JUNE 2008

First meeting of MPC’s new Advisory Board

A sunny May morning in Bath saw the first meeting of the Advisory Board at Meeting Place Communications. The Advisory Board has been set up to draw on the many talents of its varied members, in order to support the ongoing expansion of Meeting Place Communications.

Chaired by Sir Christopher Clarke, the Board comprises:

Baroness Liz Barker: created a Life Peer in 1999, Liz is currently reviewing public consultation across the UK, on which she will be reporting in the autumn.

Ian Biddulph: former planning director at Wilson Bowden, Ian is now a freelance consultant. He has been providing training modules to MPC’s staff to ensure that their knowledge of the industry and of the planning process is in-depth and up to date.

Gareth Capner: with his experience as a Senior Partner at Barton Willmore, Gareth has been providing MPC with advice and guidance on the best ways to expand businesses in the industry, having seen Barton Willmore grow to become the largest planning consultancy in the UK during his time there.

Neil Jefferis: Neil works for Roger Oaten Accountants and will be offering accounting and finance support to the Advisory Board.

Meeting Place welcomes new recruits

Rapidly-expanding Meeting Place Communications has recently welcomed two new members to its team.

Rhiannon Wadeson joined Meeting Place having spent two years working as a constituency organiser for the Liberal Democrats in both England and Scotland. She has a degree in Social Sciences from Leeds University and is hoping to become a local councillor in Bristol.

Nick Webb has been working in the public sector and is a leading figure in Gloucestershire’s Conservative Party. He has been a local councillor in both England and Wales.

Ian Thorn, Director of Meeting Place said "I am delighted to welcome both Nick and Rhiannon on board. Our team is growing all the time and with it grows our knowledge of and contacts with both the political parties and different regions of the UK."

Lembit event

We were delighted to welcome 30 clients, consultants and new friends to a Business Breakfast held at the Marriott County Hall in May. Lembit Opik MP was our speaker and he gave a thoughtful talk on the key current issues in the housing industry. This was followed by a Q&A with our guests. After Lembit left to attend a debate at the Commons, Nick Webb of MPC gave an insightful talk on Boris Johnson’s housing policies and the way in which these might be expected to affect planning policy in London from now on.

The setting was spectacular, with views over the Thames and the Houses of Parliament, and feedback from our guests suggests that they enjoyed the event and the chance to air their views with the Lib Dem housing spokesman. Our thanks to Lembit for taking the time to meet with us. We look forward to holding many similar events in future.