Praise for ‘influential’ district council planning officer

A SENIOR planner working for Mid Ulster District Council has received a UK-wide honour.

The local authority’s principal planning officer, Karla McKinless, has been chosen by readers of ‘The Planner’ as a ‘Woman of Influence’ for 2024.

Following the recognition, she was in for much praise at a recent Planning Committee meeting.

Service Director of Planning, Karen Doyle, said, “I am delighted to inform you that Karla McKinless has been listed as one of The Planner magazine’s ‘Women of Influence’ for 2024.

“Every year for International Women’s Day, The Planner magazine publishes a list of Planning’s Women of Influence, with nominations assessed by a panel of judges that includes distinguished planners from across the UK.

“The list is purposely non-ranked and non-competitive, and it celebrates the impact of women on planning and planners.

“As such, some women are in the list because they’ve had a significant influence on national planning policy, others because they’ve inspired the planners who work with them.

“Following Karla’s nomination, the judges felt her commitment to supporting colleagues, communities and the wider aim of planning deserves recognition.

“The judges recognise Karla’s leadership and courage to enable herself and her team to launch, manage, maintain and monitor the planning portal, and she continues to manage and monitor it with her original teammates, as well as her other development management duties, and they acknowledge the success to date of our new planning portal.

“Unfortunately, Karla is unable to attend an in-person reception in Birmingham to celebrate her achievement.

“She’s always eager to emphasise the project would not have been successful without the hard work, dedication and commitment of those in the project team.

“It is wonderful that she has received recognition of the exceptional leadership that she showed in helping to deliver the new planning portal.

“Our department, and indeed the council are very privileged to have Karla as a member of their team, so I just want to offer our congratulations.”

Committee chair, Cllr Seán McPeake, was keen to praise the principal planning officer as well.

He said, “Heartiest congratulations, Karla, I know the chairman of the council did allude to this at a recent council meeting.

“I was unaware of it until it was mentioned, and I’m sure the council themselves will be recognising it in due course, but everything that Karen has said there I echo, and we really appreciate the work that you’ve done, particularly in the pioneer work with the planning portal at that time.

“You stood up to the plate and helped to deliver what I think is the best planning portal of any of the councils in the North at a lot less finance, a lot less problematic.

“We’re indebted to you, and that’s just one of of the achievements that you’ve done.”