About us

Bill graduated in 1990 and is an established expert in his field. He worked in planning consultancy in London for 10 years before relocating to Manchester in 2000 to set up an office for a small London firm that he helped grow into a top 10 national practice. In 2013 he founded P4 Planning and works closely with clients enhancing the value of real estate assets of all types through the planning system. Bill often leads project teams on major and complex proposals in sensitive locations. His experience encompasses retail, residential, education, commercial and major mixed-use developments in urban and rural environments across the UK. He thinks strategically, has great attention to detail and is an experienced expert witness.

In his personal time, Bill enjoys many sports, including rugby, golf, cycling and skiing and one of his personal goals is to ski in Japan. He has his work cut out being Grandpa to 8 grandchildren (so far)!

What was No1 in the UK charts when you were born? Procol Harum’s ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’

Nial joined the P4 team as a Director in November 2024.

Nial has accrued over 23 years of experience since gaining his Masters degree in planning in 2001, spending the first 17 years working in local government before moving to the private sector in 2018. He has experience of all aspects of the planning system and development sectors, with particular interest in enforcement and community engagement and always looks to approach any task with positivity and enthusiasm.

In his spare time Nial likes to go on long dog walks or out for a run, and is a volunteer coach for his son’s under 8’s football team. He originates from Nottingham and is a lifelong Nottingham Forest fan, and was just about alive to witness their first European Cup success (although he was too young to be actually be there!).

Nial’s claim to fame is that he appeared in the BB2 fly-on-the-wall series The Planners and Permission Impossible in 2013 and 2014, although it (perhaps fortunately) did not lead to an alternative career as a Z-list celebrity.

Laine is very approachable and possesses great project management alongside the quality management skills. After working in recruitment for four years matching candidates with roles in the built environment sector, she has spent the last eight years focusing her skills within office and service quality management.

Last year, Laine walked 100 miles in a month and raised over £1000 for brain tumour cancer research, and in 2011 appeared in a calendar which raised over £10,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust!

In her spare time, Laine loves going to rugby with her son and family, as well as going to gigs/festivals, eating out and appreciates a good rose blush!

Fact that not many people know; Laine is a qualified lash technician.

Samantha joined the P4 team in March 2023 as a senior planner.

Samantha is from Singapore and moved to the UK around 10 years ago for university. Prior to joining P4 Planning, she worked with in private practice where she specialised in retail planning and jointly coordinated Lidl’s planning applications for the Yorkshire and Humberside region.

Life in Singapore looked quite different to her planning career: she trained as an actor and worked at Universal Studios Singapore as well as performing in Chingay, Singapore’s biggest annual cultural street parade.

Sophie joined the P4 team in September 2024 as a planner.

Sophie relocated to Manchester from Newcastle Upon Tyne in September 2023, where she had previously worked for a multi-disciplinary planning consultancy. In 2021, Sophie graduated with a distinction in her MSc Urban Planning degree from Newcastle University, specialising in regeneration and accredited by the RTPI. During her graduation, Sophie was awarded the David Lock Award by Newcastle University for her dissertation research titled ‘’Rainbow’ Regeneration in Newcastle Upon Tyne’s LGBTQ* Scene: Working Towards Sustainable Inclusivity and Representation’. This research was later published in 2022 in ‘Cities Forum Urban Action Avenue’.

In June 2023, Sophie was awarded RTPI North East Young Planner of the Year for her enthusiastic and original approach to Planning, as demonstrated through her voluntary work with local communities and identifying areas in which the profession could improve. The RTPI judges noted that “Sophie is a role model that stands out for her progressive approach to understanding and changing the aspects of the planning system to meet with community needs and aspirations”.

In her spare time, Sophie volunteers within the North East RTPI Young Planners Committee, whereby she occupies the role of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Champion, and within the RTPI Regional Activities Committee. Then in November 2023 Sophie achieved her Chartered Planner accreditation by the RTPI.

A fact that not many people know about Sophie, is that she is the first grandchild and only granddaughter to Scottish football legend Pat Stanton who played for Scotland, Celtic FC and Hibernian FC.

Alex joined P4 Planning in September 2022 as an Assistant Planner, having previously graduated with a first class ‘Masters of Planning’ degree from the University of Manchester. During his studies, he focused on Environmental and Health Impact Assessments and wrote a dissertation exploring alternatives to the Greater Manchester Green Belt. Alex also has an interest in transportation and transport planning, having spent a summer working for Vectos Transport Planning.

Having grown up in Switzerland, Alex enjoys hiking and mountain biking in the Alps and in the countryside around Manchester. He spent the summer before starting his career traveling extensively around Europe by train.

What’s on your bucket list. Go skiing in Colorado.

Imogen has recently graduated from the University of Liverpool with a first-class degree in the Mplan, she has recently relocated to Manchester for her role as an AP with P4 Planning. Alongside her studies Imogen has gained 6-months Industry experience working within the Real Estate Team of a multi-disciplinary consultancy so has a broad comprehension of the built environment.

Before starting with P4 Planning, Imogen spent 3 months of her summer working in Fiji for a Non-Profit Organisation; facilitating Youth Empowerment Workshops in rural villages in Fiji. This passion for locally driven development has been mirrored through her planning dissertation; in which she explored the role of planning in managing community-led development. As a field of interest in which Imogen is particularly passionate about, she looks forward to continuing to contribute towards this research in the future.

During her time in Liverpool, Imogen was a keen member of the Surf Society, so she looks forward to trying her luck with a new sport she can master in Manchester, perhaps trying her luck with snowboarding at the chill factor!

Jayshree graduated with a Masters in Town Planning from The University of Manchester in 2007 and acts as a Consultant for P4.  She has over 14 years experience in private consultancy and has been a chartered member of the RTPI since 2009.  Jayshree specialises in retail, commercial and residential projects including retail impact assessments, EIAs and appeals. She has previously worked for Manchester City Council, Savills, Walsingham Planning and Indigo Planning.  She is commercially minded and is experienced at managing projects from inception to completion.

Jayshree is a self-taught bricklayer and tiler, recently having built her family their very own pizza oven. To add to her varied skill set, Jayshree hopes to one day learn how to snowboard. In three words, Jayshree would describe herself as: energetic, committed, mother.

What was No1 in the UK charts when you were born? Wham. But a couple of months later it would’ve been Last Christmas which is infinitely better.

Anne provides the team with part time admin and HR support and book keeping, alongside running her own online retail business Giggle Knickers!

In her spare time Anne loves gardening, swimming and yoga and has recently taken up golf (describing herself as terrible at the moment!).  Anne also loves a wide variety of music from the Prodigy to Maria Callas, with her favourite song being ‘Ticket to Ride’ by The Beatles.

What’s on your bucket list: to see the Northern Lights.