Panel Members

Mick is an independent architect, artist and teacher with a particular ability in urban design, town building and placemaking. Over his career Mick has worked on many of the UK’s most important and innovative regeneration master plan projects for both public and private sector clients. Mick has over 25 years of high-level professional experience, teaching and learning. His core skills have always led him to be the front-end designer, initiating design ideas and leading design teams to succeed. His portfolio ranges from master plan and regeneration frameworks at the strategic scale to the design of towns, neighbourhoods, buildings and public spaces.

Mick is a past CABE Regional Representative for the North West and was a UK wide CABE Enabler since the start of the organisation. Mick lectures widely, regularly speaks at conferences, workshops and teaches. He has appeared as an expert witness on a number of occasions on urban design and architecture. His work has appeared in the national and professional press and has been exhibited at the RIBA Architecture Centre, the Architecture Foundation, The Royal Academy and CUBE Gallery Manchester.

Andy has a wealth of experience both as an architect and a structural engineer and has been involved in a diverse portfolio of major projects comprising significant technical difficulty and high levels of innovation, both in the UK and abroad.

In 2004 Andy acted on a long-held ambition to set up in practice and he returned to his home town of Chester to experience design at a smaller, more local scale. Although currently modest in size, the practice is growing in experience and Andy is enthusiastic as ever about the pursuit of design quality.

Andy has been a member of the North West Design Review Panel (Places Matter!) since its inception, is currently a Design Council CABE Built Environment Expert reviewing projects of national importance and sits on the Board of Chester Renaissance. He is immediate Past-President of the Cheshire Society of Architects and he has taught and lectured at numerous universities in the UK and abroad.

Elaine has an enthusiasm for securing design quality, particularly with regard to developments within sensitive or rural settings.

Elaine is a chartered landscape architect and director of reShaped with particular expertise in strategic masterplanning, design codes and the design and delivery of large complex schemes, particularly in the public realm, sustainable development, green infrastructure, housing and health care sectors.

She is a member of the Landscape Institute Technical Committee and Housing Working Groups and in recent years has contributed to the development of British Standards on SuDs, Biodiversity and Paving as well as the LI’s Housing and Health Publications. She currently is leading the LI’s BREEAM working group and a member of the BRELanduse and Ecology Steering Group. Before founding reShaped, Elaine gained considerable variety and depth of experience whilst working for Camlin Lonsdale, Marsden, Austin-Smith:Lord, Liverpool and Cooper Partnership, Bristol.

Elaine is also actively involved with teaching children and young people about the built environment through her work with Placed and Hidden Liverpool and is visiting lecturer and construction tutor at Sheffield University.

Friedrich Ludewig is a founding Director of ACME. Between 1995 and 1999 he studied at the Technical University Berlin and the Academy of Fine Arts Berlin before moving to London where he received his Diploma in Architecture with Distinction (Honours), from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in 2001. During his studies he worked for a number of practices, most notably Sauerbruch Hutton Architects, Berlin/London and Diane Lewis Architects, Berlin/NY, where he was involved in national and international competitions.

Since its inception in 2007 Friedrich has worked as Director at ACME, overseeing the design work across all projects in the office. ACME has grown into an international practice with over 60 architects, with 22 nationalities, based in offices in London, Berlin and Melbourne. Over the last few years they have worked on 175 architecture, urban planning, and interior projects for private, corporate and public clients in 24 countries. ACME’s work varies across a wide range of functions, types and sizes – from palaces to parks, offices to museums, bridges to department stores, car parks to power stations. A significant amount of work is focused on city centres, and they try to devise coherent open space and development strategies, often including new inner-city squares and green spaces and the intensification of uses through new built form, including large-scale retail, hotel, office, residential and cultural programmes.

ACME have also won a number of international awards and competitions, including several RIBA and sustainability awards, the ICSC Best of Best Award and the 2010 RIBA Manser Medal.

