Joanna Averley takes up the role in the wake of Westferry decision furore and before major planning reforms
Former Cabe director Joanna Averley has been named as the government’s new chief planner, with a salary of around £110,000.
She will take up the role in early September, filling the shoes of Steve Quartermain who retired from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) at the start of the coronavirus pandemic after 12 years and an OBE.
Averley, who was deputy chief executive of Cabe and also design director at the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), is the first woman to hold the post which is considered the figurehead of the profession.
A key focus of her role will be supporting the MHCLG’s stated aim of delivering 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s. Specifically this will include leading on the development of design policy advice and implementation of the government’s response to the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission. Averley will also be expected to oversee planning advice around the department’s policy and case work.
Averley arrives in Whitehall from High Speed 2 where she spent two years as head of urban design and integration. Before that she worked for Transport for London, leading on the housing and planning programme for Crossrail 2.
Averley’s appointment comes at a tricky time for the department’s planning function, in the wake of secretary of state Robert Jenrick’s decision to unlawfully approve the application by Tory donor Richard Desmond for a £1bn development in East London. The Westferry Printworks decision has led to calls from some for Jenrick to resign and for a review of how appeal decisions are made to be conducted.
It also comes as the government is poised to embark on a major programme of planning reform, with Jenrick last week stating he wanted to rethink planning “from first principles”. Reports have suggested the possibility of a move to a US-style “zonal” planning system.
The job spec for Averley’s role said: “This role calls for technical proficiency, wise judgement, political acumen and inspiring, trusted professional leadership credentials…
“This is an exciting and hugely influential professional leadership role, which works in close partnership with our director of planning and reports to our director general of housing, planning and building safety.”
While at Cabe, where Averley was director of design and planning advice, she was seconded to the ODA where she oversaw procurement, design review and enabling as the agency commissioned buildings for the 2012 Olympics.
It was under her guidance that the London Games were less about statement architecture and more about urban and landscape design with Averley insisting it was essential the project set the tone as an anchor for subsequent development in the Thames Gateway.
Averley’s time at Cabe included the last recession and ultimately its folding into the Design Council during the coalition government’s “bonfire of the quangos” at the start of 2011.
Averley has worked as a town planner for nearly 30 years in and with local and central government and its agencies, as well as in the private and third sectors. She was also chief executive of the Centre for Cities think tank.
MHCLG said her experience included planning policy, major projects, design quality in the built and natural environment, complex planning applications, urban design and masterplanning, economic development and regeneration.
Averley said: “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.
“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.
“I greatly look forward to taking up the role of chief planner and working with colleagues across the built environment professions to address these challenges and opportunities.”
In his final briefing to the profession in March, Quartermain told planners to do all they could to keep the system going through lockdown and championed the move to online meetings. He signed off: “Be practical, be pragmatic and let’s plan for the recovery.”
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