The scheme helps those new to the field gain a wider perspective of planning – experiencing common issues from a non-planner perspective – as well as developing their own skills.

“I just wanted to add that I feel extremely privileged to have been part of the Mentoring Scheme. It greatly helped me broaden my experience, deepen my understanding of the planning system, and allowed me to view my day-to-day work from a fresh perspective.

I truly believe this is something every newcomer to the planning profession should experience.” (Licentiate)

How does it work?

The scheme is designed to run over a six-month period, with each Licentiate responding to one Advice Service case per month, mentored by a very experienced planner who holds or has held a senior position. The Licentiates are usually between six months to a year into their first planning job and can come from a range of different backgrounds.

This year we had five Licentiates with experience ranging from development management and planning policy, to consultancy work in the private sector.

Our Licentiates were joined by four experienced planners who acted as mentors. We were delighted to have support from: John McNairney, former Chief Planner at Scottish Government; Keith Winter, former Executive Director Enterprise and Environment at Fife Council; Jane Brooks-Burnett, Senior Planning Officer at Stirling Council; and Jill Paterson, Head of Planning at Angus Council and Chair of our board.

We offered the Licentiates householder enquiries in the first couple of months, before tailoring the cases, where possible, to their interests – taking in matters such as change of use, enforcement, public representations, local development plan site allocations and much more.

We also ran three training sessions for the Licentiates as part of the programme:

1. The first session was delivered by Keith Winter and covered fundamentals of the planning system to give the Licentiates a good grounding in the system they were going to be providing advice on.
2. The second session was run by one of our volunteers, Mike Hyde of MH Planning Associates, and looked at Certificates of Lawful Development, what they are, and how they have been used in the past.
3. The third session was run by a group of Planning Aid Scotland staff including Anne Krippler, Planning and Projects Officer, and took a deep dive into the process of applying for chartership with the RTPI, which many of the Licentiates will now be looking to do. We spoke about how the cases from the Licentiate Mentoring Scheme can be used in the application to demonstrate some of the competencies needed.

What participants said

• “The approach of this programme in supporting chartership is great” (Mentor)
• “I feel extremely fortunate to have had such an exceptional mentor. He was always ready to help, willing to answer any question, and consistently patient and understanding. His insightful comments and our discussions were incredibly helpful—not only in working through each case, but also in broadening my overall understanding of the planning system.” (Licentiate)
• “Due to the variety of cases from different planning authorities, I gained valuable insight into how each local authority approaches planning in its own distinct way. The unique characteristics of each area—such as geography, community priorities, and political context—play a significant role in shaping local development plans and influencing what is considered important in planning decisions. This diversity clearly demonstrates that a one-size-fits-all approach is not effective in planning and highlights the importance of local context in sound decision making. This was one of the most valuable lessons I took away from the experience.” (Licentiate)

What Advice Service clients said

• “I so appreciate your response and what your charity does. It’s a big help even having someone respond or be available – I find navigating the planning bureaucracy really challenging – but I am making slow headway.” (Florence Popoff, Gamrie Gardens)
• “Firstly, thank you for the excellent work you have put into my inquiry, I am so grateful for your help […] It is very daunting when you have no experience in these subjects. You have made me feel much more positive in my pursuit of my dream.” (Advice Service client)

Next Steps

The aim is to run this mentoring scheme regularly and we are currently collating feedback on what we can do to improve it in the future.

We will be announcing the next round of the Licentiate Mentoring Scheme soon, so keep an eye on volunteer emails if you are interested in taking part! If you would like to know more about the scheme, or are interested in becoming a Mentor, please contact Jo Elston, our Volunteer Coordinator.