Chairs and Speakers

Wesley is the Director of Social Value in Savills Earth leading specifically on the deliverables associated with the ‘S’ of ESG. Wesley has over 10 years of experience in the field of social value across private, public and voluntary sectors. Wesley specializes in strategic and measurement advice with a view to maximizing social value for built environment clients and was awarded the social value creator of the year award at UKREIIF in 2022.

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 Chair of RTPI Cymru and the RTPI’s Design Champion for Wales.

Alice is a chartered town planner with over 15 years experience of working in Local Government Planning. Beginning her career in development management, she progressed to working in Planning Policy. Alice played a significant role in developing the councils newly adopted sustainable construction policies. 

David has more than 20 years of experience in project management, research, communications and public affairs. He has a PhD in applied physics. He has previously worked at a range of organisations including RenewableUK and the European Environment Agency. He is a founder Partner of Afallen and Hiraeth Energy.

David Chairs the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales; he is passionate about the long-term future for Wales, and uses the role to challenge orthodoxy in a range of areas. He changed the remit of the Commission to encompass 80 years in the future, and has innovated in policy and communication.
He has additional Board experience at the Institute of Welsh Affairs, a wind energy co-operative, at regional renewable energy organisations and with the Welsh Government’s Equality in STEM Board.

David is a passionate advocate for open source software and social media platforms. He has been a moderator on the Welsh Mastodon instance, toot.wales, and is now a member of its governing Board. In February 2022 he published Afallen’s first white paper, on the value of open source to Wales.

He has regularly contributed to discussions about sustainability and infrastructure on the BBC and through other media outlets, and through the medium of both Welsh and English.

Richard has significant local authority experience in planning policy, primarily at Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) Council. He leads the planning policy team at B&NES and has worked extensively on sub-regional plans, Local Plans and Supplementary Planning Documents.

Eleri is a chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute with extensive experience of major infrastructure projects from both the private and public sector perspectives. She is currently working as Head of Onshore Wind Development: Wales and England, for RWE Renewables UK Ltd (RWE), her previous experience includes working as Head of Consent, Planning Specialist and Renewables Developer for RWE; a Principal Planner for Capita Symonds; a Case Manager dealing with nationally significant infrastructure projects at the Infrastructure Planning Commission and, subsequently, the Planning Inspectorate; and a development management officer at the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority.

Gillian is the Manager of Spatial Planning – Research & Development team within the Development Plan Group at Glasgow City Council. She has a BSc (Hons) in Town Planning from Heriot-Watt University and BSc (Hons) in Human Geography from the Open University. She is a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and currently the Chair of the Partnership and Accreditation Panel. She is the RTPI nominate representative on the Technical University Dublin Partnership Board, where she is the vice-chair. She previously had a similar role with Queens University Belfast.

Gillian had a lead role for the Council within the Horizon 2020 Connecting Nature project, where Glasgow was one of the front runner cities. Gillian was also on the European practitioner review panel for the IPCC 6 Climate Change report summary for practitioners.

Gillian started her career in Banff & Buchan / Aberdeenshire before moving to Glasgow 18 years ago. She therefore has a broad breadth of experience working both very rural and highly urbanised areas. Gillian takes a place-based approach with a nature based solutions focus to hopefully create climate adaptive spaces and places. Her main focus is on:

• Place-based approach using nature-based solutions to create climate adaptive spaces and places
• Innovation in new policy such as subsurface, NBS, Net zero, climate benchmarking and adaptability
• Date driven decision making, impact assessment and monitoring using GIS as the key tool
• Adaptability, innovating and thinking outside the box

Gillian is one of the 50 The Planner's Women of Influence 2022.

Bernadette is a Planning and Licensing solicitor with thirty years’ experience working as a lawyer and a planner in London and the regions.  She is a partner and Head of Planning at Sharpe Pritchard.  She is Honorary Solicitor and Climate Change Champion for the RTPI and sits on the Board of Trustees.  She is a member of the Law Society’s Planning and Environmental Law Committee and was voted “The Planner” Woman of Influence in 2020.  She provides strategic Planning advice, negotiates complex Planning Agreements and conducts Planning appeals, Judicial Reviews and Statutory Challenges in the High Court and Court of Appeal.  She lectures regularly on planning law topics to clients, planning consultants and developers.

Andrew is a Teaching Associate and PhD researcher at the Cardiff School of Geography and Planning with interests in the impact of the built environment on subjective wellbeing, sustainable place making, and the use of consultation data in urban plan making. Andrew’s current research explores the qualities that influence our decisions to drive, walk, cycle, take public transport etc. and the ways these qualities differ between our daily commutes and our family and leisure travel.

Dan is a Sustainable Design Director at Savills, with a wealth of experience in delivering net-zero carbon buildings and masterplans. He is a Chartered Engineer with over seventeen years’ experience in low carbon, sustainable design, climate science and related national and local environmental policy. His approach to design and retrofit encompasses not only environmental sustainability, but also social and economic elements, reflecting the need to engage communities and businesses in truly effective sustainable design.

