Northern Beaches Planning was founded by Rebecca Englund in 2022.
Rebecca has more than 11 years of local government experience, most recently as an Acting Manager of Development Assessment at Northern Beaches Council, where she was responsible for the determination of development applications and the management of planning staff.
Rebecca’s substantive role at Northern Beaches Council was in the Principal Planner position, where she was responsible for the assessment and management of more complex development applications, including the presentation of matters to the Northern Beaches Local Planning Panel, the Sydney North Planning Panel and the Design and Sustainability Advisory Panel.
Rebecca also prepared pre-lodgement advice for members of the community, in addition to high-level planning advice to other areas of Council and State Government Agencies. Rebecca was also a fundamental contributor to the development of the Warriewood Valley Land Release Area, the Frenchs Forest Town Centre DCP amendments and early drafting of the consolidated Northern Beaches LEP and DCP.
It was during this time at Council that Rebecca developed a reputation as a highly skilled and knowledgeable planner, with uncompromising integrity. She also established strong professional relationships with colleagues, government departments, key stakeholders and members of the community.
Since establishing NBP, Rebecca has worked on projects of varying scale across the wider Sydney Metropolitan Area, with projects before Northern Beaches Council, City of Canterbury Bankstown, City of Canada Bay, City of Sydney, and the Municipality of Lane Cove.
Rebecca has extensive experience with Class 1 and Class 4 appeals before the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales, including the preparation of statements of facts and contentions (and those in reply), individual and joint reports, and expert evidence at both s34 conciliation conferences and hearings.
Rebecca has a Bachelor Degree in Architectural Studies and a Masters in Planning, both from the University of New South Wales. Rebecca is a member of the Planning Institute of Australia.