Geoffrey Clifton  is a consulting engineer and moved to Chester in 1978 to open a new office for Gifford subsequently Ramboll. He led the office for the next 15 years growing it to a total of 120 staff with work throughout the North West and overseas, including many local historic buildings. In the early 1990’s he was promoted to managing director of the Gifford Practice and then Chairman in 2000.

In 2007 he stood down as Chairman in order to return to working as an engineer on historic structures. Recent work has included: Engineer to Wells and Lincoln Cathedrals. A commissioner on the Cathedral Fabric Commission for England  and a member of the English Heritage Advisory Committee.  He retired in 2016.

Currently a member of the Fabric Advisory Committee for Coventry Cathedral and Chairman of the FAC for Liverpool Cathedral.

Gordon is committed to excellence of design in the built environment, having worked in this field for over three decades, originally in landscape architecture, and then environmental science, strategy, and management.

He currently leads Environment & Sustainability consulting in northern England for Arup. In this guise he has taken key roles in a number of masterplanning and design projects, in both urban and rural contexts, that have embraced environmental, social and economic performance. He is particularly experienced in natural resource management and valuation, encompassing minerals, agriculture, energy and water-related projects.

In addition to his technical and professional experience Gordon is a non-executive board member at Peaks + Plains Housing Trust and is an active supporter of youth development charities including the Social Mobility Foundation and UpRising.

Guy joined Cassidy + Ashton in 2009 as a Chartered Town Planner with 20 years’ experience in private consultancy, during which time he has project managed an extensive number of planning applications of varying scale and covering all market sectors. His role as Lead Planner sees him prepare all necessary supporting planning documentation, inclusive of Environmental Statements and manage an extensive range of sub-consultants. With a Masters in Environmental Planning from Liverpool John Moores University behind him he cut his teeth in the Professional Services Division of a commercial and residential agency on the south coast.

With a solid understanding of urban design and experienced in the masterplan process for major sites, Guy is also well versed in the strategic promotion of land through the Development Plan process, inclusive if sustainability analysis, written representations and appearance at Examination and subsequent application process.

Simon is a landscape architect with extensive experience in urban design, masterplanning, public realm and visitor destination projects throughout the UK and internationally.

He spent the first 10 years of his career working in the historic setting of Edinburgh. This first-hand experience of working within such a sensitive and historic environment, together with his subsequent exposure to a range of world class international projects at RMJM gives him a great insight into the demands and issues relevant to Wales and its unique cultural landscapes.

Simon is an experienced landscape architect, and chartered member of the Landscape Institute, with extensive experience in a number of high profile strategic master planning, public realm design, visitor destination, heritage and regeneration projects. He is joint chair of the Design Commission for Wales Design Review Panel and he has extensive experience of presenting to design panels throughout the UK with the National Trust, Architecture Design Scotland and CABE.

At the start of 2016 he took the bold step of opening his own Landscape Architecture and Masterplanning practice, Land Studio, where he is developing a growing portfolio of work in Wales as well projects further afield in the UK and internationally.

The importance of raising design standards throughout the region is a major issue that is close to his heart.

Stephen is an Urban Designer with over 12 years experience within leading urban design consultancies, architecture practices and national house builders.  He is a recognised Practitioner of Urban Design and has designed award winning masterplans at a variety of scales for a diverse group of public and private sector clients.

Stephen enjoys leading design teams and has extended this role as design mentor to speaking engagements with the Academy of Urbanism, events and workshops with CABE and teaching roles with Manchester and Leeds University.

Steve is a very strong supporter of design review to help realise the full potential of schemes in a way that contributes to improve the quality of the outcomes for the betterment of communities.

As an architect with 10 years practice experience and 20+ years teaching and research experience Steve offers specialist knowledge in sustainable building, sustainable urban design and sustainability assessment and placemaking teaching experience in the Masters in Urban Design Course at Salford University.

