Assembly Staff

Organisation Chart (updated May 2008) - 212 KB

Staff profiles:

Paul Bevan - Chief Executive

Email Paul Bevan

Paul Bevan became the first Chief Executive of the Assembly in August 1999. Before taking on this role, Paul was Deputy Chief Executive at Brighton & Hove Council during its initial period as a unitary authority.

Previously he worked for Brighton Borough Council and East Sussex County Council in a variety of roles including planning, economic development and urban regeneration, as well as in the private sector for ICL.

Diana Pogson - Finance and Administration Director

Email Diana Pogson

Diana Pogson joined the Assembly in July 2005. Her key responsibilities include ensuring the efficient and legal administration of the Assembly's affairs and its sound financial management.

A qualified accountant, Diana has a wide range of experience in both the public and private sectors. After roles with leading catering and financial services organisations, she joined the BBC in 1991. In her most recent role with the BBC she spent 10 years as Business Manager for the Asia and Pacific region of World Service radio.

Martin Tugwell - Director of Development

Email Martin Tugwell

Martin Tugwell leads the Regional Assembly's work on delivery. He is leading the Assembly's work on implementation, including the development of a regional delivery plan that will see the implementation plans for the South East Plan and Regional Economic Strategy combined into a single document for the region. He is also leading the Assembly's work on the Regional Infrastructure Fund; a new delivery mechanism that enables the public sector to facilitate the delivery of infrastructure that enables growth to be realised.


He has responsibility for the work of the Regional Transport Board and Regional Housing Board, partnership boards chaired by the Assembly which advise Government on investment priorities totalling 600m pounds per annum.


Martin originally joined the Assembly as its Head of Regional Transport Planning in July 2000 and led its work on the Regional Transport Strategy. He has taken a leading role nationally in the development of transport planning, in particular the work on prioritisation. Prior to joining the Assembly he worked for the Government Office for the South East and prior to that Devon County Council. He is member of the Council of the Institution of Highways and Transportation, Chairman of the English Regions Transport Officers Group, a member of the Executive Committee of the Transport Planning Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Catriona Riddell - Director of Planning

Email Catriona Riddell

Catriona Riddell joined the Regional Assembly as the Planning Strategy Director in April 2006. She leads on planning policy with particular responsibility for the South East Plan preparation and review. Catriona is also the lead for monitoring and the Regional Sustainability Framework.

She is a Chartered Town Planner and has worked in local government for 16 years. Prior to joining the Regional Assembly, Catriona was Head of Spatial Policy and Information at Surrey County Council where she was responsible for preparing the Surrey Structure Plan and the County's contribution to the regional agenda, including the South East Plan.

Heather Bolton - Communications Director

Email Heather Bolton

Heather Bolton joined the Assembly in January 2004. She previously worked in a variety of senior public relations and communications roles with Transport for London, the Traffic Director for London and the Association of Metropolitan Authorities.

Before moving into PR, Heather began her career in journalism, working for a number of regional newspapers and for Local Government Chronicle. Heather's qualifications include an MBA and professional qualifications in both journalism and PR.

Nick Woolfenden - Head of Policy

Email Nick Woolfenden

Nick Woolfenden is Head of Policy for the Regional Assembly. He manages the Assembly's policy function, including scrutiny, health, social inclusion and European issues.

Nick's responsibilities include:

- Leading the Assembly's scrutiny of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)
- Public health policy and health service policy, working with regional and local partners including the regions Strategic Health Authorities, local authorities and the voluntary sector
- Developing the Assembly's social inclusion and communities policy function.

Nick joined the Regional Assembly in 2003 as a Regional Planner, and prior to becoming Head of Policy in November 2006, worked a range of economic, social, rural and sub-regional planning issues. He has contributed to the development of the South East Plan and was the lead on inter-regional liaison with London and the East of England.

