RPS Group Plc
Public Limited Company | www.rpsgroup.com
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Mr Douglas Lamont [ E-mail ]
Mr Tim Partridge BA Hons Dip TP [ E-mail ]
Mr Chris Simkins BA(Hons) MRTPI [ E-mail ]
Areas of Expertise:
Project Management
Large Project Promotion
Urban Regeneration
Residential & Commercial Developments
Demographic/Numerical Aspects of Regional and Sub-regional Planning
Motorway Service Areas
Biomass Power Stations
Local Plan/LDD Inquiries
Planning Appeals
Expert Witness
Chris has been a Chartered Town Planner for 30 years. His early experience was in local government with Hereford and Worcester County Council and district councils in Suffolk and Gloucestershire. In 1983 he joined the House Builders Federation (HBF) as Land and Planning Officer in the eastern part of England covering the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire. Chris represented the HBF at Structure Plan Examinations in Public (EIPs), Local Plan Inquiries and planning appeals as well as dealing with a wide range of planning, infrastructure and political issue affecting the house building industry. He is also a past president of the Land and Planning Officers Society (LPOS) which was founded by current and former employees of the HBF and now has a wide ranging membership including consultants and planners working in the development industry.
In 1986 Chris moved to Chapman Warren (CW) planning and development consultants based in Swindon in Wiltshire. He became a partner in 1987 and Deputy Managing Partner in 1991. Following acquisition by the RPS Group in September 2000 he was appointed as Operational Director of the Swindon office.
Chris Simkins experience covers a wide range of development types and planning activities. Whilst his early career was rooted in housing, since joining RPS his work has broadened out to include commercial proposals, telecommunications, renewable energy, equine developments, motorway service areas and large mixed use schemes. He has appeared at numerous planning inquiries, informal hearings and EIPs. Whilst he has overall management responsibility for the Swindon office of RPS (30 personnel) he still has a significant professional workload. His clients include the MOD, the Health Protection Agency, Gazeley Properties, RoadChef, a number of private estates, a range of housebuilding companies, numerous private clients and local authorities.
In recent years Chris has developed a role as a planning expert in litigation cases. This includes giving evidence in relation to a contract dispute for Beaufort Homes (part of the Berkeley Group), which was successful, and acting in respect of a professional indemnity case for the Solicitors Indemnity Fund. The latter involved participation in a mediation exercise which was successful in limiting quantum to a level significantly below expectation (liability having been accepted). In June 2007 he gave evidence in the High Court in relation to a substantial claim which also had a successful outcome.