The Director of the Planning Inspectorate in Wales has announced he is to retire at the end of September.

Richard Poppleton will be replaced by Tony Thickett who will take up his duties this autumn.

Having joined the Planning Inspectorate in 1990 after a career in local government, Richard retires after more than 40 years in public service, the last two and a half years of which have been as Director for Wales.

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Tony Thickett graduated in 1983 with a degree in Urban and Regional Planning, and a BA in Town Planning in 1985. He became a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute in 1986 and started his planning career in local government before joining the Planning Inspectorate in 1999. His first 10 years as an Inspector were spent working throughout England on appeal and development plan casework, before transferring to the Wales directorate in 2009. Until 2012, he was actively involved in reviewing the guidance and implementing the changes to the examination process of local development plans in Wales. He also conducted a number of examinations in North and South Wales and a wide range of appeal casework.

(CD/JP)