Phil Smith

Phil Smith is the Senior Urban Design Officer for Bolsover District and Chesterfield Borough Councils, Derbyshire where he champions good design.  Phil started his career as a development control planner, working at various levels before moving into urban design and has gained considerable experience in heritage and conservation.  He joined the Conservation and Design Team at the Borough of Poole and subsequently worked as an urban design consultant with Matrix Partnership where he was lead consultant for the Hackney Central Masterplan (AAP), various design briefs, characterisation studies, prepared design guidance for local authority clients and undertaken community engagement. 

Now working across two local authorities Phil advises on a wide range of design related projects from large scale housing schemes to urban regeneration sites, corporate projects and public realm improvements.  He prepares design briefs for key sites and land disposals and authored the joint residential design guide Successful Places on behalf of four local planning authorities which was shortlisted for two national awards.  Phil is now a member of Design:Midlands (joining OPUN in 2011) and has participated in design panels, delivered Building for Life 12 training and previously provided support to neighbourhood plans in Norfolk and Nottinghamshire. 

Phil is passionate about making the most that every place has to offer and strongly believes in the power of good design to improve quality of life, based on an understanding of its context, unique character, constraints and opportunities to inform the design process.  He is a member of a community interest company in his home town, working to breathe new life into a vacant building on a key town centre site.