A TOWN planner has been awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours list.
Dr John England, a director of Darlington-based chartered town planners England and Lyle, has been awarded the accolade for his services to retail planning.
Dr England, who was brought up in Stockton and attended Newcastle University, has been a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute for 35 years.
Dr England’s early career was in local government planning, when he worked for the former Cleveland County Council. He joined WS Atkins Consultants in 1987 as head of planning in the firm’s regional office in Middlesbrough.
In 1995, he became a partner in a new town planning consultancy, England and Lyle.
Dr England, who has become a nationally-recognised specialist in retail planning, was awarded a PhD in 1997 from Newcastle University for research in retail planning.
In 2000, he wrote Retail Impact Assessment: a Guide to Best Practice, the first book to be published on the subject in the UK.
Last year, Dr England, who lives with his wife in North Yorkshire, was appointed to the Board of Action for Market Towns in England.
Dr England’s father, Ken, who was a chief superintendent for Durham Police, was awarded an MBE for his services to the police in 1978.
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