Clive Aslet is an award-winning writer and journalist, acknowledged as a leading authority on Britain and its way of life. He joined the magazine Country Life in 1977 and was Editor for 13 years. After publishing his first novel The Birdcage in 2014 (see video clip), he left to spend more time writing fiction. He has now finished a second novel, The Elephant’s Balls, and is at work on a third. Clive’s other books include The Edwardian Country House (2012), a reprise, completely redesigned and freshly illustrated, of his first book, The Last Country Houses, which was published in 1982. He has also written on country houses of the American Gilded Age, on British identity, on the countryside and on the House of Lords. Lady Antonia Fraser, reviewing Landmarks of Britain, published in 2005, called it ‘a brilliant, far-ranging enterprise’. Jenny Uglow wrote that his book, The English House, ‘is a thorough treat’: Clive is ‘the perfect guide’ to the subject, ‘combining long experience with a light touch.’

Simon Branson and James Sibson are experienced architects at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. FCBStudios are an award-winning architectural practice with an international reputation for design quality, for pioneering environmental expertise and a progressive architectural approach. FCBStudios won the RIBA Stirling Prize for Accordia, a scheme which is widely regarded as setting a new benchmark for housing in the UK. Simon and James are Project Architect’s for the conversion of Murrays Mills in the Ancoats district of Manchester into a residential apartments. Murrays’ Mills are amongst the world’s earliest steam-powered cotton spinning factories.

Simon is an Associate in the FCBStudios Manchester office and has worked for 13 years extending and adapting significant listed buildings. Most recently Simon, whilst at MUMA, was the Project Architect on the University of Manchester's Grade II Listed Whitworth Art Gallery, RIBA's North West building of the year 2015. Simon is experienced in delivering complex and often public facing briefs for multi-faceted clients, particularly within a historic context.

James is a Project Architect at FCBStudios. He has worked extensively on listed buildings for clients including Historic England, Liverpool City Council, Manchester City Council and other local authorities, charities and private clients. James has worked in the capacity of a Church Architect for Diocese in the north and south of England. His work has included the repair, re-ordering and renovation of Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings some of which include aspects dating back to the 1300s.

Jonathan Brown is a town planner, campaigner and author, and Director of urban consultancy Share the City.org. Alongside masterplanning and conservation advice, Share the City provides specialist urban study tours for investors, academics and private groups visiting Britain from across the world.

An RTPI member since 2004, Jonathan is a guest lecturer for research institutions including Paris Sorbonne, the University of Liverpool and the V&A, and co-authored the Liverpool City Profile (2014), published in the International Journal of Cities. Jonathan has played a leading role in what the Times calls ‘the planning battle of the century so far’, to turn national housing and neighbourhood regeneration policy towards renovation, and away from eviction and demolition. Liverpool’s terraced communities such as Granby, Bootle, Anfield, Edge Lane and the Welsh Streets have attracted national attention in this decade-long campaign. Jonathan has worked closely with community groups, media organisations, government ministries and conservation charities, in particular the Empty Homes Agency and SAVE Britain’s Heritage.

Dave Chetwyn is Managing Director of Urban Vision Enterprise CIC, a social enterprise providing professional services in planning, regeneration and community-led development. He is also Chair of the Historic Towns Forum, Vice Chair of the National Planning Forum, a Design Council Built Environment Expert and an Associate of the Consultation Institute. Former roles include Head of Planning Aid England, Chair of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation and a team leader in local Government. Dave is the author of the Locality Neighbourhood Planning Roadmap Guide. Dave has also acted as a neighbourhood plan independent examiner.

Nicholas Heath MA MSc is Founding Director of NDM Heath Ltd, an independent sustainable energy consultancy based in Yorkshire. He has a particular expertise in the challenges and solutions for retrofitting traditional and historic building stock, as well as large-scale housing regeneration.

Nicholas is the author of numerous traditional building retrofit guides, technical papers, research reports and planning guidance, and has extensive experience of technical training development and delivery. He has worked nationally and internationally with a wide range of public and private clients including Historic England, Historic Scotland, the Scottish Government, UNESCO, EST, CITB, RIBA, RICS, STBA and SPAB. Nicholas is also Technical Director of the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance (STBA), an Affiliate and Technical Panel Member of the IHBC, and a part-time lecturer at the University of York.

