Executive Committee

Joe is a director and co-founder of a specialist strategic land promotion company called Fraser Strategic Land (www.fraserstrategicland.co.uk) and has his own planning consultancy, Highlight Planning (www.highlightplanning.co.uk). With his land promotion hat on he uses his planning skills to find sustainably located land and progresses it through the planning system so it’s ‘shovel ready’ for developers to build out. Through his planning consultancy, Joe provides a full range of planning services to clients from the early appraisal of sites, engaging with local authorities and undertaking community consultation through to the submission and negotiation of planning applications and appeals. Joe is the 2023 Chair of RTPI Cymru Executive Committee and the RTPI’s Design Champion for Wales.

Allan is a professionally qualified and Chartered Town Planner with over 30 years experience of planning services delivery and management with local planning authorities, mainly in South Wales. He has also held senior corporate management posts in policy, performance, and strategic programme roles.  He now operates an independent planning and management consultancy, providing advice and support services to mainly public sector clients in Wales.  He is an external independent Planning Advisor to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales and was a Welsh Government appointed Member of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority from 2011 to 2019.

Allan has been an RTPI Cymru Executive member over many years and was the first Chair of RTPI Cymru in 2001.  He has represented RTPI Cymru on the Institute’s General Assembly and is also a member of RTPI Cymru’s Policy and Research Forum.

Aneurin has over 30 years' experience in development management and enforcement, commencing his planning career with the previous Dwyfor District Council in 1987. He currently works for Gwynedd Council as a Planning Enforcement Team Leader. He graduated from Liverpool John Moores University in 1995 with an MSc in Environmental Planning, having previously received a HNC in Land Administration from Liverpool Polytechnic in 1991, and was elected a corporate member of the Royal Town Planning Institute in 1996. He is also a member of the National Association of Planning Enforcement (NAPE). He is the current chair of the North & Mid-Wales Planning Enforcement Officers Group, and chaired the 2022 Wales Enforcement Conference. Outside of work he enjoys golf, mountain walking and travel.

Mark has over 25 years’ experience as a planning consultant across Wales and England, in both public and private sectors. He is a Director of The Urbanists - planning, landscape and urban design practice.  His work spans the broad development sectors of health, education, energy, residential, retail, and mixed-use. 

His specialist knowledge includes heritage, environmental impact assessment, green infrastructure, community engagement, common land, and rights of way.

He has been a member of the RTPI Cymru Policy and Research Forum for many years, and was Chair 2021-23

Emma is a chartered town planner with over 20 years professional experience in both the private and public planning sectors. She is currently a Director at CarneySweeney and has a wealth of experience in providing advice at all stages of the planning and development process. Emma has particular experience of managing large-scale mixed-use projects involving the co-ordination and preparation of Environmental Impact Assessments. She has been chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute for 17 years.

Sean has been a Chartered Planner for over 25 years with an extensive career working for a number of the Development Control Planning Departments throughout South Wales. Over the last ten years Sean has been working in private practice working on differing roles and projects.

Sean is now Planning Manager for Dandara Wales & West.

Charlotte is a Chartered Town Planner with over twenty years’ experience in planning, flood risk and strategic environmental assessment within local authority, consultancy and government roles, working on programmes, policies and projects within UK and Europe. Demonstrating an aptitude for complex problem solving and strong values of professional integrity. Charlotte leads on the integration of flood risk management within a new place based operational model across Wales, in her current role for Natural Resources Wales. Strengthening a risk management approach, based on evidence to help demonstrate strategic environmental impacts and benefits. Identifying opportunities for collaboration, governance and new ways of working to delivery, whilst tackling the fundamental issues around communication and understanding within and of flood risk management.

Charlotte was a previous member/volunteer for the RTPI Cymru Policy and Research Forum and RTPI Cymru General Assembly.

Allan provides planning, regeneration, development management and consultation services to public and private sector clients with Arup. He has a comprehensive knowledge of the planning policy landscape and wider legislative framework in the UK. He has worked on policy research, planning and development projects across Europe. Allan has managed the Welsh Government’s largest ever transport appraisal process and associated formal consultation and has developed wide ranging experience in understanding and practically applying the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. He is a Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and Institute of Economic Development.

Neil is a Chartered Town Planner and is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University. Neil has also supported Planning Aid Wales by acting as a director for over 10 years, including a year as Chairman of Planning Aid Wales. Neil has advised the National Assembly for Wales in its Inquiry into the Planning System in Wales (2011) and also previously chaired the Welsh Government's stakeholder group on the introduction of Local Development Plans in Wales.

