Our director celebrates 10 years at MPG
Our director, Chris Heffernan, celebrates a decade at MPG this year. And to mark this occasion, we’re giving him 10 minutes to answer 10 quick-fire questions.
1. How did you first find out about MPG?
The job title was fairly extensive, so I imagine it turned up in most people’s Google searches that month! My first job here was minerals, waste & environmental planning/permitting consultant. All of the buzzwords!
2. What inspired you to apply for the job?
To be frank, I was blown away that such a job existed. As we know in the industry, so little is done to promote what we do to the general public that I didn’t even know there was such a thing, or a need for it to be planned for.
3. What do you remember about your first day?
Overwhelming. Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPGs) and Mineral Planning Guidance Notes (MPGs) were on their way out and the National Planning Policy Framework was on its way in, so there was a lot of excitement about how to capitalise on the switch, or protect existing positions.
A tour of clients in close proximity to our old offices was an eye-opener too, everything from waste transfer stations on airfields through to a centuries-old sandstone quarry in the centre of a residential development.
4. Do you have a highlight or favourite memory from the last decade?
Rather than a specific memory, it has been the realisation, quite recently actually, that we haven’t abandoned who we are and our approachability in becoming the total package.
Coming into the office and seeing the logo 6ft wide and tall in a morning is still a very welcome sight after all these years.
5. And what has been one key learning?
‘Analysis paralysis’ is a real thing. At some point you have to ‘pull the trigger,’ and that gets much easier with experience.
6. Sum up your experience to date in just three words…
Broad, galvanising, and eye-opening.
7. What advice would you give to someone looking to enter the industry?
It isn’t what you think, and I mean that in the best way possible. Once you take the lid off, it’s up to you how deep you go or where you let it take you.
Also you can, absolutely, 100%, shape the future of this country, its landscape, economic prosperity, and biodiversity.
8. How has the mineral and waste planning industry changed since you started at MPG?
Public opinion now carries much greater weight in the decision-making process, and misinformation is rife as social media has really found its feet. Staying one step ahead in the information that enters the public domain is critical.
On a more positive note, there is a lot more public engagement prior to an application being submitted, allowing communities a genuine opportunity to influence the planning process in a collaborative way.
9. Name one thing many people may not know about you:
I hold a licence to race rally cars.
10. Finally, what are your hopes for MPG over the next decade?
Since expanding into renewables and the diversification of agricultural land, it is clear that these disciplines now form a fundamental part of our business, and their growth is both inevitable and exciting!
A massive congratulations to Chris for this milestone staff anniversary – here’s to the next 10!
If you’d like to find out more about our team, head over to the dedicated page on our website. And if you’d like to get in touch about how we can help with a mineral or waste planning project, contact us via our online form, or by calling 01274 884599, or emailing headoffice@mpgyorks.co.uk.