I loved speaking with the incredibly insightful new planning apprentices at Enfield Council: Hannah Procter, Karim El-Houssami and Kate Vaggers. They express very grounded yet optimistic ideas about becoming planners.

While their families are perplexed by their skyline-bending superpowers, they fully appreciate the scale of the task. Planning is challenging and incremental and takes a village - or even a city! - of experts. Very impressed by the openness with which these planners are beginning their careers.

A few ideas that struck me…

• Planning has enormous breadth - a vast range of skills and specialisations to tap into
• A meeting of the social, built and natural environment
• Committee meetings can be a poignant display of the responsibility planners have
• Planners can be inspired by taking account of the change we're effectuating
• Being placed as an apprentice allows exposure to all aspects of the planning process, and to sharpen career direction
• Merging the expertise of professionals across disciplines to form a vision or agreed view is exhilarating - even more fun to then be able to present it!