Prior to joining the Assembly, Nick worked in regeneration, planning and community development both in the public and voluntary sectors, with a particular focus on rural issues. He has worked for East and West Sussex County Councils and Action in Rural Sussex (formerly Sussex Rural Community Council) implementing initiatives and developing policy. Nick is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.

Claire Hamilton - Policy Advisor

Email Claire Hamilton

Claire became Policy Advisor in January 2007, having joined the Assembly in January 2006 as Policy Assistant. Claire provides policy advice on a range of social inclusion issues, with particular responsibility for developing how the Assembly addresses health issues and liaison with health partners. Claire also supports the scrutiny of the Regional Development Agency and the Assembly's wider accountability role.

Claire graduated from Bristol University in 2005. She holds a BSc in Geography specialising in human geography. Her degree included units in research skills, social policy, urban policy and rural geographies.

Ameeta Rowland - Policy Assistant

Email Ameeta Rowland

Ameeta supports the Assembly's Policy Team, with a particular focus on the scrutiny of SEEDA and the Assembly's wider accountability role. Ameeta has particular responsibilities for European issues.

Ameeta graduated from Cambridge University in 2006 with a degree in Geography. She specialised in human geography focusing on the economy, social policy and culture.

David Payne - Planning Manager

Email David Payne

David holds a degree in Biology and an MSc in Urban and Regional Planning and spent the first part of his career with the RSPB. After working as Regional Government Liaison Officer with the Environment Agency, during which he was seconded to both SEEDA and the Assembly working on sustainable development issues, he joined the Regional Assembly full-time as Regional Planner in mid 2001.

David currently leads on sub-regional strategies, implementation, and environmental planning issues, working closely with the Regional Assembly's Natural Resources and Climate Change Advisory Group. Current areas of work include waste, minerals, renewable energy, sustainable construction, climate change, water resources, water quality, flooding, and biodiversity including the Thames Basin Heaths delivery plan.

Alison Bailey - Planning Manager

Email Alison Bailey

Alison Bailey leads the Regional Assembly's work on housing. Her role covers planning policy for housing, including the South East Plan, monitoring and demography, and the work of the Regional Housing Board. Alison is also the regional contact for the Central Oxfordshire sub-region.

Alison is a chartered town planner with 17 years experience of regional planning in the South East. Alison originally joined the Assembly in 2001 following 10 years working for SERPLAN on housing, demography and related topics.

Andy Mak - Planning Manager

Email Andy Mak

Andy Mak joined the Regional Assembly in September 2003 following transport and economic development posts in both local government and other public sector organisations. He has experience of transport, economic and strategic planning at unitary, metropolitan and regional levels, which has included project managing the development of the Assembly's pioneering prioritisation methodology for regional transport projects and contribution to the development of the South East Plan.

Andy is presently Planning Manager at the Assembly, with responsibility for the economy and transport areas of activity, as well as co-ordinating the Assembly activities on the 2012 Games. He is the Assembly lead officer for the Gatwick Area and Kent Thames Gateway sub-regions, and is responsible for the running of the Regional Transport Board. He leads on transport and economic development policy, and also has day-to-day responsibility for the Assembly's activities on employment land, ports and airports.

Nikki Nicholson - Regional Planner

Email Nikki Nicholson

Nikki joined the Regional Assembly in July 2003 following over five years experience of working for environmental and economic consultancies. She began her career at environmental consultants, Land Use Consultants (LUC) and more recently specialised in economic development and urban regeneration for consultancy SQW. Prior to joining LUC Nikki completed a masters degree in Environmental Assessment and Evaluation at the London School of Economics and a MA in Geography at Cambridge University.

Nikki joined the Assembly as a Regional Planner and leads on economic and town centre and retail issues, providing support to the Assemblys Economy Advisory Group.

Mark Williams - Regional Planner

Email Mark Williams

Mark joined the Assembly in June 2007 from Greenwich Council. He holds a Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning Studies from the London School of Economics, and has ten year's experience predominantly in local government planning policy.

