David Payne

Planning Manager, South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA)

Payne's interest in planning stems from studying biology at the University of Stirling. He was inspired by his tutor, who represented the Nature Conservancy Council on planned development on Scotland's Forth Estuary. "This made me think that I should look at land use if I wanted to use my degree practically," he says.

On completing his biology degree, Payne went on to pursue a masters in urban and regional planning at Strathclyde University. He spent the first part of his career at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) as a conservation officer in various regions of England.

He moved on to the Environment Agency, where he was seconded to the South East England Development Agency and SEERA to help put sustainable development into policy and practice. He joined SEERA as a regional planner in 2001.

Now Payne mainly deals with waste, climate change and water resources, a huge issue in a region where around 29,000 homes are planned annually for the foreseeable future. He says his background really helps. "A lot of the job is advocacy. I can approach people from the RSPB and the Environment Agency very easily."