Last month a national RTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute) event on the design dimension of planning was chaired by Justin Webber (RTPI Urban Design Network Chair), who is one of the Leicester Urban Observatory steering group members.

The event featured wide ranging content on current developments in policy and guidance from across the UK, with a mixture of short talks and Q&A sessions. Speakers included:

• Joanna Averley, MHCLG Chief Planner for England;
• Professor Matthew Carmona, Head of Place Alliance;
• Dr Victoria Thomson, Head of National Strategy at Historic England;
• Mike Leonard, Head of Building Alliance.

From the East Midlands, Dave Singleton provided a focus on ‘Building for a Healthy Life’ and broader insights from the world of landscape architecture. Otherwise, comparative content was provided from speakers representing Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, alongside insights on planning reform, building performance, design codes and recent academic research in England. The recording is now available on YouTube here .