Renewables Hybrid Seminar - Capacity and Community provision

Atlanta joined the BEC team in November 2020, to keep our Members and supporters up to date with our famously punchy newsletter, manage our web content, liaise with the press and engage with BEC’s Solar Schools to redevelop our Education Programme funded by our Community Fund. 

As a longtime eco educator, campaigner, event organiser and charity fund-raiser, she brings a wealth of knowledge to our table.

Her renewables experience comes from being a conference organiser for SUSTAIN – World Sustainable Energy Fair in Amsterdam back in the 90s. Atlanta is a Co-founding Trustee of eco education charity Beacon Hub Brighton CIO, a Regional Rep for Surfers Against Sewage and runs her own marine environment consultancy.

I am the Service Manger covering Development Management, Strategic Sites and Enforcement at Somerset Council. I started active involvement in the region in 2016 by approaching Charlotte Daborn at a CPD event and asking ‘so what is it that the committee do?’ and have been part of the group since. I was RTPI SW Chair in 2020 which included a full year of CPD planning, two events, COVID and the evolution of virtual! This year I hope for a more active year championing wellbeing, working collaboration and growth as if you are standing still in planning you are already behind!   I look forward to meeting members throughout the year and understanding how these themes guide our practice.

I started my career as a Modern Apprentice for the Isle of Wight Council which reinforces my underlining support for the range of apprenticeships available, including in Town and County Planning. Gaining my Masters in Spatial Planning via day release at Oxford Brookes, and becoming RTPI accredited, my family and I moved to the 'mainland', to Somerset in 2015, progressing from a Senior to Principal role at Sedgemoor District Council (SDC). I gained a CMI Level 5 Diploma in Management and Leadership in 2018 and was promoted to Service Manager at the SDC prior to its merger with the adjoining Districts and County to become the new ‘Somerset Council’ in April 2023. Despite promising never to study again I completed my Level 7 Extended Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership qualification in 2023 and became a Chartered Manager.

Through my involvement with the RTPI SW Regional Activities I have promoted Planning Aid; organised and delivered CPD events for volunteers and members; worked with Plymouth University determining awareness and outreach opportunities and have been part of the judging panel for the Planning Awards. This year I am really looking forward to judging the Chairs ‘Unsung Hero’ award! 2025 will see collaboration through the events (with one co-joined with the South east), more involvement in the RTPI SW Planning Awards and the Presidents visit. In my spare time I also manage to enjoy exploring with family, my dog Topper and being put in my place by my cats Twinkle and Carbonel.

Hugh’s responsibilities at the TCPA include leading on policy development, and briefings and engagement with central and local government. In 2018 he led the secretariat for the Raynsford Review setting out a blueprint for a new planning system in England.

Since 2015 Hugh has co-authored four books, including ‘Rebuilding Britain’ and ‘Town Planning in Crisis’ with Kate Henderson, ‘The Art of Building a Garden City’, and ‘New Towns: Rise Fall and Rebirth’ with Katy Lock for RIBA.

Hugh has worked closely with parliamentarians on successive rounds of planning legislation. He is currently leading on the promotion of Healthy Homes legislation and on long term planning for the climate crisis.

He has a Doctorate in Land Use Planning and is Honorary Professor of Utopian Studies  at the University of Sheffield.

Chris began his career in 2003 in the Development Management team at Sedgemoor District Council, based in Bridgwater.  Chris stayed at SDC for 12 years rising from Planning Officer through to Principal Planning Officer.  Chris’ later years at SDC were characterised by involvement in various large-scale renewable energy schemes including numerous solar and wind farms; as well as large urban extensions to Bridgwater. 

In 2015 Chris moved on to Bath & North East Somerset Council where he was both Principal Planning Officer and latterly DM Team Manager responsible for the oversight of many of Bath’s urban redevelopment sites as well as day-to-day team management.  Recently Chris has swapped Georgian Bath for Regency Cheltenham and is now Head of Development Management, Enforcement and Compliance at Cheltenham Borough Council.

Outside of work, Chris is very occupied dealing with his two children and tries to look after his high-maintenance garden.  Chris also enjoys travel both with and without his children!

