We're delighted to announce that our colleague Bart Shirm has won the regional RTPI Young Planner of the Year Awards for Planning Excellence 2025!
The Royal Town Planning Institute’s award recognises the brightest and most outstanding planners who can demonstrate significant career achievements. Bart clearly showed this through his work to secure funding for the Tipton Town Centre Regeneration project and unlocking housing delivery on brownfield sites.
Bart spoke about his career at the council: “I’m honoured to have been named RTPI Young Planner of the Year for the West Midlands. Since moving from the private sector into my role at Sandwell Council over three years ago, I’ve been able to focus on planning that truly benefits local communities - whether through regeneration initiatives or, more recently, by helping to develop Sandwell’s Local Plan.
“Some of the highlights of my career so far have come from championing digital innovation in planning and engaging with young people and early-career planners, both within the council and across the wider profession.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had at Sandwell, and I’m proud to represent the borough. A genuine thank you to my fantastic colleagues in the planning team who nominated me for the award and to my manager, Andy Miller, for his continued support and leadership.”
Shokat Lal, Chief Executive of Sandwell Council, added: “I wanted to say thank you to Bart for his hard work and dedication. He really is an example of what it looks like to make it in Sandwell, and I hope he serves as an inspiration to others who are looking for a role model to follow.
“The Planning Policy team, who are an award winning team have created a local plan which sets out how we will plan for new homes and jobs in the right places, and to prepare us for the big challenges of the future like addressing climate change.
“The work of the team could not be more vital to our future as a thriving place to live, work and grow your career.”
Tammy Stokes, Assistant Director Spatial Planning and Growth added: “This is very much deserved, and testament to Bart’s professional expertise, and willingness to take on new challenges to drive forward the planning agenda. Well done Bart – we are proud of you!
“This is the second time in three years a member of our planning team has won Young Planner of the Year. It really shows how motivated the team are to transform our borough for the better.”
Bart’s win comes after the launch of the Sandwell Story - our project to get people in our borough to think about what it means to ‘make it’ in their lives. So, it’s great to see a shining example of achievement.
The Sandwell Story project is linked to planning and our investment strategy which aims to encourage investment and the number of businesses and visitors in Sandwell.
Watch the video about the new story for Sandwell launched last week, following work over the past year to set up an active partnership across the borough to promote what Sandwell has to offer, tackle the area's challenges together and raise aspirations and improve outcomes for people living in the area.
Find out find out more about regeneration projects across Sandwell, visit the Regenerating Sandwell website.