Gareth joined Lichfields as an Associate Director in May 2002, became a Director in January 2009 and Cardiff Office Leader in 2011. He has experience of a wide range of general planning work, including housing, employment, health and regeneration development for private and public sector clients. Prior to joining Lichfields Gareth worked in local government spending 1 year in Redditch Borough Council and 8 years with City & County of Swansea before working for 4 years at the Home Builders Federation.
Current major projects include securing planning permission for a mixed use urban extension for 7,000 dwellings, employment, leisure and community uses in North West Cardiff as well as high value residential-led schemes in North Bristol and the Vale of Glamorgan.
Gareth led the planning team advising Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury Councils on the employment land evidence base for their emerging Core Strategy. He dealt with similar employment land studies for local planning authorities ranging from Brecon Beacons National Park to South Shropshire.
On behalf of Panasonic, Gareth secured planning permission to convert an allocated employment site at Tredegar Park, Newport into residential use. He is undertaking a similar scheme on behalf of Mapeley in north Cardiff which involves a qualitative and quantitative review of Cardiff’s employment land needs.
He has acted as expert planning witness at numerous Local Plan Examinations and Planning Appeals on behalf of private clients and local planning authorities in areas ranging from East Devon and South Somerset in the South West of England to Swansea and Cardiff in Wales.
Gareth was the lead Director on the Coastal Housing Urban Village scheme in High Street, Swansea that won the Planning National Place-making awards. The award reflected not only the design approach but the innovative planning permission that allowed for flexibility in uses to respond to market requirements.
As well as employment and housing work Gareth has worked on complex health and education schemes including delivering an Independent Hospital on a brownfield site on behalf of Grwp Gwalia in Bedwas, Caerphilly.
Gareth was a member of a working group advising Welsh Government on emerging changes to Planning Policy Wales.
