Village and the delivery of two new Local Plans. 

Katie Thornburrow was brought up in Hong Kong and received her architectural training in the UK. She has worked in practice and research, and was a partner of a commercial architectural practice before establishing her own practice, Granta Architects, in 1995. Katie was a Director of Cambridge Architectural Research for many years.

She is the co-author of many conservation management plans including those for the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, the University of East Anglia, and the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Katie's architectural practice specialises in the restoration and extension of historic buildings.