John Hinchliffe has lived in and around Liverpool since 1980. John worked for Liverpool City Council from 2001 until 2012 as the World Heritage Officer and co-ordinated Liverpool’s successful nomination as a World Heritage Site. He provided heritage advice on major developments in the WHS: Liverpool 1, the Museum of Liverpool, the Mann Island Development; the Liverpool Canal Link; Liverpool Waters and; the conversion of the warehouses at Stanley Dock to mixed uses. As a member of the RTPI and the IHBC, he aims for the highest standards of building conservation but also encourages contemporary development which expresses the spirit of the day, whilst respecting its historic context. Since 2012, John has been an independent heritage consultant, providing heritage advice on a diverse range of heritage-based projects across the country including: Stanley Dock, Liverpool and; Royal Haslar Hospital, Gosport. He was the principal author of Liverpool World Heritage City (2014) and co-author of Old Dock, Liverpool (2015).

Chris Griffiths has managed Liverpool’s buildings at risk programme since 2006 and advises on development affecting historic buildings and conservation areas throughout the city.  Liverpool City Council’s response to heritage at risk is recognised by Historic England as a benchmark for how to successfully transform derelict sites and stimulate economic growth on a large scale.  Prior to returning to Liverpool he undertook research for the Pevsner Buildings of England Guide to Shropshire and afterwards worked for three years at Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council as Conservation Officer.  Chris studied law at the University of Birmingham and completed an MA in History of Architecture at the Courtauld Institute in London.  

Stephen Levrant has spent his entire professional career in conservation and historic buildings, in both the public and private sectors of the profession. He was an architect at the Ministry of Works prior to joining the Frizzell Partnership, which he took over in the 90s and transformed into Heritage Architecture, establishing an office in Manchester in 2004. Known as a pragmatic and tenacious problem solver, he has dealt with many complex and sensitive issues in conservation from delicate and highly specialised repairs, through new build additions on sensitive sites, conservation area appraisals, legislation and planning matters, to major regeneration and development.

Mervyn Miller is an architect, town planner and historian. He was Principal Planning Officer in Hertfordshire County Planning Department (1972-74) and for North Hertfordshire District Council – including Letchworth (1974-87). He was architectural adviser to The Lutyens Trust (1985-2011) and is now a Trustee. He has been a member of IoHBC since 1985. Since 1988 he has been a consultant with a wide range of heritage work including consultant inspector for the themed survey of 20th century listings including New Towns and the resurveys of the lists for Ware and Hertford. He has been a historian of the Garden City since 1974. He was the RTPI appointed director on Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust (1979-2000) since when he has been Hon. Life President. He was a founder member of Letchworth Garden City Society in 1977 and is now Hon Life President. Since 1987 he has undertaken a wide range of consultancy work for Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation. Among his publications are the histories of Letchworth and Hampstead Garden Suburb and the recent English Heritage book English Garden Cities: an Introduction.

Dan Mitchell is a chartered town planner and member of the RTPI. Dan has been a Partner at Barton Willmore since 2008, having worked for the company since 2003. Prior to that he worked at a major PLC and in other consultancies.

Dan has a wide range of experience and leads the Manchester office. His experience includes advising major housing, employment and retail developments on behalf of national house builders, property developers, public sector, government departments and landowners in all aspects of town planning consultancy.

Greg Moss is a Partner at Hawkins\Brown, an internationally-renowned award winning practice of over 200 architects, interior designers, urban designers and researchers, founded in 1988. Greg has devoted the last decade to working on the refurbishment of the UK’s largest listed building, Grade II* listed Park Hill in Sheffield which was shortlisted for the 2013 Stirling Prize. During this time highlights have included exhibiting at the Venice Biennale, gaining support for the proposals from, Ivor Smith, the original architect, and the scheme’s inclusion in the BBC’s documentary series about English Heritage. Through Park Hill, and other projects, Greg has developed considerable expertise in the creative reuse of existing structures, and in the use of new building technologies within a heritage context.

Joseph Sharples is an architectural historian specialising in the 19th century. He has lived in Liverpool since coming to the city to work as a curator at the Walker Art Gallery in 1990. He has published widely on Liverpool architecture, and wrote the Pevsner architectural guide to Liverpool (Yale, 2004). As a researcher at the University of Liverpool he has investigated the architectural patronage of the city’s Victorian merchants. He has also spent several years north of the border, writing on Aberdeen for the Buildings of Scotland, and researching the architectural career of Charles Rennie Mackintosh at the University of Glasgow.

Steven Orr is an archaeologist, town planner and heritage management specialist. He leads LUC's growing heritage team, providing research, policy and practical advice to government, public bodies, local authorities and the private sector. LUC's team has a wide range of experience in understanding and managing historic places, specialising in World Heritage, historic landscapes and setting issues. Heritage cuts across the full range of LUC's planning, design and environmental assessment portfollio, affording us the opportunity to work with special and sensitive places across the UK. LUC is one of the UK's oldest multidiciplinary environmental consultantcies.