Lead Retrofit Innovation and Delivery Officer, Westminster City Council

Eleanor leads the Westminster Retrofit Taskforce, which was established in 2022 to explore ways beyond ‘business as usual’ that local authorities can support responsible retrofit at scale in a dense, and heritage-rich, urban environment. Partnering with internal and external stakeholders, the Taskforce is developing a number of pilot projects in retrofit procurement, community engagement, archetyping and planning policies & processes. Eleanor’s background is in historic building conservation, and she has previously worked on site as well as in private planning consultancy and at Historic England.

Founder and CEO of Low Carbon Hub since 2012, she drives the sustainability initiatives, pioneering community energy and leading Low Carbon Hub.
From 2000 until 2010, Dr Barbara Hammond was in Government, heading up the UK’s renewable energy programme and then, as International Director for Sir David King, supporting him on international climate change policy influencing.

Since 2008 Barbara has been involved in starting up community energy businesses in her own neighbourhood, as Director of Osney Lock Hydro and West Oxfordshire Community Renewables. Then in 2011, she founded the Low Carbon Hub.

Not only has Barbara led the Low Carbon Hub in its development of a significant portfolio of renewable energy projects, she has also led on developing critical relationships with many partner organisations that are fundamental to the Hub’s continuing success. Highlights include:

• Oxford City Council’s Revolving Construction Fund – a £2.3m facility that allows the Hub to develop new projects in advance of raising share equity.
• OxFutures – a £4.2 million project boosting low carbon economic development in Oxfordshire in partnership with both our universities and three of our local authorities.
• Project LEO – a £40 million project trialling local energy solutions to accelerate the transition to a zero carbon energy system in partnership with 9 other organisations including our distribution network operator, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.
• Cosy Homes Oxfordshire – a home retrofit service to improve energy efficiency in homes, reducing carbon emissions and improving comfort.
• Energy Solutions Oxfordshire (ESOx) – a complete energy efficiency service helping organisations lower their energy use while saving time and money.

She was awarded an MBE in the 2015 New Year’s Honours List for services to community energy development, particularly in Oxfordshire.

Ada is RTPI’s Infrastructure and Climate Change Specialist, leading on the institute’s policy positions on the topics of transport, infrastructure and climate change. She holds a PhD in Land Economy and an MPhil in Environmental Policy, both from the University of Cambridge. Her research and teaching experience spans the areas of public engagement, planning theory and environmental policy. She was a journalist at the start of her career, specialising in transport infrastructure news.

Katharina Meehan is the Policy & Strategy Manager in the Strategic Spatial Energy Planning team in NESO.  Her team have driven some of the key design decisions for the first Strategic Spatial Energy Plan such as in scope technologies. Her remit covers energy policy, spatial policy and considering integration of the SSEP into the planning system. Katharina is an experienced policy and commercial manager with extensive energy industry knowledge.

Harry is LandTech's Chartered Town Planner and has responsibility for running Give My View, LandTech's public consultation platform.  Alongside overseeing the continued success of Give My View, Harry works with LandTech's product and data teams to ensure that LandTech's platform, LandInsight, continues to offer our customers unparalleled site finding, site appraisal, and site funding tools. Prior to joining LandTech, Harry was a planner in the private sector, working in Bristol, London, and Sydney, Australia.   

Kim is a Stakeholder Relations Manager for Local Authorities at SSEN Distribution, working to support local authorities in their transition to Net Zero and deliver local solutions to climate change. Kim has over a decade of experience in stakeholder engagement and communications across the energy, construction, defence and transport sectors.

Emily Taylor is National Grid Electricity Distribution's (NGED) Regional Decarbonisation Manager. She lead’s the strategic engagement team who provide bespoke support and guidance to local and regional stakeholders in the development of Local Area Energy Plans (LAEPs) and other decarbonisation planning. The team work with all 120 local authorities across NGED’s four licence areas to ensure local plans are included in NGED’s strategic investment planning process.

Rob Webbon (Head of Comms and Customer Engagement) is an experienced environmental scientist, with a background in project management of engineering and sustainability projects. He has worked in sustainability for twenty years, in both local government and consultancy, and led South Gloucestershire Council’s heat network studies. Building strong relationships with multiple stakeholders has been a common thread running throughout his career.

Rebecca leads work on planning at Regen, a not-for-profit centre of renewable energy expertise. She holds a PhD in environmental planning and has expertise in community engagement and the social acceptance of renewable energy. She is a recognised expert on planning for renewable energy and her research has been used to shape planning policy.