We have a Q&A with Camilla Burgess of Carter Jonas about her career and recent success in gaining a professional qualification in planning.
Congratulations on your exam success – how does it feel after such a lot of hard work?
Completing the APC [Assessment of Professional Competence] is a relief! It’s nice to have my weekends and evenings back as it’s always hard to juggle working and studying. However, I’m no stranger to it as I did both my undergraduate and master’s degrees part-time while working.
What does APC cover?
The Licentiate APC is a work-based learning programme designed to help you develop your skills and understanding of planning. It ends with a written assessment where you need to demonstrate that you meet the required competencies for a chartered town planner. To ensure you have the right experience, you need to take on a broad workload and ideally lead a project (however small) from start to finish. The aim is to demonstrate that you have used your professional judgement to make decisions and influence the outcomes. My main case study was the redevelopment of a site for housing, which I was involved in from conception to decision.
What is town planning and what are the general duties involved?
Town planning is traditionally a land use regulation system, although more recently academics and the RTPI talk about a move from land use to spatial planning. Spatial planning is seen as a more holistic approach to planning, bringing together a range of other issues such as transport, infrastructure and the environment.
The job varies depending on where you work. I work for a private consultancy, so I advise developers on how to secure planning permission to make their vision a reality. Other public sector roles may involve assessing planning applications or writing policy and legislation that guides development, amongst other things.
When did you first here about town planning as a career option?
I studied building surveying for my undergraduate at Anglia Ruskin University and we did a module on planning. I hadn’t considered it before as a career option, but I really enjoyed it, so I decided to pursue my master’s in it. To be a planner, you have to do a masters to qualify for the Royal Town Planning Institute. I studied at UCL for my masters while working at Carter Jonas, but I was very lucky that they were so accommodating and gave me day release!
What exams, work experience and job history brought you to Carter Jonas?
I worked in administration and events at the University of Cambridge while I was doing my undergraduate degree. After realising I was interested in planning, I secured an administration job in the planning and development team at Carter Jonas in Cambridge. This was during my fourth year of a five-year part-time degree. I thought it was important to get an insight into the planning profession before committing to it at the end of my degree as it’s such a big decision. The following year I was enrolled on the graduate programme at Carter Jonas and the company sponsored my masters.
What projects have you worked on, and what have been the most notable challenges/highlights so far?
I predominantly work on residential development, and historic buildings are a particular area of interest. I recently worked on the conversion of a church to residential, which was challenging as there were lots of unique issues. It’s inspiring to work with old buildings as they have so much history behind them.
How has Carter Jonas supported you to progress your career?
They’ve been amazing! Carter Jonas allowed me to transition from an administrator to a graduate and supported me throughout my masters which I did part-time over two years. They also have a brilliant mentoring programme for graduates which helped me navigate my APC successfully first time.
In addition to exams, are there personal qualities that you need to be a successful town planner?
A town planner needs a whole range of diverse skills. Project management is important, so you need to be organised and a good communicator. You may also have to present to local authorities and communities, so being a people person with good diplomacy skills helps. There is also a lot of documentation to support every application, so you need to be able to synthesise complex information – from land surveys to environmental reports – and you need excellent attention to detail as there is no room for error. Applications are now all submitted digitally, so a good level of computer literacy is also important.
Are there benefits to being Chartered and a member of RTPI?
Being a chartered member of the RTPI recognises your professional skills and abilities. We are bound by codes of practice and the organisation provides Continued Professional Development (CPD) to ensure we are the very best planners we can be. The RTPI also offers peer-to-peer networking opportunities and I regularly take part in the events organised for Young Planners (professionals with less than 10 years of experience), such as pub quizzes.
What are your career ambitions?
I would love to pursue my passion and complete a Certificate of Higher Education in Historic Building Conservation at the University of Cambridge, so I can specialise in this area. I also intend to join IEMA, which is the professional body for professionals working in environment and sustainability. It is essential that we take climate change seriously and although environmental impact assessments are only a requirement for large schemes it is important to apply these principles to smaller developments as well.
If someone is inspired by what you’ve told us, what should they do to start a town planning career?
You will need to commit to studying, but I would also definitely recommend exploring the job options by securing work experience or applying for an internship programme. We have just welcomed our new summer interns at Carter Jonas and I’m looking forward to getting them excited about a career as a planner. It is also worth exploring the RTPI website, as there are a wealth of resources there that give you an insight into the industry. I would also do some reading around the history of the planning system and keep an eye on political announcements as well to get a feel for current government policies and new legislation that might affect the built environment.
