Andrew Goodchild

Team Leader, Mid Bedfordshire District Council

In just six years at Mid Bedfordshire District Council, Andrew Goodchild has progressed from trainee planning assistant to leader of a team delivering thousands of new homes in six major projects.

His team of four officers is working on a new village of 4,500 homes called Wixams, a 1,300-home scheme at Fairfield Park and major urban extensions at Biggleswade and Stotfold. He leads negotiations on legal agreements that produce vital community facilities as well as guiding masterplans, design codes, sustainability strategies and planning applications through the system.

Goodchild followed his degree in mapping science and regional planning and development at the University of Luton with an MA in town planning at the University of Westminster on day release. "My role is significant for the delivery of housing in this district, which is one of the government's priorities," he says.

Goodchild is in no doubt that he has made the right career choice. "It is a good time to be a planner," he says. "The growth agenda coupled with the desire for quality makes the job challenging and stimulating. There are good career prospects here in Mid Bedfordshire and, as I understand it, across the wider planning arena."