Mark's work is principally concerned with housing issues such as housing market areas, land availability, dwelling type and size, and environmentally sustainable housing construction. Mark will also lead on the forthcoming partial review of the South East Plan covering Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople, and he is the regional contact for the Kent Thames Gateway sub-region.

Sue Janota - Regional Planner

Email Sue Janota

Sue joined the Regional Assembly in June 2006 to lead the Assembly's work in carrying out its statutory duty to assess the general conformity of Local Development Documents with the Regional Spatial Strategy and as a statutory consultee on major planning applications.

She has an MPhil in Town Planning and is a Chartered Town Planner with 24 years experience of working in local government. Prior to joining the Assembly, Sue managed the District Liaison Team in the Planning and Countryside Service at Surrey County Council and had responsibility for leading on all aspects of planning policy related to infrastructure provision to support new development and to retailing.

Cath Rose - Regional Planner

Email Cath Rose

Cath joined the Regional Assembly in July 2004. She holds a MSc in Town Planning from London South Bank University, and a BSc in Geography.

Cath is responsible for work on the Thames Basin Heaths, green infrastructure, planning for health and the built environment, and the Western Corridor and Blackwater Valley sub-region. She is also the Assembly officer responsible for inter-regional liaison. Her previous work at the Regional Assembly has included planning application and LDD conformity and support on economic and minerals planning. Prior to joining the Regional Assembly she worked for Elmbridge Borough Council in the Policy and Environmental Planning Team, and also spent some time working in the Development Control section.

Jorn Peters - Regional Planner

Email Jorn Peters

Jorn holds a degree in Spatial Planning from the University of Dortmund in Germany. He worked as a planner at Southampton City Council and Adur District Council. His responsibilities included strategic planning, policy development and Sustainability Appraisals. Jorn has also experience with the development and assessment of European projects from positions at the Environment Agency and the North Sea Interreg Secretariat. He joined the Assembly full-time as a Regional Planner in September 2006.

Jorn's areas of work include flood risk, climate change, water resources, water quality and the coast. He is lead officer for the South Hampshire sub-region. Jorn also co-ordinates the European project work and manages for the Assembly the Interreg project ESPACE, which aims to promote adaptation to climate change.

Dominick Veasey - Regional Planner

Email Dominick Veasey

Dominick joined the Assembly in August 2005. He holds a Diploma Town Planning and BA (Hons) in Town Planning from Sheffield Hallam University.

He joined the Assembly from Broadway Malyan Planning and has over two years experience within private planning consultancies within the South East. His experience includes a wide range of projects for both private and public sector clients. Dominick's work is principally concerned with housing issues.

David Nkrumah-Boateng - Regional Planner

Email David Nkrumah-Boateng

David joined the Assembly in January 2006. He holds an MA in Environment and Development from Kings College, London, and a BSc in Planning from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. Prior to joining the Assembly, David worked with the Wassa West District Assembly in Ghana and also spent some time undertaking field humanitarian research with the British Red Cross Society during his study period in the UK.

David's key role includes working on the development of minerals and waste policy issues, assisting in research and development of social-related policy implementation. He will also be contributing to developing the Assembly's role in assessing the general conformity of local development plan documents with regional strategies.

James Renwick - Regional Planner

Email James Renwick

James joined the Assembly in August 2006. He holds a Diploma in Town Planning and BA (Hons) in Town Planning from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

He joined the Assembly from North Tyneside Council, where he worked in local planning policy. Previously he worked as a development control officer for Selby District Council. His experience includes a wide range of local planning issues, from policy development to planning enforcement. James' work is principally concerned with transport issues and the implementation of the South East Plan.

Fiona Thorp - Regional Planner

Email Fiona Thorp

Prior to joining the Regional Assembly in June 2007, Fiona spent two years with Broadway Malyan Planning, following three years at Surrey County Council in the Transportation Development Control team. Fiona holds an MSc in Transport Planning and Management from Westminster University and a BSc in Human Geography from the University of Reading.

