Jess first joined the Leeds office as an Assistant Planner in December 2017. Since then, Jess has worked her way up and was most recently promoted to Principal Planner in January 2025. She now leads on major planning applications and provides strategic advice to clients, as well as managing junior staff members.

During her time at DPP, Jess has represented a wide variety of clients across a number of sectors including residential, retail and education. Projects of note include:

• the development of new purpose-built student accommodation on a key regeneration site in Salford,
• the preparation of an EIA for an urban extension in Howden; and
• a new secondary school on a Green Belt site in Bolton.

Jess is currently working on major education redevelopment projects across the country on behalf of various contractors and the Department for Education, delivering new and replacement schools in locations including Salford, Richmond upon Thames, Folkestone, Hemel Hempstead and Saltburn-by-the-Sea. Jess has also undertaken work in the higher education sector for University of Leeds, University of York and Leeds Arts University.

Jess has supported colleagues in the expansion of DPP’s services in the Residential sector and has experience working on both small- and large-scale sites across Yorkshire, including East Riding, York, North Yorkshire and Leeds. Jess has previously attended a Public Inquiry in a supporting role for a fully affordable housing scheme on a site in York’s Green Belt and produced evidence on 5-year supply to challenge City of York Council’s figures.

Jess has mentored a number of junior staff in the Leeds office to successfully achieve their RTPI Chartered membership.