POS in Hereford for AGM

Date: 25/6/2009

The best minds of the planning world will be in Hereford tomorrow (Fri, June 26), when the Planning Officers' Society holds its annual general meeting in the city. In a rare move, the society has agreed to hold its AGM outside of London, and has called its members to the meeting which is to be held at the Courtyard Centre for the Arts.

This is a great privilege for the city as the society is highly influential in its role as an advocate and promoter of local government planning, said Peter Yates, the council's planning policy manager, who is also the vice chairman of the society's development management committee.

The society also advises government and the Local Government Association on planning matters and also undertakes research and promotes best practice in planning matters, added Peter.

The Society's aim is to ensure that planning makes a major contribution to achieving sustainable developments, from national to local level, in ways which are fair and equitable and achieve the social, economic and environmental aspirations of all sectors of the community.

The society's AGM will be combined with the society's development management committee, which is the specialist group which deals directly with development proposals through planning applications, appeals and development briefs.

Following the meeting in the morning the society will look at a variety of planning issues in the city centre, rounded of with a visit to the Mappa Mundi building, including the chained library and the current Magna Carta exhibition.