Regions

If you would like to get involved with UDG activity in your area, please contact your regional representative, or if there is currently no representative in your area and you would like to put yourself forward please contact administration@udg.org.uk

Regions and UDG Convenors  
 East Anglia    
East Midlands Laura Alvarez udgeastmidlands@googlemail.com
London + South East Robert Huxford robert.huxford@udg.org.uk
North East    
North West    
Northern Ireland    
Scotland Husam AlWaer  
Solent Peter Frankum pfrankum@savills.com
South West Andrew Dakin andrewdakin1145@btinternet.com
Wales    
West Midlands    
Yorkshire Rob Thompson rob@robthompsonurbanism.com

 

East Midlands  Laura Alvarez  

Laura Alvarez is a Senior Principal Urban Design and Conservation Officer at Nottingham City Council, where she is developing the Design Quality Framework for the City. She has an active role in co-running the Urban Room.

Her 25 years of work in practice include consultancy for the award winning Trent Basin scheme in Nottingham. She also assisted local and regional authorities reviewing the design of residential developments, recently supporting Redrow Homes in the development of their Placemaking Guide.

Laura is also a qualified Community Organiser and has worked closely with local groups and residents designing innovative ways of bottom up engagement and co-design. She co-runs alkiki, a CIC dedicated to help communities and authorities in need of built environment resources and skills.

London + South East  Robert Huxford 
Robert is director of the Urban Design Group, an international membership charity for people concerned about improving the design of cities, towns and villages.

He is co-founder of PRIAN, the Public Realm Information and Advice Network, and a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers Municipal Expert Panel.
Solent  Peter Frankum 

Peter Chairs the southern branch of the UDG, is an academician of The Academy of Urbanism and member of several design panels. He speaks nationally at conferences and events, with a focus on delivering quality development and regeneration.

Peter is director and national head of Savills Urban Design. His CV includes work in both the public and private sector, specialising in regeneration, master planning, urban design and public consultation.

Andrew Dakin  Co-opted Member

Andrew has been a member of the Urban Design Group since 1996. He has been on the Executive Committee since 2010, acting as a co-opted corresponding member for Wales since 2012. 

An urban regeneration practitioner and previously a property developer with 37 years experience in the public, private and voluntary sectors and within academia. Roles include the posts of Project Director for regeneration initiatives in the Cynon Valley and in Barry, and from 2006 to 2010 as the Director of Regeneration at the Newport Urban Regeneration Company. Andrew has held a teaching position at the Cardiff University School of City and Regional Planning since 2005, he has been a Board Member of the Welsh Valleys based Cynon Taff Community Housing Association since 1993 and in June 2012 he was appointed to the Board of Management for the new Canal and River Trust for Wales.

Andrew recently retired as Deputy Chief Executive of the Centre for Regeneration Excellence in Wales (CREW).

Yorkshire  Rob Thompson

Rob Thompson has his own studio rtu rob thompson urbanism based in Sheffield, which he set up in 2016. 

Rob has almost 30 years in practice, including 10 years as a principal urban designer with Sheffield City Council, developing their Core Strategy and providing urban design advice for new development and acting as design champion for the £17M Moor Market development. He also worked with Urbed on developing proposals for Sheffield 2030, an aspirational plan for the Sheffield Garden City. He also worked for Barnsley MBC as part of their Urban Regeneration team, working on Remaking Barnsley initiatives, SRB and Objective 1 programmes.

Rob sits on the Yorkshire & Humber Design Review Panel and is on the RIBA Design Awards Panel for 2020.