Who's Who

Chris Hughes

Chris is an Associate Director in Regeneris Consulting's Manchester office. As an economic planner, his main interest is in regional and local competitiveness, including the role that sites and premises, infrastructural projects and business development initiatives play in promoting economic development.He is a Chartered Town planner and specialises in providing economic and social research inputs to the planning system to inform decisions on planning applications and planning policy. Much of his work focuses on assessing the benefits of and need for development to meet the needs of local and sub-regional economies. This includes socio-economic impact assessment, planning and economic development policy research and assessments of the need for investment in social and community infrastructure as a result of development.

Chris recently led Regeneris Consulting's economic impact assessment of the Wirral Waters development proposals for a mixed use development of 18m square feet over the next 30 years. Outline planning permission was given by Wirral MBC's Planning Committee in Summer 2010. Chris is also overseeing Regeneris Consulting's socio-economic impact work for the Environmental Statement for the Liverpoool Waters proposals. 

He also recently led our socio-economic research into the role that public transport improvements can play in helping to tackle worklessness as part of a major study in the North West. A new product - see the brochure here - has been developed to provide low cost access to this form of analysis and to help local partners understand the local labour market impacts of welfare reform. Other recent projects include the economic appraisal of plans to acquire and invest in key leisure assets in Blackpool (a £38.9m project) and the development of a framework to evaluate the economic benefits of investment in public realm.

Chris joined Regeneris Consulting in 2001 from the Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF), having gained a Masters in Civic Design (distinction). Chris previously worked for three years with Ernst and Young in their Liverpool office.