Emyr was called in 1999 and practised in Cardiff until joining FTB in 2018. Before coming to the Bar he took a first in PPE at Jesus College, Oxford and was a lecturer at Keble College whilst undertaking research in political philosophy. He has been recommended for planning and chancery work in Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 for many years. Appointed to the Welsh Government's panel in 2013 he has a thorough knowledge of Welsh planning law and policy, and of Welsh law in general, and is the current editor of the Wales section of the Green Book.

His main areas of interest are:

• Infrastructure
• Environment
• Local Government
• Planning
• Compulsory Purchase and Compensation
• Public Law
• Property and Chancery Litigation

Helen is a Chartered town planner who has specialised in collaborative policy development within protected landscapes for the past 15 years. Based in Brecon, Helen was the driving force behind the recent, much publicised 25 year Plan for Bannau Brycheinog National Park, Y Bannau: A Future - A bold collaborative vision for the future of this special place, drawn through art, poetry, story and a moon shot approach to policy.

With over 12 years of technical experience, Mike heads up GeoSmart’s flood risk and sustainable drainage reports team.

He has expertise in fluvial, pluvial and groundwater flood risk assessment based on experience of hydrological analysis and hydraulic flood modelling.

Mike has undertaken flood risk assessments (FRAs) and designed sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) at a variety of Sites across the UK. He is familiar with current best practice guidance on FRAs, SuDS and BREEAM and has a detailed understanding of all aspects of site water management including; outline SuDS drainage design, flood risk assessment, flood evacuation plans, flood defence systems and due diligence.

Vicky Robinson is the Chief Planning Inspector for Planning and Environment Decisions Wales - Wales’ dedicated service for scrutinising draft Development Plans, and determining applications for Developments of National Significance, planning appeals and specialist environmental casework. In this role, Vicky leads a team of Planning Inspectors, Planning Officers and operational staff who process a variety of planning and environmental cases across Wales on behalf of the Welsh Ministers.

Vicky studied BSc (HONS) in City and Regional Planning followed by a Diploma in Town Planning at Cardiff University in 2004. Vicky was formerly Operational Manager for Planning and Building Control at the Vale of Glamorgan Council where she led the Planning Policy Team through the Local Development Plan Examination in Public in 2017 and managed the Development Management and Building Control regulatory functions. Vicky worked previously as a Team Leader in Development Management and was the lead officer for planning obligations. Prior to this, Vicky was a Senior Planner in Planning Policy at the start of the LDP preparation, which followed her first role in planning in Development Management.

Vicky was formerly Chair of the Planning Officer Society for Wales (POSW) whom she also represented on the Placemaking Wales Partnership. She has worked collaboratively with colleagues in the South East Wales Strategic Planning Group (SEWSPG) to deliver regional policy work. Vicky is a practitioner representative on the Cardiff University and Royal Town Planning Institute Partnership Board and was previously a member of the RTPI Cymru Policy & Research Forum. Vicky is an active Member of Welsh Government’s Living Sustainably Network Steering Group which champions behaviour change amongst employees.

Justin Spinney is an urban cultural geographer and economic sociologist broadly interested in the intersections between mobility, embodiment, environmental sustainability and technology. He has published in a range of top journals and in 2021 published the Routledge monograph ‘Understanding Urban Cycling: Exploring the Relationship Between Mobility, Sustainability and Capital’.

Lee Waters is the Member of the Senedd for the Llanelli constituency. He was born and raised in Carmarthenshire. He was educated in Brynamman and Ammanford and gained a Degree in Politics from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

His policy interests are wide-ranging, including the economy, climate change, provision for looked after children, digital policy and the media.

Before being elected in May 2016, Lee was Director of Wales's leading independent think-tank, the Institute of Welsh Affairs. He previously ran the sustainable transport charity Sustrans Cymru where he led the campaign for the Active Travel Act. He is a former Chief Political Correspondent of ITV Wales and BBC Wales producer.

On 13 December 2018 he was appointed Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport. Lee was appointed Deputy Minister for Climate Change on 13 May 2021.

Lianne Weaver is the Managing Director of Beam Development & Training Ltd, which delivers unique wellbeing, happiness, personal development and resilience training to companies and individuals both in the classroom and online, she works with government organisations, banks, law firms as well as SME’s.

Lianne is also a multidisciplinary therapist working with a wide range of therapies, who is passionate about helping others to feel happier and healthier. She is the author of two books; Radical Self Care: How to Thrive During Challenging Times; and Interrupting Anxiety: Practical Tools to Help Interrupt Anxious Thoughts.

Mike Webb is a chartered town planner with 14 years’ experience in local planning authorities and 23 years’ experience as a planner in the eNGO sector. He has sat on a number of Welsh Government sounding boards and steering groups, including for example the 2011 Independent Advisory Group into the future of the Welsh planning system, TAN 5, TAN 8, the Local Development Plans (Wales) Regulations and the Biodiversity Benefit Task and Finish group. 

Since 2019, he has worked as a planner for Gwent Wildlife Trust.