MZA Planning Nominated For Prestigious Planning Industry Award

Firm founded by Yussuf Mwanza finalist for Small Planning Consultancy of the Year

MZA Planning – founded by Yussuf Mwanza MRTPI has been named as a finalist in the category for Small Planning Consultancy of the Year at the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Awards for Planning Excellence 2019.

The RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence are the most established and respected awards in the UK planning industry. Running for over 40 years, they celebrate exceptional examples of planning and the contribution planners make to society.

MZA Planning based in Chiswick, provides clients with a flexible and valuable resource. Planning permission without the Headaches lies at the heart of their service. “At MZA Planning we adopt a vigorous approach when dealing with planning matters. We regularly submit planning applications for changes of use, new dwellings and householder developments to name a few. We are delighted to be nominated in this category and receive validation of the outstanding service that we provide to our clients.”

Yussuf Mwanza of Guyanese parentage started his planning career in London Borough of Brent as a Junior Planning assistant and after moving between different Council planning departments and the Private sector setup founded MZA in 1997 and has never looked back. From his work in local planning authorities Yussuf Mwanza was acutely aware that certain applicants particularly those from the BAME community through no fault of their own simply did not understand the planning system, could not afford a planning agent or just framed their application incorrectly. As such he noticed that a disproportionate number of applications from the BAME community were refused and subsequent enforcement action taken.

Yussuf Mwanza MRTPI, Managing Director MZA Planning

As a result of this when he started MZA Planning Yussuf made a deliberate effort to reach out to these groups. Often this included minority groups seeking to submit applications for a range of developments including changes of use, enforcement appeals, householder developments etc. From the outset MZA has strived to work with the disenfranchised and unrepresented groups but also serves a much wider client base.

His planning skills, tenacity and integrity of his work are widely admired. His planning work for Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, London Borough of Camden, London Borough of Enfield, London Borough of Redbridge and Elmbridge Borough Council especially at appeal hearings and Public Inquiries defending the Council’s decisions, was highly praised.

Yussuf has gone onto work on Major projects including Channel Tunnel Rail Link, West London Tram Project and Reading Station Redevelopment. Yussuf has also worked as a consultant Inspector for the Planning Inspectorate handling a wide range of appeal cases. Yussuf has been a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute since 1994.

RTPI President Ian Tant MRTPI said: “Many congratulations to all this year’s finalists, who demonstrate outstanding contributions to planning, producing a positive effect on our communities, the economy and the environment. They have shown how planners can use their passion and skills to meet needs, deliver high quality design and tackle environmental challenges – they should all be proud of their role as a force for good in society.”

The winners will be announced during a ceremony held at Milton Court Concert Hall in central London on 24 April 2019.

Andrew Jones MRTPI, Practice Leader Design Planning + Economics at AECOM, said, “AECOM is proud to once again be a headline sponsor of this year’s RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence. The finalists are a diverse mixture of outstanding examples of planning, which demonstrate the breadth of the impact the profession has on quality place making and delivery in the built environment.”

David Jackson MRTPI, Head of Planning at Savills, said: “Savills is delighted to be a headline sponsor of the RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence. The finalists reflect the positive impact planning has on our communities and wider society across the UK, Ireland and internationally through exemplary projects, plans and people.”

The RTPI champions the power of planning in creating prosperous places and vibrant communities. It is the only body in the UK that confers Chartered status to planners, the highest professional qualification sought after by employers. It supports its members – over 25,000 worldwide - throughout their careers.

March 21, 2019

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