Mark Turner
BA (Hons) MA MRTPI
Why work with Mark?
Professional Summary
With over two decades of dedicated experience in the intricate world of planning, I bring a wealth of expertise to the table. Having served across various councils in Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey, Kent, and Norfolk, including a tenure as a Chief Planning Officer, I understand the nuanced challenges inherent in navigating the planning landscape.
A highly versatile and confident professional communicator, adept at engaging with stakeholders at all organisational levels
An adaptable and results-oriented leader, consistently excelling in diverse tasks and situations, equally effective in collaborative team environments and independent capacities.
Possesses strong organisational capabilities, enabling the effective resolution of complex challenges. Demonstrates a strategic mindset, effectively balancing long-term vision with the achievement of immediate objectives.
Proactively identifies new opportunities, challenges conventional approaches, and successfully ventures into new territories.
BA(Hons) Urban and Environmental Planning, MA Town Planning, Chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute
Who is Mark
Making planning arguments stick where others failed
Planning for change
My working life began long before I delved into planning, honing my skills in problem-solving roles that demanded innovative thinking and a penchant for challenging conventional wisdom. I firmly believe that the status quo isn’t always the best path forward, and my tenure reflects a history of breaking barriers and finding solutions beyond the ordinary.
Why clients instruct me
- I know how councils decide, because I ran planning departments. I led a team of 40 to the best performance in Kent, so I know what makes officers say yes, where applications stall, and how to present a case that’s easy to approve.
- I win when it goes to court or appeal. I built the planning case that secured a permanent injunction, with full costs, where other councils’ similar claims had failed before the same judge weeks earlier. Barristers and King’s Counsel instruct me as an expert witness and invite me to brief them on enforcement.
- Enforcement is my specialism, from both sides. I’ve led council enforcement teams, spoken at the National Planning Enforcement Forum and lectured on the subject. If you’ve received a notice or a warning letter, I know how the council will approach it and where the weaknesses are.
- I’ve delivered permissions on the hardest sites. These include a Green Belt scheme of 450 homes and 30,000 sq m of commercial space next to a Scheduled Monument and an AONB, on contaminated land across nine parishes, approved unanimously. They also include a listed house, its estate buildings and historic parkland, now one of the most complete estate restorations in the UK.
- I can carry a scheme through local opposition. I’ve secured approval for controversial schemes in the face of community objections, and negotiated changes that got statutory consultees to withdraw theirs.