Regional Management Board

Maria is a chartered Town Planner with over 14 years’ experience in local government. Currently Head of Development Policy at Birmingham City Council, Maria was previously Planning Policy Team Leader at Worcester City Council, where she was responsible for leading all aspects of the City's planning policy work. Maria started her career at Wyre Forest District Council where she worked on a number of planning policy projects and Neighbourhood Plans. Maria was awarded the RTPI West Midlands Young Planner of the Year Award in 2013 and was shortlisted for the National Young Planner of the Year Award in 2014 and featured on The Planner’s Women of Influence list in 2019. Maria has been a Planning Aid Volunteer since 2005, she has been a member of the West Midlands Regional Activities Committee since 2013 and previous to that she was a member.  Maria was RTPI West Midlands Chair in 2018. In 2021, Maria was presented with the RTPI Outstanding Service Award recognising excellence in service to the industry, benefitting RTPI members at large.

Mark is a chartered Town Planner with over twenty two years' experience working in the public sector and advising clients in the private sector primarily in respect of minerals and waste development together with energy generation. He is a Planning Director at the Birmingham Office of WYG and is responsible for providing planning advice on development projects including minerals and waste development, retail, housing, regeneration, planning applications, appeals and environmental impact assessments. Mark has been a member of the West Midlands Regional Activities Committee since 2002 and was Chair of RTPI West Midlands in 2011. Mark was the Honorary Treasurer of RTPI West Midlands, a role he undertook from 2014-2019. Mark was previously Chair of West Midlands Planning Aid and a member of the RTPI Young Planners Panel.

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.

Ben joined National Highways in 2020 as a Spatial Planner for the Birmingham Motorway Box and Coventry & Warwickshire Patch, and was promoted to the position of Spatial Planning Manager in December 2021, overseeing the western side of the Midlands region.

Ben graduated from the University of Sheffield with a Masters in Urban Studies and Town and Regional Planning in 2008, and became a Chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute in 2013. Ben has 15 years’ experience in the private / public sector. He started his career working at JMP Consultants Limited  In 2011 he joined Coventry City Council as a Transport Planning Officer and joined Warwickshire County Council in 2014 as a Senior Development Management Engineer. Ben has experience in both highways development management and land-use and transport policy development regularly represented the represented his organisations at planning committee, examination in public and public inquiries.

Ben is an active member of the RTPI, having the regional chair for Young Planners West Midlands in 2012, the West Midlands Regional Chair in 2016 and a member of the Education and Life Long Learning Committee between 2017 and 2019.

Kelly is the Lead Planning Manager at South Staffordshire District Council having begun her career in planning with the authority in 2004.
Kelly worked initially in strategic planning and was Local Plans manager before taking up her current post which encompasses Development Management, Planning Enforcement, Strategic Planning and Housing Strategy. Bringing the teams together through a restructure, and with investment and buy in from members and the corporate leadership team, as a collaborative planning service has transformed the planning offer in South Staffordshire.
Kelly is passionate about planning and how it can shape communities, and embraces change and looking for new ways of working. The changes brought about by her positive approach led to the planning team winning the West Midlands Planning Authority of the Year in 2023. The Chair’s Award for the way in which the planning team has worked to develop and nurture staff talent is testament to her positive leadership and passion for the role.