The Government has appointed its first female chief planner responsible for leading on its planning guidance and engaging with developers.
Joanna Averley will start in September and is the first woman to take on the role, which applies just in England, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) confirmed.
Ms Averley is currently the head of urban design and integration for High Speed 2, a position she has held for the past two years.
Town planning
She has nearly 30 years’ experience in town planning and has experience in a number of areas such as planning policy, complex planning applications and urban design and masterplanning.
Ms Averley will replace Steve Quartermain, who announced his retirement earlier this year after serving as chief planner since 2008.
The equivalent chief planner positions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all currently held by men.
Commenting on her appointment, Ms Averley said she was “greatly” looking forward to getting started and working with others across the built environment sector.
“We have many challenges to address over the coming months and years – how we meet the needs of our communities in delivering good quality homes and neighbourhoods, underpinning the economy and jobs, delivering sustainable patterns of growth, addressing the climate crisis and adapting to the realities of the pandemic and its consequences,” she said.
“Planning and planners have a vital role to play – a creative, proactive approach and long-term thinking will be at the heart of bringing positive change for all.”
Ms Averley’s previous experience also includes leading on the housing and planning programme for Transport for London on Crossrail 2 and serving as interim chief executive at the Centre for Cities. She was also a director of design for the London 2012 Olympic Delivery Authority.
The role of chief planner is wide-ranging and covers everything from ensuring planning guidance reflects professional practice to leading on the Ministry of Housing’s design policy advice.
It also serves as a visible role to communicate Government planning policy and engage with the planning profession and wider development community.
