Ask-a-planorak #5 - Charlotte Morphet, Women in Planning

First a parish notice: any #planoraks intruiged and/or alarmed by our new friend Class E (see my notes from the High Street last week) - can I invite you to join me, some of the good folks at Town Legal and two stellar panels from across the industry in a couple of discussions next week where we’re going to get deep into the weeds of Class E. And then hopefully manage to get back out again. Details and free registration here.

Now that’s out of the way, please put your hands together for… 🥁🥁🥁… Charlotte Morphet. Principal planning officer at the London Borough of Waltham Forest, superstar guest on UnPlanned (arguably the country’s leading planning-banter-based ramble-y podcast of 30 minutes or less), and - more exciting still - the co-chair of Women in Planning, the fantastic nation-wide network which aims to promote a diverse, equitable and inclusive planning industry.

Charlotte answers 10 questions on WiP - its past, present and future - on how all of us can support its aims, and on getting young people into the profession. She even tackles Class E (very brave! - ed.).

1. What was your route into a life of planning?

Ancient Greece and Rome! I have a love for ancient town planning and architecture. I followed this through to my undergraduate degree in Art History and Visual Studies, where I didn’t only focus on the Ancient art and architecture but also studied John Ruskin, William Morris and even was introduced to Octavia Hill. We need more planners from a range of backgrounds, as it provides different perspectives.

2.        What led you to co-found Women in Planning? 

Alison Mackay and I founded Women in Planning because although there where women working within planning profession, and significantly more than other professions, we didn’t think they were visible – we didn’t see them speak at events or conferences, they were at project meetings, they were hardly ever expert witnesses. We didn’t think that was right, we wanted to put women in the spotlight and give them a place to promote professional expertise. We also wanted to provide free and inclusive events that were open to the public and private sectors.

3.        What has WiP done so far that you’re particularly proud of?

There are three things for me personally. Branching out of London and becoming a UK wide network. That was always the ambition and we stuck with it and got there. All of the amazing women who are involved with the network for branch chairs to committee members, the speakers – we do have amazing talent in planning, and I am proud to work with them all. Finally, publishing research to show that there is an issue with women reaching leadership positions.

4.        And what hasn’t yet worked out as well as you’d hoped?

The beginning of my career was tough, and I wasn’t prepared for that. I came out in a recession and it took me a long time to get a permeant role that was properly paid. I was lucky that I could do unpaid internships and because if tried out most parts of the planning profession, but most people aren’t as lucky as that. I do worry about those entering the profession now who can’t afford to do that. It makes the profession un-inclusive and means we have less talent coming through the pipeline. How do we assist those entering the profession now with getting the experience that they need? I hope it won’t be as tough as it was back then. 

5. What comes next for WiP?

We have launched a new campaign called #ThoughtExchange were we share views of women from across planning either via quotes or videos. One of the best things about the pandemic has been the cross branch working and collaboration. We about to launch an advisory board but have been a bit delayed because everything else that is going on in the world right now. Our focus is on the next 3 to 5 years now – continuing with events but looking at training and research.

6.        How do you think all of us – and men in particular – can best help pursue WiP’s aims?

Be a mentor or sponsor. Offer to mentor women or be reversed mentored by a woman so you empathise and understand the challenges faced. Sponsors are invested in supporting career advance of an individual. A really easy thing to do is be an ally by showing up to events. We aren't looking to provide the equivalent of an 'old boys network'. We are very much an inclusive organisation set up to raise the professional profile, visibility and expertise of women in the industry.

7. What do you enjoy most about your current job at Waltham Forest?

The collaboration and teamwork in devising strategies for places and deliver projects. Not only with the wonderful policy team, but with colleagues from across the Council like public health. 

8. More generally, how do you think we should be exciting young people about joining the profession?

I believe that planning should be on the curriculum across a range of subjects - geography, social studies, history or politics. I learnt about in some way via classics (which I admit is very niche!) but it wasn’t in my history lesson when we learnt what happened after WW2. I didn’t learn about how places were planned in geography but I am sure I did a couple of retail surveys!

9. As someone who’s spent time in the private and public sectors, if I gave your Robert Jenrick’s job for the day – what’s the first thing you’d do?

Day one: Get rid of the PD rights that are leading to poor quality housing. Day two: make class E only apply to town centres and high streets, not industrial estates and business parks! Day three: bring back some form of strategic planning.

10. Too soon in your career to be thinking “legacy”, right? But, how would you like our industry to have changed in 10 years or so? 

This is hard, there is quite a lot I would like to change. Better trust between the public, planning and planners would be a good place to start. An industry which better reflects the community it serves; and a drastic improvement in design quality and the delivery of affordable housing. 

Thanks so much Charlotte. You can learn more about Women in Planning here. And I hope to see some of you die-hards who want some more Class E talk next week.

Stay well, #planoraks.