Friday Interview: Karen Read on town planning and navigating the pandemic

In Partnership with KLR Planning LTD

Tell us about yourself and a brief history of your career.

I am a town planner and have worked in the private sector throughout my career. I’m also the founder and director of KLR Planning Ltd. I graduated in 1993 with a degree in Economic Development and Planning and started work with a development and planning firm, Roger Tym & Partners, in Manchester. From there I moved to national town planning consultancy, DPP Ltd (now trading as DPP UK Ltd).  

I moved to the North East in 2002 to take up a position with law firm Muckle LLP. While with the firm I set up the in-house planning unit. In 2007 I returned to DPP to set up and lead their North East office based in Newcastle before moving to Signet Planning as a Regional Director in 2011. 

It wasn’t until 2015 that I left employment to set up KLR Planning Ltd and I haven’t looked back since.

How did you end up working for yourself?

At the start of 2015, following on from the crash of 2008, there were positive signs that activity in the commercial property market was picking up and developers were looking to fast-forward projects that had been on hold over the previous few years. 

This shift in the market gave me the nudge, and the confidence, to establish my own town planning consultancy. I’d already established a number of relationships with clients who had been happy to work with me for many years so my business was born out of those well-established connections – thankfully it worked out and I’ve been enjoying business growth ever since.

How has the Coronavirus pandemic changed your business?

The very core of our business, day to day, hasn’t changed at all. We’re still able to advise a wide range of companies on the town planning system. Our commercial clients still need to use the town planning system to secure permissions for the new developments they’re planning, and we can work remotely with them to do that.

I do work from an office space in Newcastle but I’ve always retained a full office set up at home, which meant that when lockdown happened I was able to work from home in the comfort of a dedicated space rather than having to take to my laptop on my kitchen table.

For that reason, the impact on my business has been minimal. I know I’m speaking to people more, which is an unexpected bonus. It’s been brilliant to have personal contact even during lockdown. All my meetings are possible to carry out online and I’ve managed to reduce the number of meetings I’m having. I do miss face to face contact with business associates but there have been a few virtual coffee meetings and a few virtual ‘Friday beers’ too. I’ve been very lucky.

Are you still working through the pandemic?

Yes, I am. The pace has slowed slightly as some technical work to support planning applications has not gone ahead during the lockdown. That’s resulted in a bit of delay, but I am very lucky that clients have continued with the projects during this time.

What will the planning landscape be like post-COVID-19? 

The world of development will no doubt be changed following the pandemic, but I believe that there will still be developments happening. The way we use buildings and organise our spaces will change, however. There will still be a need for new homes and business premises, but will those businesses require office space for all employees to be on-site working every day?

There is an on-going discussion about shops and the impact of Covid-19 on the high street and what attracts people to town centres.