Planning Aid Wales is governed by a Management Board made up of fifteen trustee Directors. The Board meets formally four times each year and is accountable in charity and company law for making sure we keep to our charitable objectives, and that our finances are effectively managed.
Board Directors represent a wide range of planning and related interests and are drawn from a number of different sectors, including local government, consultancy, academia and affiliated planning and environmental organisations. Directors participate in committees and working groups.
Directors serve on the Management Board as individuals in their own right; they do not represent the interests of the organisations for which they work.
Planning Aid Wales is interested in recruiting Directors from a variety of backgrounds and with a range of different skills to offer. Directors do not have to be professional planners or involved with the planning sector. For further information please download the Director application pack or contact us directly.
Management Board Members
Derek Hobbs – Co-Chair
Derek is a freelance consultant at Digital Transformation Relationships Ltd. working for clients such as The Automobile Association, Business in Focus and Oracle and has recently completed two years as Interim Digital Transformation Director at Careers Wales.
He joined DWP as Head of Digital Services six years ago becoming Head of Digital Efficiencies and Channels introducing, amongst other things, robotics and disability friendly channels.
Before that he was Head of Strategic Marketing at The Pensions Regulator (responsible for rolling out Automatic Enrolment to every employer in the UK), Head of Insight & Marketing at DVLA (responsible for rolling out Online Car Tax, Driving Licenses and Personal Registration Marketing), Motoring Franchise Director at DirectGov (responsible for the biggest volume franchise on DirectGov site) and CEO of Valleys Arts Marketing (responsible for marketing support for venues in 10 Local Authorities). Prior to that he ran his own Mail Order Furniture Company for 20 years.
He is a Fellow of both the CIM and the IDM.
Ian Stevens
Joined Management Board – 2014
Ian is a chartered Town Planner. He has public and private sector experience having previously worked in consultancy and local authority across England and Wales. He has worked on a range of planning projects which included planning appraisals, land promotion, local development plans and neighbourhood planning and appearing at local plan examinations. He has experience in providing advice to a range of stakeholders and undertaking community engagement events. Ian has also prepared and submitted planning applications including residential development, changes of use, lawful development certificates and schemes through permitted development rights.
A fluent Welsh speaker, Ian lives in North Wales. He has volunteered with Planning Aid Wales for over seven years, having dealt with helpline calls on a range of planning matters from members of the public. More recently he has served as a member of the board of Directors, providing strategic advice to the Chief Executive and ensuring effective governance.
Martin Buckle
Independent Planning, Transport and Regeneration Consultant
Joined Management Board – 2016
Martin was appointed in 2018 by the Welsh Government as Chair of the Wales Flood and Coastal Erosion Committee, a position that he continues to hold. He had previously spent a decade in another Welsh Government appointment as a Member of the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority (NPA). Having completed that term, Martin joined the Brecon Beacons Park Society, and has been Chair of the Society since 2018.
A professional planner, Martin is also actively involved in the governance of RTPI Cymru as a member of its Policy & Research Forum, having previously served on the RTPI Cymru Management Board. Much of Martin’s career was spent working in local government in Wales and in South West England, mainly in planning, transport, regeneration, and flood risk management. He moved into the consultancy sector, on a free lance basis, in 2006.
Earlier in his career, back in the 1980s and 1990s, Martin was also a Planning Aid Wales volunteer.
Ian Horsburgh
Chartered Planner (retired)
Joined Management Board – 1995
Ian Horsburgh was a Planner with Cardiff Council in various guises between 1972 and 2009. He is now ‘retired’ but has been involved with community groups and also helping gypsies and travellers. He has been involved with Planning Aid since 1976 and was instrumental in making South Wales Planning Aid, the precursor of Planning Aid Wales, an independent charity. He has previously served as Chair of the organisation and is a Board member.
Ian has been heavily involved with community groups in South Wales and has founded two other charities. Over the winter months, he migrates south to the Alps to indulge his passion in off-piste skiing.
Graham Walters
Graham is a recently retired barrister. He was in practice in Cardiff for 30 years and a founder member of Civitas Law, civil and public law barristers, and remains there as a door tenant. he specialised in administrative and public law generally with a particular emphasis of planning and public inquiry work for developers and public bodies.
He maintains his interest in the planning and development process in Wales and seeking to widen understanding of it.
Kate Miles
Kate is the Charity Manager of the DPJ Foundation, a charity that supports mental health in the agricultural community, by providing a helpline and access to free counselling as well as training and awareness raising. Before taking on this role, she worked with a range of voluntary and community groups and volunteers in the Neath Port Talbot area supporting and advising them to ensure strong governance practices. Kate is a former solicitor and specialised in Employment Law and HR during her legal career where she advised a range of public sector bodies and businesses.
Kate grew up on a beef and sheep farm in South Wales. She is also a trustee of Wales Federation of Young Farmers Clubs and is a volunteer with Gower YFC. In her downtime, Kate enjoys playing netball, walking with her dog and exploring.