Tom Molyneux-Wright is a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and is a Principal Planner at national planning consultancy, DPP. He has a master’s degree in planning from the University of the West of England (UWE). Tom is based in Cardiff and has a particular focus on residential, education, and energy sectors. He has led major planning applications for a diverse range of public and private sector clients and as a key member of the Education Team, he has played a pivotal role in achieving consents for new schools, further education colleges and university buildings.

Emma is a Chartered Town Planner with over 22 years experience working extensively in the public and private sectors.  Whilst working predominantly in Wales, she has worked internationally with a short stint in New Zealand whilst on a round the world trip.

Emma now heads up Prospero Planning, which she established in 2012.  Prospero works exclusively with LPAs in Wales to provide planning support where there are short or longer term resourcing issues.  

Emma enjoys being an active RTPI member and championing the role of planners and planning.  She has previously been a member of the RTPI Cymru Executive Committee and was Chair in 2014.  Emma has also been a judge on the RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence both for Wales and nationally.

Chris has 14 years of experience of Town Planning sector in the UK and has been a chartered RTPI member for 5 years. He has experience of working in the public sector for local planning authorities, working mainly within development management with a particular focus regeneration funded development and working with the historic built environment. For the last 3.5 years he has worked for a large multi-disciplinary consultancy based in Wales expanding his EIA experience.He is currently Consents and Town Planning Manager for the electrification of the South Wales to London mainline and HS2 in the English Midlands, co-ordinating a range of environmental and town planning consents for these projects. In particular he is currently working on delivering the town planning inputs for the new HS2 station in Birmingham city centre. Within the last 10 years Chris has been an active member of Planning Aid Wales and a committee member of Young Planners Cymru. He has a particular interest in how infrastructure projects can support placemaking and better planning in Wales and have a keen interest in the development of the South Wales Metro and city deals over the coming years.

Sarah is a Land and Planning Assistant at Pobl Homes. Sarah’s experience to date has largely focused on forward land planning. She is particularly interested in the creativity surrounding strategic projects and the placemaking and active travel planning policy approach in Wales.

Sarah has an MSc from Cardiff University in Spatial Planning and Development.

In addition to joining the RTPI Cymru Executive Committee, Sarah has taken up the role of Vice Chair for the Young Planners Cymru for the second year running.

Gabriel is a second-year Urban Planning and Development student at Cardiff University, and will be on an industrial placement in the Planning sector in the next year. Gabriel has been awarded the RTPI Cymru Prize for Academic Excellence 2022, and is particularly interested in context-sensitive placemaking approaches and practices through urban design, policy making and regeneration. 

Jane initially trained to become a Chartered Surveyor obtaining a HND in Land Administration and then graduated in 1996 with a BSc (Hons) in Land Management. In 1999 Jane embarked on a career in planning when she became the Planning Enforcement Officer at South Lakeland District Council and then Enforcement Planner at the Lake District National Park Authority in 2004. In 2005 Jane moved to Wales and continued to focus on planning enforcement, working in planning enforcement at Powys County Council and Flintshire County Council before taking up a position at Snowdonia National Park Authority in September 2007. 

Having worked in a number of Local Planning Authorities in England and Wales, Jane has gained much experience over the years in planning enforcement and development control procedures and practices. Jane has served on the Management Committee for the National Association for Planning Enforcement (NAPE) and the RTPI's General Assembly. In her limited spare time from being a busy Mum to Rob and Jessica, Jane enjoys assisting the family in showing and breeding Welsh Section B ponies.

Ahmed Abdi has a rich and diverse background in planning abroad, particularly in the public sector. His 14 years of experience cover diverse roles in Ministerial town planning departments, land and survey authorities, and involvement in the UN-Habitat for future cities program. Ahmed has dedicated his expertise to planning and technology consulting, with a focus on underdeveloped settlements in international settings.

He has acquired in-depth knowledge in geoinformation technology began in 1996 in the Netherlands, and he has continued to expand his knowledge, particularly in spatial planning within the UK context in 2022. With a GIS background and over 20 years of hands-on experience in diverse geographical locations, including North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Ahmed brings a wealth of expertise to the field.

Ahmed's commitment to professional development is evident in his recent membership with the RTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute). Starting as a licentiate member and becoming a co-op member of the Executive Committee in 2024 showcases his dedication to staying connected with and contributing to the planning community.

His specialisation in planning and technology consulting for future generations, especially in underdeveloped settlements, aligns with the global need for sustainable and inclusive urban development. Ahmed Abdi's extensive international experience positions him as a valuable resource in addressing the complex challenges of urban planning and land management.