March – August & October 2024 Thurrock Local Plan Review and Management, Thurrock Council
The Local Plan Review work involved advising the Council on current progress with is emerging Local Plan, covered by nine main tasks: reviewing past Local Plan proposals, detailed review of evidence base to identify gaps and adequacy, latest national policy reviews and best practice Local Plans, Local Plan team/resource recommendations, review of past consultations to determine key issues, review of latest IIA and ongoing recommendations for SA, review of key major projects and recommendations on Local Plan programme (including a full detailed programme), Business Plan, financing and all summarised in 50 recommendations. Providing clear recommendations for each task and working with a range of Council senior leadership and officers.
The Local Plan Manager temporary role involved regular team meetings, preparatory work and technical reviews to begin changes to the professional culture, set up a number of key progress monitoring systems, developing progress on Duty to Cooperate, the finalisation of the latest Local Plan Consultation Report, critical evidence studies and a range of other matters critical to the Local Plan progress. Finally, contribution to Council Papers on formal changes to the Local Plan programme and additional resource and finance requirements. Subsequent follow-up briefings are to be held in October 2024.
Images courtesy of thurrock.gov.uk
March and August 2024 Medworth Energy from Waste Combined Heat and Power Facility, Fenland District Council (FDC)
This involved two short commissions: providing advice on JR options following a thorough review of relevant Examination documentation (subsequently used in an unsuccessful JR); and, providing FDC’s formal response to the promoter’s subsequent Correction Order.
For two years operating as Deputy Project Director in assessing all NH proposals, coordination and attending all consultation and technical engagement and preparing and coordinating technical responses to NH and for the Council. For all of 2023, preparing the Council’s Business Case for funding (under its S114 Notice) for continuing its engagement with PINS and NH during the Examination. During 2023 he became Project Director of all Council involvement in the Examination from April 2023 until December 2023, including coordinating and preparing key parts of all 31 main submissions, responding to all relevant ExA Questions, leading and attendance at some 20 Issue Specific, Compulsory Acquisition and some Open Floor Hearings, S106 and all CPO negotiations and all liaison with the Examining Authority.
July 2018 – March 2020 Lower Thames Crossing, National Highways (NH)
Assisting the External Affairs team as the frontline of all NH external consultation and technical engagement and responsible for such engagement and meetings with the six directly affected local authorities (Kent CC, Gravesham BC, Medway Council, Essex CC, LB Havering and especially Thurrock Council). Undertook preparation of key technical papers for NH decisions, led on all external consultee meetings and provided key advice to the external affairs team of 15 staff, including liaison with all other sections of the NH LTC team.
Images courtesy of newcivilengineer.com
Tideway’ (Thames Tideway Tunnel project) Planning Consents Manager and the Stakeholder & Consents Manager and Advisor (July 2010 – April 2018)
A new 20-mile long storage and transfer tunnel for wastewater (Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP)) that gained development consent in September 2014 after a four year consultation, Development Consent application and finally Examination process.
The project has won a number of prestigious awards including: ‘RTPI Silver Jubilee Cup Winner in 2015’.Chris, as Planning Manager, led a team of town planners responsible for the relationship with the local authorities in the western section of the route (five local authorities and ten key sites), including the Leaders, Members and other pan-London stakeholders. The process involved five stages of consultation from the early design phase through to the submission of the application for development consent, with integration on site selection, engineering and architectural design, environmental impact, property issues and impact mitigation throughout. He was responsible for negotiating 5no Statements of Common Ground, Section 106 Agreements (5no) and several Property and Asset Protection Agreements with western local authorities and other stakeholders; and he prepared, with his team, the documentation used during each stage of consultation and for the submission of the application for development consent and reviewing other DCO documents. He was responsible for co-representing the project’s technical and coordinating interface with Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea regeneration area.
Subsequently, in the delivery set up stage he has delivered early works consents, ongoing key stakeholder involvement, Main Contract development, development of further stakeholder Agreements and continued and detailed involvement in Nine Elms Regeneration area. His key areas of experience then were:
- Delivery of Schedule 3 Requirement planning consents and preparing Consents Registers with Environment and Transport teams
- Involvement in stakeholder management and liaison and issue resolution, collaboratively with management and other technical teams
- Assist preparing and implementing Stakeholder Agreements/Asset Protection Agreements, with the Property and Third Party Infrastructure teams
- Assisting the Delivery and Engineering teams resolve issues
- Liaison with Environment teams on key issues and contractor documentation
- Liaison with the Communications team on key meetings, public/stakeholder enquiries, letters and document reviews and issue resolution
- Liaison/issue resolution with management, Central Delivery team, Communications, Property and Client on Nine Elms issues
Since November 2014, he was appointed as Stakeholder & Consents Manager (West) commencing in January 2015 responsible for managing 12 staff (covering the fields of planning, environment, third party infrastructure, communications and property/compensation) and was part of the Tideway West management team of seven senior staff. This management team is responsible for assurance of the West contract of £450m, in particular assisting the West Joint Venture Contractor teams. He undertook this full time role for two years in the crucial period of main works contractor start up and the initial period of key consents, implementing the DCO that he had helped secure. This role involved:
- Review of draft consent submissions in planning and environment
- Liaison with 5no local authorities and other pan-London stakeholders in technical and communications matters
- Coordination, liaison with and assurance of main works Joint Venture contractor’s consents’ teams work, submissions and approach (including planning, environment, transport, communications/consultation, design and third party infrastructure)
- Liaison with resident/community/amenity groups
- Implementation of property agreements and liaison with stakeholders
- Decision making within management team for consents/stakeholder matters
Then, in January 2017 he transferred that role and undertook the role of Stakeholder & Consents Advisor for 4 days a week. This role is responsible largely for troubleshooting, strategic local authority liaison, representing Tideway at all community events, advice on compensation and communications, dealing with key issues and key stakeholders and overall team advice.
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