Lunch and Learn

Each Lunch and Learn takes place online (we use Zoom) during your lunch hour and is suitable for anyone that wants to top up their knowledge on key planning and environmental issues, share their views and discuss with our experts.

Our Lunch and Learn sessions have now finished for 2025, but we’re busy planning our new series of Lunch and Learns for 2026!

Be among the first to hear about our 2026 Lunch and Learns by signing up for our newsletter below, or join CPRE Hertfordshire as a member – it’s easy and quick to join online. As a member you will receive a discount on these events and get free advice from our Planning team.

For reference, our 2025 Lunch and Learns covered the following topics:

• What is the NPPF, and what do the recent changes to it mean for Hertfordshire?
• Green Belt vs Grey Belt: What does this mean for housing development?
• Solar energy: Creating a greener future without inappropriate development
• Protecting Hertfordshire’s chalk streams
• CPRE Hertfordshire Planning Round-Up
• The Future Landscape of Neighbourhood Planning

You can still access the content for any or all of these past sessions. Just make a £5 donation for each topic that you wish to access, via our donation webpage. Then send us an email at abby@cpreherts.org.uk to let us know that you have done so. We’ll then email you a link so that you can download the content, which consists of slides and a full recording of the session.

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Our speakers

Chris Berry

Chris Berry is Planning Manager at CPRE Hertfordshire. Chris is a chartered town planner with over 40 years’ experience. He was Chief Planning Officer for several local planning authorities, including London and Hertfordshire Boroughs and also served as a Borough Councillor in East Sussex.

Jacqueline Veater

Jacqueline Veater is an independent planning consultant based in Hertfordshire. Jacqueline specialises in helping parish and town councils prepare Neighbourhood Plans and provides support for objecting to planning applications and representation at appeal hearings. After 30 years working in Local Authorities, she set up her own planning consultancy 13 years ago.

Alison Young

Alison Young recently completed her term as Vice Chair and Trustee at CPRE Hertfordshire. Alison has over 30 years’ experience in Local Government Planning departments including 10 years leading Development Management for East Hertfordshire District Council. More recently, her work in Planning has been in the private sector.

Elizabeth Hamilton

Elizabeth Hamilton is a Trustee with CPRE Hertfordshire and has been fascinated by chalk streams for most of her life. Studying geography at university enabled her to understand how rivers developed their distinctive features. While completing an ecology degree she became familiar with chalk stream flora. Since volunteering with CPRE Hertfordshire she has developed a greater interest in Hertfordshire’s precious chalk streams and is an active member of the Upper Gade Valley Conservation Society.