Chris Shepley has been replaced as chief planning inspector at the Planning Inspectorate by former Basingstoke council chief executive Katrine Sporle (pictured).
Sporle will officially take charge of the Planning Inspectorate on 1 January 2003.
Planning minister Tony McNulty said that Sporle, who previously worked in Westminster’s planning department, had a “track record that speaks for itself”.
One of her main tasks in the role will be to help the government implement its proposed changes to the planning system.
McNulty added: “We have embarked on a massive reform to make the planning system fairer, faster and more flexible and the Planning Inspectorate is one of our key partners.”
Sporle said that her experience running Basingstoke gave her particular insight into the impact that the planning system can have.
She said: “Having led a local authority I know just how much influence the planning system can have on the local community.
“I want to work with the government to make the planning system more responsive to the needs of the community.”
For the last eight years Sporle has been chief executive of Basingstoke and Deane council, where she was responsible for an annual turnover of £83m, 550 staff, a property portfolio earning £11m annually and an investment portfolio of £140m.
She also oversaw Grosvenor’s £350m redevelopment of Basingstoke town centre
Before joining the council in 1992 she worked for four years as a supervising consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
She has also been a planning officer for Salisbury council and in the planning and transportation department of Westminster council.
McNulty paid tribute to the work of outgoing chief inspector Chris Shepley: “My job as planning minister has been made a lot easier by having Chris at the helm.
“He has played a crucial role in overseeing the improved reputation of the Planning Inspectorate.”
Shepley was previously president of the RTPI before he joined the Planning Inspectorate in 1994.
EGi News 22/10/02
