Case Study

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Lesley McGrath, Town Planner, Turley Associates

Lesley moved into town planning after working as a surveyor.

She has a BSc in Land Economics and a Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning. She did workplace training for two years before becoming a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. She now works in Edinburgh for Turley Associates, one of the UK's leading town planning and urban design consultancies.

"I love this job because I am interested in the way towns and cities work," she says.

"Town planners get involved at the word go. We help all kinds of developers including house builders and companies including retailers, infrastructure providers and the leisure industry develop property in the right places."

Lesley's recent projects have included a Scottish Premier League football club Heart of Midlothian who wanted to expand its stadium. She worked alongside architects, engineers, environmental and traffic consultants as they drew up the plans.

"My role is to see the project through the entire planning process. That means bringing all the relevant documents, drawings and information together and working with the Local Planning Authority to obtain consent that meets both the requirements of the Football Club and the Planning Authority.

Lesley thinks there is not enough awareness of what a career in town planning actually involves and there is a shortage of people to do the job.

She thinks more people would become town planners if they knew what it involved and how they could positively shape the world around them.

"There are plenty of opportunities to progress and it is a fun job. There is always room for improvement though and hopefully the culture change, which the Government is supporting in planning, will speed up the planning process."

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