Mark Harris
Partner, Planning
MRTPI
A town planner with a nearly two decades of experience.

A town planner with a nearly two decades of experience.

Mark leads the Milton Keynes planning team and his knowledge of sites, settlements and personalities in Milton Keynes and the surrounding area is vast, having lived and worked in the area throughout his professional career.
His almost two decades of experience has seen him involved with a wide variety of projects across the UK ranging from the successful promotion of strategic employment and housing sites through the local plan process, including a number of appeal wins for residential development. On the first appeal win of his career, Mark advised a client who initially purchased a site to build a single dream home. After exploring all options, he took put forward an outline scheme for 24 dwellings – this is one of the many examples of the added value that he brings to a project.
Mark’s has genuine affection for the work he is involved with. Being able to see the built environment and how original concepts are delivered is of great importance to him, as is the chance to make a lasting difference to the areas he works in.
Following the recent RTPI award win for Campbell Wharf, a project Mark continues to work on, he is now engaged on the next phase of the Campbell Park area, a flagship site in Central Milton Keynes.

Buckinghamshire Local Plan Watch - Autumn 2023

Buckinghamshire Local Plan Watch - Spring 2023

Buckinghamshire Local Plan Watch - Autumn 2022

Oxfordshire Local Plan Watch - Spring 2022

Buckinghamshire Local Plan Watch - Spring 2022

Casting a lens on Milton Keynes' growth
“In terms of delivering growth that is less about numbers and more about maximising benefits for the area, Milton Keynes Council appear to be making the right noises. But will authorities collaborate to shape development and deliver growth across the Arc that is greater than the sum of the individual parts?”

Buckinghamshire Local Plan Watch - Autumn 2021

Oxfordshire Local Plan Watch - Autumn 2021

Buckinghamshire Local Plan Watch - Spring 2021
Buckinghamshire continues to be a mixed bag with a delay in the review of Plan:MK due to Covid-19 and the White Paper announced. However, some progress has been made on the adoption of the VALP and background evidence on the unitary Buckinghamshire New Local Plan.

Northamptonshire Local Plan Watch - Autumn 2020
The proposed standard method suggests the new unitary authorities will have to grapple with an increased housing need as they review their Part 1 plans. The next key consultation in the area should be on the spatial options for West Northants early in 2021. In the meantime, ongoing speculative applications and appeals in South and East Northamptonshire should clarify the land supply positions of the authorities.

Milton Keynes Futures Strategy 2050 - Planning for growth
It’s an exciting time for Milton Keynes. Plans for a new university, incoming significant investment , positive steps in the regeneration of the Lakes Estate and Fullers Slade and -arguably most importantly, the publication of the MK Futures Growth Strategy by Milton Keynes Council (MKC). Mark Harris explains what's next for the growth of Milton Keynes.

Plan:MK - What's next for Milton Keynes?
A year after submission, last week Plan:MK was adopted as the strategic Local Plan document to shape growth of the borough to 2031. Planning Associate, Mark Harris gives his insight into what is next for Milton Keynes.

Strategic local plan promotion for a significant residential-led, urban extension
