Catriona Riddell, Vice-Chair of the TCPA
Last month we lost one of the greats in local politics. She was a stalwart supporter of the TCPA and despite her obvious failing health, she still managed to join us to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the TCPA in June.
Nicky was a passionate and effective advocate for high quality urban design and environmental sustainability. Over the many decades during which she served as a Haringey Councillor, as a member of the Greater London Authority and as Deputy Mayor of London, Nicky made a significant impact promoting progressive and radical planning and environmental policies, and she leaves behind a record of important achievements. London is a better place as a consequence of her work and life. She will be sorely missed.
Rt Hon Nick Raynsford, President of the TCPA
Nicky was a leader on all things London, sustainability, planning and also Haringey. She chaired the Planning Committee at Haringey well before becoming Deputy Mayor of London and subsequently chairing the London Assembly’s Planning Committee. On the few occasions I was lucky enough to meet her she had a deep curiosity to hear people’s thoughts on the latest planning and sustainability topics and she was always keen to encourage and support planners and young planners to pioneer cutting-edge policies.
Rob Krzyszowski, Assistant Director Planning, Building Standards & Sustainability, London Borough of Haringey
As these warm quotes highlight, Nicky had many roles over the years, including being the first Deputy Mayor of the Greater London Authority (GLA) in 2000, supporting Mayor Ken Livingston and as a councillor at the London Borough of Haringey.
I first met Nicky in the late 1990s when she was the lead Member for the London Planning Advisory Committee (LPAC) which worked closely with SERPLAN on developing Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) for London and the South East. She continued with her lead role in strategic planning when in charge of the first ever London Plan. She was passionate about making London a better place but also recognised the importance of planning for the London and the wider region. As far as partnership working goes, it is fair to say, she worked tirelessly to ensure this relationship was managed properly. I didn’t know her well then but watched her in awe at meetings. Not only did she demonstrate real political leadership but there were few women in high level roles like this back then so she was one of the few true role models we had.
Since she ‘retired’ from local politics, she has campaigned tirelessly on environmental issues, establishing the London Climate Change Agency and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. She was very active behind the scenes on trying to make sure the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act played its full role in addressing climate change but also in supporting Green Belt. I worked closely with Nicky during this time as she navigated the politics of government and the complexities of the planning system. I had many conversations with her during this time where she demonstrated an amazing depth of technical knowledge but also how incredibly networked she was. I loved these chats!
Nicky and I reconnected after many years at an online event in Covid. She followed up to engage with me as she was keen to hear how we could use green belts to better deliver for nature as well as wellbeing. Over the next 4 years we drove engagement with C40, House of Lords Climate Change Committee, politicians, civil servants and many academic and other parties on this agenda. Her energy, passion and drive was like no one I had ever met. Her determination to develop nature-based solutions was ahead of her time. Thank you Nicky for being such an inspiration.
Jane Healey Brown, Director and Global Town Planning Lead, Arup
Earlier this year, I was helping Nicky as she compiled a history of LPAC as part of her memoirs. Her energy was amazing and her memory of that period in the life of strategic planning was impressive. Once again, she recognised that in order to ensure her recollections were accurate, she needed to have the full picture and therefore was speaking to a range of people that were involved not only in LPAC but also in SERPLAN. I enjoyed a fantastic day with her and others sharing our experience and memories and enjoying Nicky’s incredible hospitality, especially her ‘Green Soup’.
I worked with Nicky for more than 20 years across matters housing, planning and regeneration. Most recently I helped sift through her extensive archive of over 500,000 documents and papers as we sought to piece together the story of LPAC (the London Planning Advisory Committee), which straddled the gap between the abolition of the GLC and the creation of the GLA and kept the flag flying for a London-led vision of the future for the city. While Nicky had an insatiable appetite for work – phone calls from Nicky could appear at any time of the day or night, even when she was supposed to be on holiday or you were – she still found time to mentor and support the people who worked with her.
Throughout her long career Nicky had to stand-up for herself and make herself heard in a male dominated environment and she still felt the bruises years later but she never backed down. Nicky had a wonderful sense of humour and was great fun to be with, she had charisma and she drew good people to her. I shall miss her deeply.
Richard Derecki
Apart for her passion about planning and the environment, Nicky was just a really nice person. She always wanted to know what people thought and never dismissed anyone’s views. She will be very sadly missed but every time I make her Green Soup, I will think of her fondly.
