Ian Butter FRICS MRTPI
With over 40 years in private practice Ian Butter offers a diverse and experienced service to the individual, company or public body alike.
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In addition to housing and commercial experience Ian specializes in rural planning and regeneration initiatives, including rural workspace, heritage projects and sustainable settlements. He also has specialist expertise in the tourism and leisure sector; caravan parks in particular.
Throughout his professional practice he has been heavily involved in the planning policy process, advising clients, challenging and making representations to Structure Plans, Local Plans, Unitary Development Plans and latterly Core Strategies; acting as both expert witness and advocate in public Inquiries and hearings.
Ian has written and lectured on a range of urban and rural planning and development topics for the RICS, RTPI and a number of other organisations. He has been a guest lecturer on planning and development topics at UCLAN (University of Central Lancashire).
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He was co-author of a widely circulated publication for the Countryside Commission which was highlighted in the UK Government's 'Good Practice Guide on Planning for Tourism' (2006) and his book “The New Planning System: Questions and Answers” was published by RICS Books in June 2009.
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Ian advised Matthew Taylor MP on rural regeneration issues for his 2008 report to Prime Minister Gordon Brown ‘A Living Working Countryside’, which remains a key policy document.
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In 2009 he was invited to address and run a workshop for Dansk Bygningsarv A/S at a two-day conference in Denmark concerning Rural Regeneration and Heritage Development. More recently he has been running workshops on ‘New Town Development’ and ‘Public Private Partnerships in Planning and Development’ in Manila, Philippines and ‘Future City Development’ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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Ian is the Chairman of his local RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) Lifeboat Station and is a Deputy Launching Authority on the crew. The RNLI is a charity that saves lives at sea and provides, on call, a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service around the UK and Ireland manned entirely by unpaid volunteers.
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Married with two children in their 30’s he is a keen private pilot, enjoys contemporary jazz, motorsports and sailing.
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