Nikola Miller, a planner with property consultancy GVA Grimley, has been seconded to work with Planning Aid for Scotland, an organisation that helps individuals and communities to become more involved in the planning process.

Planning Aid for Scotland provides free professional advice, support and training on planning and environmental issues to individuals and communities looking to engage in the planning system.

Nikola's role will be to manage the delivery of all the organisation’s ten training programmes to communities to give them the tools to be able to engage in the planning process

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Commenting on the appointment, Richard Slipper, Director at GVA Grimley said: "Our planning team in GVA Grimley has managed numerous larger scale public engagement events in recent years and Nikola has focused on this area of work, so her skills will be developed much further in a direct role with Planning Aid for Scotland.

"She will also benefit from new challenges in working for a different organisation and developing its growing reputation further."

Petra Biberbach, Chief Executive of Planning Aid for Scotland added: "We welcome Nikola's secondment to the team and believe we will gain enormously from the transfer of skills and experience that she brings from the commercial sector. Nikola has been a valuable volunteer with us and I am delighted she is now able to work on a secondment basis for us.

"The new planning reform requires a culture change in the way we deliver for our markets, which requires a new and shared approach. This exchange is a much welcomed opportunity between the third sector and private sector working together towards better and more inclusive community engagement."

(GK/BMcC)