Man with a plan looks back on his career

As a senior planning officer with the Lake District National Park Authority he spent 19 years playing a major role in significant developments in the county. 
He now runs his own town planning consultancy firm, Peter Winter Town Planning Services, and still works with his long-time friend Andy Lowe, a former building conservation officer for the LDNPA, who consults on specific town planning projects.  
“We have worked in parallel during much of our careers and I can still go to Andy when I need some specialist advice on a planning project,” says Peter, who lives in the Crooklands area, near Kendal. 
“His ability to quickly ‘read’ and interpret the history of a building is hugely beneficial when preparing schemes.” 
Peter grew up in Bristol and studied town planning at its polytechnic before gaining his Royal Town Planning Institute qualifications.  
His first role was in planning policy at Lincolnshire County Council, where he concentrated on the reuse of former Second World War airfields. 
He then spent nine years at Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire as a development control planning officer before moving to Cornwall as an area planning officer.  
“I know every building on the opening credits of the TV show Beyond to Paradise, which is set in Looe. I was the planning officer approving schemes at several of the buildings,” he says. 
He joined what was then called the Lake District Special Planning Board in 1988 as a senior planning officer.  
Notable schemes he was involved with included the replacement of the former Blue Box theatre at Keswick, a housing scheme in Rosthwaite which won a national Civic Trust award and successfully opposing plans for 18 huge turbines on the skyline at Whinash, overlooking Tebay. 
In 2007 he started work for PFK as its head of planning and development services and then set up his own company in 2017 at the age of 65.  
His services include help with new planning applications, lawful development certificates and planning and enforcement appeals.  
Current work includes coordinating the development of a much-needed affordable housing scheme with two housing associations and a local landowner in a Lakeland valley, and the restoration and conversion of a large and imposing Grade II listed building near Windermere.   “My strengths are my experience, my knowledge of the systems and planning policies, and knowing who to speak to and when,” says Peter. 
“I thoroughly enjoy the work. It is all about trying to match people’s expectations for their proposals with local authority planning policies.  
“I work as a bridge between applicants and planning officers to find acceptable solutions wherever possible, whether it be for a new house, factory, barn conversion or renewable energy scheme.” 
Originally from Slyne-with-Hest, near Lancaster, Andy started his career as a planning assistant for Cheshire County Council before joining the Lake District Special Planning Board in 1975 as a senior planning conservation officer, drawing up policies for archaeology and building conservation throughout the national park. 
“Conservation areas recognise the collective group value of buildings, their setting and the landscape and it was my job to identify those areas that have a special unique character that needs to be designated, protected and improved,” says Andy. 
“I held public consultations and exhibitions and designated 21 towns and villages in the Lake District. Enhancing such areas might involve tree planting, removing overhead wires, tidying up areas or simply providing a seat on the village green – all things that would benefit local people.” 
Notable projects included working with Norweb to take overhead wires at Staveley underground in 1985 and the pedestrianisation and paving of Ash Street in Bowness in 1993. 
“I designated Keswick as a conservation area in 1981 and set the target of pedestrianising the town centre. It took me 25 years with county council help and European money and it was a major enhancement for the town.” 
Other notable projects included negotiating for the Lake District National Park Authority to take a 50-year lease on the site of Duddon Iron Furnace to carry out archaeological and restoration work, which he then supervised, and being the lead officer dealing with a series of listed building applications while Belle Isle on Windermere was carefully restored following a fire in 1994. 
He retired in 2006 after nearly 32 years with the LDNPA, did some consultancy work and now occasionally advises Peter on schemes. 
“Historic buildings are my passion. I have never been bored in my life. I am too busy to grow old,” he says.