Forthcoming events:
21 November - Quiz Night, Bristol
Recent events:
Design Codes, 15 October
The RTPI Bristol Young Planners hosted a CPD event on Design Codes at Design West, Bristol on 15th October. Four excellent speakers - Holly Lang (Office for Place), Nittin Bhasin (Bristol City Council), Catherine Ham (LDA Design) and Eve Murzyn (HTA Design) - presented their perspective on design codes, covering from the national to the local perspective. We heard about the Office for Place's work on Pathfinders, how Bristol City Council work with developers and consultants on design codes and exemplar design codes being produced by local authorities across the country. It was a lively discussion with lots of audience questions about the role of design codes in placemaking and the likely effects of evolving planning policy on design coding. Thank you to our wonderful speakers and we hope to host a follow up event in the future!
Boat Social, 13 June
The RTPI Bristol Young Planners held their annual networking Boat Social on Thursday 13th June. Despite the rain, we did not let the weather dampen our spirits.
The 2 hour trip consisted of a tour around Bristol historic floating Harbourside starting and ending at King Street. We had a 45 minute stop at the Pump House and followed up by way too much pizza at the Beer Emporium. We hope everyone had a good time and look forward to seeing you again at our next event.
The event was kindly sponsored by Apex Transport Planning Ltd. 
Jane Jacobs Walk, 7 May
The Annual Jane Jacobs walk took place recently and this year was led by Pete Insole, Head of Urban Design at Bristol City Council. Through a lunchtime walk around parts of the city we delved into the past, present, and future of Bristol's city centre.
Starting off at the historic St Peter's Church, we learned about the challenges facing the redevelopment of The Galleries, the post war vision of Broadmead and how Castle Park View heralds a change to Bristol's landscape.
Thanks to Pete's insightful guidance, we gained a deeper understanding of how Bristol has evolved and what lies ahead discussing re-planning, regeneration, and urban living.
The Jane Jacobs walk isn't just a stroll—it's a journey through the heart of urbanism, sparking conversations about architecture, activism, and planning. The Bristol Region Young Planners welcome new guest speakers to lead the walk each year so get in touch if you can help.
Pub Quiz, 23rd November 2023
The Bristol Region Young Planners hosted their annual pub quiz event on Thursday 23 November and it was yet again a great success. It was fantastic to see so many planners from different professional backgrounds come together for an evening of friendly rivalry, answering a very broad range of town planning related questions (and of course with a music round to finish things off). There could only be one victory however and the winning team walked away with their pride intact and a box full of sweet treats each. The evening finished with teams having a few more drinks and networking – we hope to see you there next year!
Scavenger Hunt, 14th September 2023
Thanks to all who attended the annual RTPI Bristol Young Planners scavenger hunt on Thursday 14th September. Teams had a great time using their Bristol knowledge to follow clues taking them to landmarks around the city. There were prizes for the quickest team to finish and and for funniest photo (entries included photos with pirates and mermaids but the winners struck their best poses in Millennium Square). The night finished with more socialising over Mexican food and drinks.
Bristol Young Planners Summer Boat Social – 14 June 2023
The Bristol Young Planners Summer Boat Social; being ran for the 7th year, was an opportunity to network with other young planners while enjoying a tour of Bristol Harbourside.
The event was an opportunity to connect with other planners within the region and share experiences within an informal, social setting. The event was a great opportunity to meet people associated with all aspects of planning, including local authority, consultancy, academia and developers and a great chance to catch up with existing contacts on the past few years!
The 2 hour trip consisted of a tour around Bristol’s historic floating harbourside, starting at Welsh Back Ferry Landing and ending at King Street for food and refreshments. The Summer Boat Social is a staple in our event calendar and we look forward to running it again next year.
Biodiversity Net Gain in the Urban Environment – 31 May 2023
The Bristol Region Young Planners were delighted to organise a ‘Biodiversity Net Gain in the Urban Environment’ event at Mott MacDonald’s office in Bristol.
Ahead of changes to Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) legislation this autumn 2023, the event was an opportunity to hear from senior specialists and consultants working with the public and private sector. Attendees got the opportunity to learn about the changes proposed through the 2021 Environment Act, what BNG means in an urban context and case study examples. The event was an opportunity for young planners to develop skills and confidence to achieve biodiversity enhancement and net gain to support and sustain our living environment.
Attendees also benefitted from some networking opportunities before and after the presentations and discussion.
Jane Jacobs Walk – 11 May 2023
The Bristol Region Young Planners were delighted to organise a luckily sunny lunchtime ‘Jane’s Walk’ in central Bristol on the 11th May.
Jane’s Walks; inspired by the celebrated urbanist Jane Jacobs, are a global movement of free, community-led walking conversations taking place in cities worldwide. The walk in Bristol was led by Nick Smith; associate at LUC, and his colleagues Edward Tarratt and Trishna Patel. The subject of the walk was ‘the greening of our city’ and we explored opportunities for green infrastructure to meet sustainability objectives and deliver a wide range of environmental benefits whilst thinking about the challenges to its successful delivery.
It was excellent to run this event again this year and we look forward to going again in May 2024. Thank you to LUC for leading such a great event.
Young Professionals in the Built and Natural Environment – 4th May
The Bristol Region Young Planners were delighted to organise and host the first ‘Young Professionals in the Built and Natural Environment’ networking drinks at Bocabar in central Bristol on the 4th May. This event was open to anyone working in the south west in the planning, construction, design, environment and property sectors. This included those with an RICS, RIBA and ICE background and who are apart of other local professional groups including YEP Bristol and Women in Planning.
The event was a great success with over 40 people in attendance with professional networks being strengthened and developed.
The Bristol Region Young Planners look forward to delivering this event again in the future in partnership with others working in the built and natural environment sector in the south west.
A Hard Hat Tour of Clifton Suspension Bridge Vaults – 25 April 2023
Back due to popular demand was an opportunity for Young Planners in Bristol to explore vaults under the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge.
The one-hour tour was an insight into the construction of the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge spanning the Avon Gorge through a visit into the bridge’s vaults (which were rediscovered in 2002). The tour itself took place within the abutment on the Leigh Woods-side of the bridge and was led by the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust.
