About Me

I’m an independent rural planning consultant with over 20 years’ experience in local authority planning across the UK and Ireland. My career has taken me through a wide range of development proposals and policy contexts, giving me a clear understanding of how planning decisions are made and how to navigate the system with realism and confidence.

My roots are in agriculture and countryside management. I grew up on a small holding in West Yorkshire, completed an agricultural apprenticeship on a mixed farm, and went on to gain a National Diploma in Countryside Management, a Degree in Rural Planning and a Postgraduate Certificate in Ecology. That combination of practical land‑based experience and formal training continues to shape how I approach rural planning today.

I’ve dealt with a broad mix of rural and land‑based projects over the years. This has included large‑scale renewable energy schemes, the legislative quarry registration process (Republic of Ireland), community woodland creation, and the reuse of agricultural buildings for housing, tourism and rural enterprise, as well as the modernisation and improvement of farm operations. My experience and upbringing have given me a practical understanding of how different types of development perform both in policy terms and on the ground.

My extensive and varied local authority career has given me a clear understanding of how constraints emerge, how policy is applied in practice and what decision‑makers look for. I’ve acted as a planning witness at inquiry and understand risk, evidence requirements and how decisions are tested — though my consultancy is focused firmly on early feasibility testing rather than costly appeals.

My practice is intentionally calm, pragmatic and evidence‑led. I do not operate a project‑led consultancy that pushes forward regardless of constraint or outcome. Instead, I focus on thorough site assessment, policy context and the expectations of the determining authority, ensuring clients receive honest, informed advice from the outset and that any scheme progressed is aligned with local and national policy.

Christopher Kenyon-Holmes