Meet the team

Principal Planner, WSP

Ian has taken an unconventional route to planning after running a Greater Manchester magazine whose cultural content increasingly considered planning issues. Now part of the Infrastructure Planning team at WSP, Ian has over 6 years' experience on schemes from active travel and sustainable transport to renewable energy. He formerly worked at Wardell Armstrong preparing Planning, Crime Impact and Health Impact assessments, and was elected as a Chartered Town Planner in December 2019. Ian joined the RTPI NW Regional Activities Committee and the RTPI NW Young Planners Committee in January 2019 and has arranged and chaired various CPD events and webinars, including Participation in Planning, Reallocating Road Space, and Planning for Healthy Communities. In his spare time, Ian engages with sustainable transport and active travel campaigns and is passionate about enabling safer, more liveable streets.

Jemma is a Senior Planner in Deloitte’s Regional Planning and Development Team. She joined the team in September 2019, after graduating from Oxford Brookes University with an MSC in Spatial Planning. She has worked on a range of projects across Yorkshire and the North West, including a number large-scale EIA developments within city centre regeneration areas and on strategic sites, the production of Strategic Regeneration Frameworks, as well as smaller change of use and listed building applications.

Jemma was elected as a Chartered Member of the RTPI in December 2021. Jemma is keen to support others early in their planning career and is helping licentiate colleagues work towards their chartered memberships.

Ryan is Principal Planning Officer in Development Management at Rochdale Borough Council and has worked there since 2019. He graduated from his Masters in Town Planning and Real Estate at the University of Manchester in 2020 and is working towards becoming a chartered member of the RTPI. Ryan is passionate about securing high-quality design in new development and the role which placemaking has in the economic development of an area.

James is currently a 3^rd year student at the University of Liverpool, studying an Integrated Masters in Urban Planning. James, having grown up in Leeds, (Europe’s largest city without a Metro or Rapid Transit System) has always been intrigued as to why this has been the case and how planning may be able to provide a solution. In light of this, James has a particular interest in developing Urban infrastructure particularly transport and sustainable development within the built environment so that it is long lasting and fit for the future.

James is excited to learn more about planning from a professional and real world perspective, alongside his academic studies, as well as being part of the next generation of planners.

Sophie is a Planner at P4 Planning LTD in Manchester having relocated from the North East in September 2023. She graduated her Masters Degree in Urban Planning in 2021 from Newcastle University whereby she was awarded the David Lock Award for her research titled “‘Rainbow Regeneration’ in Newcastle Upon Tyne’s LGBTQ* Scene: Working Towards Sustainable Inclusivity and Representation”. This research was then published in Cities Forum’s Urban Action Avenue. 

Sophie has experience working across various sectors of Planning (housing, heritage, commercial/retail, renewable energy, transport, tourism and more) working alongside private clients, organisations, charities, community groups and Local Planning Authorities. In terms of her passions, Sophie continues to strive to promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in Planning to deliver schemes for increased social and societal benefits. 

Sophie was awarded RTPI North East Young Planner of the Year 2023 and was elected as a Chartered Member of the RTPI in November 2023. Using her platform, Sophie is keen to support others in their development as Planners as well as highlighting the importance of planning for diverse and complex urban places we occupy. Sophie volunteers within the RTPI North West Young Planners Committee, the Regional Activities Committee (RAC) and is a member of the North West’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) task group.

George is a Graduate Planner at Enabl, where he has assisted with preparing and managing planning applications for schemes of various scales, managed projects and provided strategic advice for Local Authority clients and undertaken site finding for affordable housing developers. Graduating from the University of Manchester with an MSc in Urban Design & International Planning in 2022, George has a strong interest in the relationship between people and place and how visualisation software can enhance planning narratives. Previously, he has gained experience as a Research Assistant with a focus on improving population health through design and place-based solutions.

Josh is a Chartered Town Planner and Principal Planner in the Development Control team at Burnley Borough Council. He has worked in local government for around six years and graduated from Leeds Beckett University in 2022 as part of the first cohort of the Chartered Town Planner Degree Apprenticeship. Josh joined Burnley in November 2023 and deals with a range of minor and major planning applications relating primarily to employment and residential development. In his free time, he referees youth football and volunteers with Planning Aid England.

Rhiannan is a Planning Solicitor and offers a unique perspective having trained in a local authority shared legal service, where she advised several London Boroughs including Harrow, Hounslow, Barnet, and Slough Borough Council. After qualifying, Rhiannan moved into private practice, where she currently advises a number of local authorities, registered providers, landowners, private developers and lenders. Rhiannan has assisted in the delivery of mixed-use, residential and commercial development projects and her expertise spans various aspects of contentious and non-contentious planning, highways, and compulsory purchase law. She joined the RTPI NW Regional Activities Committee and the RTPI NW Young Planners Committee in September 2024.

Rhiannan is passionate about promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion (ED&I) in the built environment.