Fiona's work programme is primarily focused on transport issues and the implementation of the South East Plan, and she contributes to other elements of the Assembly's work on planning.

Greg Pitt - Sustainable Development Planner

Email Greg Pitt

Greg joined the Assembly in April 2007 from Thurrock Borough Council where he worked as an Environmental Planning Assistant. His work primarily focused on developing the Council's Greengrid Strategy and taking this forward into the Local Development Framework. At the Assembly Greg has worked on the South East Regional Sustainability Framework, prepared responses to consultation on local development frameworks and worked on climate change and natural resources.

He has an MA in Planning Policy and Practice from London South Bank University and a BSc in Geography and Environmental Management from the University of the West of England.

Cath Stubbings - Housing Policy Advisor

Email Cath Stubbings

Catherine joined the Assembly in April 2005. Her role involves coordinating the work of the Regional Housing Board, developing the Regional Housing Strategy in conjunction with the Board's support team, and providing housing policy advice to the Assembly.

Prior to joining the Assembly, Catherine worked mainly in local authorities, both in housing management and corporate strategy roles. Her experience of the housing association sector has been gained via board and committee positions with local and national housing associations.

Catherine is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing and an assessor for the CIH professional qualification.

Kate Aulman - Regional Analyst

Email Kate Aulman

Kate joined the Assembly as a Regional Analyst in 2002. Prior to taking up this role, Kate completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and then moved on to work in the oil and gas, telecoms and water resources industries.

When she joined the Assembly Kate set up and now manages and develops the Assembly's GIS and associated data and information systems. She oversees the production of maps and graphics for Assembly publications and an evidence base for the development of regional policy.

Kate leads on monitoring and is responsible for the development of the Assembly's monitoring framework and production of the annual Regional Monitoring Report.

Sandrine Mathard - Regional Analyst

Email Sandrine Mathard

Sandrine joined the Regional Assembly in July 2004. She holds a BSc in Geography from the University of Bordeaux/Exeter and an MSc in Tourism and Planning from Bournemouth University. Prior to joining the Assembly she worked for a Consultancy where she was responsible for evaluating projects.

Sandrine's key role is to provide support on monitoring, housing and commercial and leisure surveys, collecting of data and GIS.

Tom Kingston - Planning Technician

Email Tom Kingston

Tom joined the Regional Assembly in August 2006. He holds a BSc in Cybernetics and Control Engineering from the University of Reading and an MSc in Spatial Planning from Oxford Brookes University.

Tom's role at the Regional Assembly is within the monitoring team where he is involved in the collection and analysis of data for the Annual Monitoring Report using databases, GIS and other analysis tools.

Bridget Williams - Office Manager

Email Bridget Williams

Bridget joined the Regional Assembly in October 2001. She is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the Assembly offices in Guildford and for providing information to the members and general public. Prior to this, Bridget worked for 14 years in both the telecommunications and manufacturing industries in the positions of Office Manager and National Customer Service Manager. Bridget has a BSc (Hons) in Sociology and Research.

Lesley Van Dijk - Public Relations Executive

Email Lesley Van Dijk

Lesley joined the Regional Assembly in July 2003 to develop media relations and external communications. Previously, she worked at Public Relations consultancy Weber Shandwick in London where she managed media relations for international financial and technology clients. She also has experience in internal and corporate communications, and speaks Dutch and German.

Before coming to the UK in 2001, Lesley worked at a Dutch communications consultancy, managing all internal and external communications for an urban regeneration project in Utrecht. Lesley holds a Master of Science and has specialised in communication management

Alistair Moses - Public Relations Executive

Email Alistair Moses

Alistair joined the Assembly in June 2004 and is responsible for the Assembly's publications including Voice, the Annual Report, and the Regional Monitoring Report. He also leads the internal communications programme and works on other communications projects in liaison with the rest of the team.