Dr Francesca Sartorio – Co-Chair
Francesca has been working as a Lecturer in Planning at Cardiff University since 2004. Prior to her move to Cardiff, she worked in practice and in academia in Scotland, Germany and Italy. Her research agenda maps the areas she worked in whilst a (planning) practitioner and focuses on strategic planning practices, citizens engagement in planning processes and urban design cultures – with the occasional detour onto pedagogical issues (having turned into an educational practitioner).
Since coming to the UK, Francesca has designed, lead and delivered over 15 modules and been part of interdisciplinary teaching teams developing new UG and PGT programmes. Her teaching covers planning systems, comparative planning studies, urban design, participation and engagement in planning, research methods and she has experience in designing non-conventional teaching environment such as charrettes, flipped classroom, learning-by-doing settings. She has also been fortunate to supervise seven talented PhD students, with both internal and external funding. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
She has been a Director and Trustee for Planning Aid Wales between 2009 and 2017 and again since 2019. She has been part of the Civic Trust Cymru Policy Advisory Group between 2014 and 2016. She covered the role of UK representative to the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) between 2014 and 2020, sitting in the Council of Representatives.
She lives with two boys: a 12 years old human and a 3 year old canine, both pretty spirited and curious. If she had time she would indulge in a variety of crafty and culinary activities, but she does not have any spare time so her craftiest endeavour at present is making time – with poor results.
Shane Wetton
Joined Management Board – 2019
Shane is Strategic Engagement and Place Plan Officer at Conwy County Borough Council and has been involved in Place Plans since their inception. Based within the Strategic Planning team Shane assists communities to influence the Planning Process and encourages them to take an active role to provide local intelligence and information . A Community Engagement officer for 17 years Shane has worked on a number of Welsh Government, European and local initiatives his previous role as Principal Community Development Officer saw him providing traditional community development support to groups and individuals encouraging them to become active in their communities through providing capacity building mentoring and assisting with engagement techniques, fund raising and applications as well as project development and management.
Shane also worked on the Bay Life Regeneration programme in Colwyn Bay encouraging local communities to engage with the regeneration initiatives going on in their town and to have an influence in the developments.
Having lived in North Wales all his life Shane is a member of various Community Funding panels and is passionate about both the history and the future of the area. Away from work Shane has a number of interests and other activities, he is a Community Councillor in his local Village and a coach of a local junior football team. He’s a keen collector of music memorabilia and vinyl records and enjoys going to concerts when possible.
Jonathan Parsons
Jonathan is currently the lead officer for Planning and Strategic Transportation at Bridgend County Borough Council. He joined a local council planning team straight from School in 1985 and has since worked for a number of South Wales planning authorities in various capacities whilst also undergoing part time study before becoming a chartered town planner in 1996.
His experience covers all aspects of planning work including development control, policy, appeals, enforcement and policy. This has included working on large scale infrastructure, regeneration and residential projects. More recently he has been involved in regional planning and transportation initiatives. Jonathan’s involvement with Planning Aid Wales started as a volunteer in 1998 taking on a variety of case work and community engagement events.
Jonathan remains committed to promoting the work of the planning profession as the key driver to delivering good quality, healthy and sustainable places.
Robert Chichester
Robert is a Chartered Town Planner with over 15 years’ experience in both the Public and Private Sector. He is a Director and Owner of C2J Architects & Town Planners and principally responsible for the planning sector of the Cardiff and London offices. He specialises in spatial planning, development management and residential development.
Robert has been a member of the RTPI Cymru Executive Committee since 2015, and is currently serving as the Junior Vice Chair. He lives in Cardiff and outside of work is a keen golfer, rugby enthusiast and enjoys spending time with his young family.
Marion Davies
Chartered Town Planner (retired). Joined Management Board in 2024
Marion Davies worked as a Town Planner in local government in South Wales from 1978 to 1990 – Taff Ely Borough Council, Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council, Llanelli Borough Council and Ogwr Borough Council. Marion then joined Cardiff Bay Development Corporation to work on the development of the Inner Harbour. Marion then joined the Wales Tourist Board to work on the development of tourism in South Wales and she finished her career working in the Welsh Government on economic and strategic policy and the Wales Spatial Plan.
Marion was involved in the development of Planning Aid Wales in the 1980’s. Marion is currently the Vice Chair of the Multiple Sclerosis Society Council for Wales and is particularly interested in planning and disability issues.
Marion is also a trustee for the Friends of Dyffryn Gardens Society and a committee member for the Mid and South Glamorgan Branch of the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust.
Roderic Jones
Rod is a solicitor who has been qualified for more than 40 years.
During his career he has worked for various local authorities in both Wales and England. He first started to specialise in planning matters in the late 1980s and since then he has been the main legal planning adviser to those local authorities for most of his working career.
He has advised on all aspects of the law relating to planning. He retired from Bridgend County Borough Council in September 2023.