Steve is Managing Director of Heys Environmental Consultants Ltd which undertakes research and consultancy work mainly for Local Authorities on sustainable development, design and intelligent city issues. He recently retired as Professor of Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) from the University of Salford, Manchester, UK and where he was formerly Director of Design in the School of the Built Environment and head of the Urban Quality Research Centre. He led the development of a number of new Masters Programmes in urban design and sustainability. Steve originally trained as an architect and urban designer. He became an academic in the early 1980’s rising to become Head of Architecture at Leeds Metropolitan University, UK in 1989, moving to the University of Salford in the late 1990’s, where he led the development of research in sustainable building design and urban redevelopment. He has been visiting professor at the State University of New York, the University of Florence and the independent design institute, IED, in Turin.

 Tony lives and works in Chester and is passionate about the city.

He is an architect with extensive experience in the conservation and reuse of historic buildings and Chairman of one of the UK’s most successful specialist conservation architectural practices. He joined Donald Insall Associates in 1993 as a member of the Windsor Castle restoration team, opened the Chester office in 1998, and joined the Board in 2005.

Tony is the Architect to Chester Cathedral, a council member of Chester Civic Trust and chair of the fledgling Cheshire Historic Buildings Trust.

Tony has a strong portfolio of successful and award-winning projects completed under his leadership and involving significant change in sensitive historic buildings including Grade I Liverpool Town Hall, scheduled monument Ince Manor, Grade I Doddington Hall, repair of Grade II* Staircase House, Stockport , Grade II* Devonshire Royal Hospital, Buxton, Grade I Blencow Hall and Grade II* Plas Coch. He also has experience of Conservation Management Plans, new design in sensitive settings, and is the inspecting architect for several Cheshire churches.

The Chester office of Donald Insall Associates  practice has been successful in securing many prestigious awards including:-  RSAW/RIBA ‘Welsh Building of the Year 2014’ , the North West Construction Excellence  Heritage Award and the Royal Town Planning Institute and Institute of Historic Building Conservation NW Award for  work on Chester City Walls under the PORTICO programme and the team wrote the manifesto for modern design within the One City Plan.

Abigail has 9 years’ experience in the Built Environment profession, with strong design and communication skills, technical knowledge and the ability to work on multiple projects. A creative eye for detail and a notable success in the ability of communicating ideas through free hand sketch; bringing the concept to life and designing in a unique way.

Her current role includes working at all RIBA work stages; feasibility studies, concept development, planning and building regulation applications, design and technical development and project and on-site management through to completion and post occupancy assessments.

Andy has over 14 years experience as a practicing urban designer both within the public and private sector, and has played a major role in growing his current company’s (Planit-ie) urban design services to the extent it has become a core sector of the business – leading internal design review as a key part of the companies working practices.

Andy is a panel member for Places Matter Design Review Panel and has also chaired Tameside Council’s Local Design Review Panel, reviewing a number of sensitive green belt release sites and offering guidance on design improvements.

With over 28 years’ experience in major infrastructure and contract delivery, Chris is a respected business leader across the engineering and infrastructure / public realm sectors; specialising in leadership, technical advisory, design, regeneration, asset operations and lifecycle maintenance. Chris, a previous Board Director at FTSE 50 company – Capita plc, was responsible for leading the local and strategic infrastructure business with a turnover of £120m p.a.

Chris’s real passion is for the Public Realm and Built Environment, where he has specialised over the past 15 years delivering award winning projects and making a real difference for local communities in delivering change through urban regeneration.

Sarah is an Associate Architect with over 19 years experience in the education, community, leisure and residential sectors. She has successfully delivered a wide range of early years, primary, secondary education and community projects throughout Cheshire, the North West and wider locality.

As an architect she champions a collaborative approach to project delivery embracing all stakeholders and her previous work has involved close liaison with planning, highways, conservation, archaeological, ecological and environmental officers.