Joanna Averley
Biography
Joanna Averley is the government’s Chief Planner and Head of the Planning Profession, based in the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government. She advises ministers on policy and practice relating to town and country planning and high profile and complex planning cases. She is also responsible for urban design and placemaking policy, and for the government’s Planning Capacity and Capability Programme, which aims to equip local planning authorities to deliver planning reform and unlock housing delivery.
Joanna has been Chief Planner since 2020. She has over 30 years’ experience working across tiers of government, major projects and with the public and third sector. She has been involved in all aspects of planning: research, policy, practice and project delivery. Before becoming Chief Planner, Joanna worked on the interface between major railway projects and planning, housing delivery and regeneration on High Speed 2 and Crossrail 2. She has also worked on major regeneration and masterplanning projects, from Manchester City Centre to the London Olympics. Joanna’s other roles have included 10 years as Deputy CEO and Director of Design and Planning Advice at CABE (the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment), working on a wide variety of public sector capital programmes and policy; CEO and a Trustee of Centre for Cities; Director of Design for the Olympic Delivery Authority; CEO of LandAid; and consultancy. Joanna’s non-executive roles have included Trustee of MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), London Mayor’s Design Advocate, Chair of the London Borough of Wandsworth’s Design Review Panel and external examiner of the Cities Programme at the London School of Economics.
MHCLG Chief Planner
The Chief Planner and Head of the Planning Profession advises ministers on policy and practice relating to town and country planning and high profile and complex planning cases. They are also responsible for urban design and placemaking policy, and for the government’s Planning Capacity and Capability Programme, which aims to equip local planning authorities to deliver planning reform and unlock housing delivery.