A Staffordshire design firm which specialises in the leisure industry has taken on an in-house planning expert to help clients with local authority planning issues.
Rugeley-based GMP Design, one of the leading UK pub, club and restaurant designers, has taken on Ben Rayner to join the company’s project team and act as an in-house planning consultant.
Ben, aged 24, has a Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Birmingham, and brings a broad knowledge of planning requirements, national planning policies and building compliance issues. Ben is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
Ben, originally from Suffolk but now living in Longdon, Staffordshire, said, “Planning can often be a difficult and complicated process, particularly when working within the UK licensed leisure, bar and nightclub sector. I was appointed as part of GMP Design’s commitment to clients to ensure that the whole process goes smoothly right from the start.”
GMP, on the Towers Business Park, was established 20 years ago by Rugeley businessman Neil Morten. The firm has become one of the UK’s leading bar, restaurant and club interior design and fit-out companies, with major contracts throughout the UK, Europe and the Far East.
Neil Morten said, “Ben is able to assist our clients by providing comprehensive planning advice and consultation as well as undertaking full planning applications. He is also able to complete the necessary, and often complex, reports and planning submissions and is able to attend planning committees on behalf of our clients. He is a real asset to our business and to that of our clients.”