Clarke takes top job at Rapleys

Robert Clarke has been elected as the senior partner at planning consultancy Rapleys.

Clarke, who will remain in his current role as head of planning, joined the firm in 1996 and became a partner in 2000.

He takes the reins at the top of the practice from Jim Banks, who is retiring after a long career in the property industry.

Clarke told Planning: “It is not often that planners become heads of property consultancies and my appointment is testament to the strength of our planning team.”

He said the senior partner role will involve leading the partnership, chairing strategy groups, business promotion and general management of the firm.

The firm is currently expanding its 165-strong workforce to strengthen its core market sectors, which Clarke said were automotive and roadside, retail, residential and business space.

The firm will also strengthen two new disciplines, residential viability and strategic land services, he said.

Clarke has a bachelors in planning studies, a postgraduate diploma in town planning and a masters in planning, all from the former Oxford Polytechnic.

On graduating, he spent a short spell in planning policy at West Glamorgan County Council, before joining the planning department of property consultancy Healey and Baker, which has now become Cushman & Wakefield.

He joined Rapleys in 1996, becoming a partner in 2000.

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