This section is for current Planning Aid England volunteers. It contains volunteering information specific to PAE, sent out to all volunteers when they sign up, as well as other useful PAE resources. We also refer our volunteers to the resources section of the RTPI volunteering pages, which contains documents relevant to your involvement as an RTPI volunteer more broadly.
PAE volunteering documents
Useful resources for PAE volunteers
- PAE’s dedicated planning guidance website
- PAE directory of alternative sources of support and advice
- Community Engagement in Practice (produced by RTPI North West)
- Camping Glamping Caravanning advice note
- Planning rules for Telecoms Masts in England advice note
PAE Volunteer Quarterly Meeting Group (QMG)
The PAE Volunteer QMG supports the work of PAE staff by providing volunteer perspectives on various aspects of PAE services. Through doing so, the group ensures that the development and delivery of PAE services are informed by the expertise, ideas and experiences of a cross-section of PAE volunteers.
The QMG comprises of PAE volunteers who are actively involved in the delivery of key PAE services which include:
- PAE Direct: Email advice, website content, case work.
- PAE Support: Community Engagement via neutral facilitator support for LPAs.
- PAE Engagement: Raising awareness of & engagement with PAE e.g. Task Group delivery of webinar for elected members.
2024 Meeting dates
17 September 13.30-15:00 (Virtual)
3 December 13:30-15:00 (Virtual)
QMG members for 2024
Andrew Dorrian
Joney Muriel Ramirez Soto
Eleanor Rawsthorne
William Sparling
Stewart Donohue
Darren Muir
Oliver Scott
Andrew Matheson
Benjamin Vickers
Regional Representatives
Some RTPI Regions have a volunteer Planning Aid England (PAE) Representative who leads on regional PAE activity and chairs a regional task group. If you are a registered PAE volunteer and would like to find out more about regional PAE opportunities, including joining your regional PAE task group, you can contact them below. If you are a PAE volunteer and interested in becoming a Regional Representative, please get in touch.
Details of current representatives are:
Darren Muir, North West
Associate Planner at Pegasus Group
Darren Muir, North West
Associate Planner at Pegasus Group
Darren is an Associate Planner at Pegasus Group in Liverpool. He comes from a multidisciplinary background having previously worked client-side in wind energy and residential development before moving into consultancy. He now advises public and private sector clients on a variety of developments across England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man. He holds two master’s degrees – a Master of Town and Country Planning (Hons) degree from the University of Manchester, and a Master of Science in Design and Construction of Zero Carbon and Ultra-low Energy Buildings from the University of Dundee. Darren is Chair of the Planning Aid England North West Task Group and co-founder of the North West Neighbourhood Planning Network.
Andrew Dorrian
Senior Transport Planner at Transport NE Strategy Unit and RTPI NE Honorary Secretary & Treasurer
Andrew Dorrian
Senior Transport Planner at Transport NE Strategy Unit and RTPI NE Honorary Secretary & Treasurer
A chartered Town Planner and member of the Transport Planning Society Andrew is a Senior Transport Planner at Transport North East. He works in Transport and Infrastructure planning responsible for the development and delivery of the North East’s transport pipeline and transport plan. Andrew prepares major funding bids develops regional policy and strategy and project manages the delivery of capital and revenue funding in the region. Andrew works closely with local authority, national and subnational partners in linking transport planning wider spatial planning outcomes.
Prior to joining the Transport North East, Andrew spend six years at Transport for London working in development management across South London. He also gained experience in TfL’s Commercial Development team. Whilst in London Andrew was Chair of the RTPI region in 2016 and was Honorary Secretary prior to that. He is now the Honorary Secretary and Treasurer for RTPI North East and is a Planning Aid England volunteer, part of a team providing advice through PAE’s advice line service.