Before joining the Assembly, Alistair worked for NatWest Private Banking and Richmond Housing Partnership in a variety of communications roles including publications, internal communications, PR and design.

He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

Steve Baker - Public Relations Executive

Email Steve Baker

Steve joined the Assembly in June 2007 coming from a journalism background. He graduated with a BA (Hons) in Media and Cultural Studies from Middlesex University in 2001, before gaining the NCTJ journalism qualification at Harlow College in 2004. Steve is involved in writing press releases and articles for the Assembly as well as content for its publications and website.

Neil Stanton - IT and Web Developer

Email Neil Stanton

Neil joined the Regional Assembly in January 2002 and is responsible for the development, maintenance and promotion of the three Assembly websites. His skillset includes several design and development packages, as well as hand-coding in many languages used in website development. Neil is also responsible for maintaining the office computer network and is a Microsoft Certified Professional, with knowledge of Microsoft operating systems and server software, networking and security issues, as well as anti-virus, content management and backup applications.

Since joining the Assembly, Neil has developed many areas of the site, and worked to improve interactivity and accessibility, as well as ensuring the site is consistently kept up to date. Additionally, he has been responsible for overseeing the redesign of the Assembly website (writing code for many areas of the site), developing new interactive database systems, and designing the web templates for a new regional intelligence portal for the South East.

In his IT role, Neil has been responsible for specifying and implementing a new office server network, adding functionality to existing systems and rolling out the distribution of new software packages.

Jo Shockley - Assembly Partner Support Manager

Email Jo Shockley

Jo Shockley joined the Regional Assembly in July 2007 to support the Social, Environmental and Economic Partners and the Town and Parish Councillors in their role as stakeholders. She had previously worked in partner support before this was brought into the Assembly. She also has voluntary sector experience with a national charity where she coordinated their regional involvement and served as a Town Councillor in the region for several years.

Jo studied Botany at Reading University and has taught several open studies courses in horticulture, economic botany and ecology.

Anke Seidler - Head of South East England Brussels Office

Email Anke Seidler

Anke joined the Assembly in February 2004 and has a joint post with SEEDA. Armed with a Masters Degree in Political Science, Anke started working in European affairs over ten years ago.

She started out by managing a Euro Info Centre in Hanover which is part of a Europe-wide business support network of 320 offices financed by the European Commission and moved on to Brussels for a secondment to the European Commission. Anke spent one year in the Directorate-General Energy and Transport and three years in the Directorate-General Enterprise where she returned to working for the Euro Info Centre network. Part of her responsibilities involved the coordination of annual conferences, communication and promotion of the network and desk officer for the British Euro Info Centres.

Fluent in German, French and English, Ankes role is to represent the South Easts interests in Brussels by gathering intelligence, lobbying and networking. She divides her time between Guildford and the South East England Brussels Office.

Helen Tipper - European Policy Advisor (sustainable development)

Email Helen Tipper

Helen joined the Assembly in February 2005 and holds a joint post with the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). Having obtained a Masters Degree in International Relations, Helen started her career with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She most recently worked on Foreign Affairs in the European Parliament, specialising in Enlargement (extension of the European Union).

Helen is based in Brussels using her language skills to the full extent (English, French, German and Italian). She works on policy issues that affect the South East, such as Transport and Social Policy. Other responsibilities are following legislation and advocating the regions interests. Helen will also support Anke Seidler in representing the South East to the European Parliament and Commission.

Andre Schmid - Regional Planner

Email Andre Schmid

Andre joined the Assembly as a regional planner in April 2008 from Slough Borough Council. He holds a Masters of Regional and Resource Planning (MRRP) and a BSc in Geography from the University of Otago, New Zealand. Andre has seven years experience working in Local Government town planning, in both the UK and New Zealand.

Andre's main focus is housing issues including the first review of the South East Plan. He is also supporting the Partial Review for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople.