Hello
My name is Henny Handley and I am the Managing Director of Viking Planning and a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
Having worked in Planning for over 18 years, I have gained a wealth of experience in many different fields ranging from new residential developments, heritage projects and replacement dwellings through to residential extensions and everything in between.
I am passionate about planning and working collaboratively with all parties, in order to get the right result for my clients.
My Story
After graduating University I started my career in planning as a Technical Planning Officer at Surrey Heath Borough Council. This was a fantastic introduction to planning for me and I had the opportunity to work on a huge range of projects, as well as becoming the Officer lead on all new planning appeals that the Council received.
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Having developed a real passion for the Development Industry I moved on to Persimmon Homes, where I undertook their Management Trainee program. This provided me insight into all aspects of the housebuilding industry as I worked placements within each department including, Sales and Marketing, Surveying, Construction, Technical and, of course, Land and Planning. My time at Persimmon really secured my passion for Planning and therefore I knew I needed to pursue obtaining my formal qualifications.
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I moved to Spelthorne Borough Council as a Planning Officer and studied for my Masters in Development Planning on a day release arrangement over two years. Whilst at Spelthorne I was able to really grow my planning knowledge and experience and I had the opportunity to work on a number of fantastic projects, including the redevelopment of Shepperton Studios. I was also able to undertake a number of Hearings on behalf of the Council and assisted at Public Inquiries for senior colleagues.
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Having worked at Spelthorne for five years, I felt that I needed a new challenge and decided to venture out of Local Authority and over to Consultancy. I then worked at a total of three different Planning Consultancies, Boyer, Pegasus and Turley over a period of 11 years working on a great many fantastic projects from leading on large residential developments through to the renovation of listed buildings.
Outside of work I am a mother to two beautiful children, and I work part time around their school day schedule. I am also an Assistant Cricket Coach to my daughters cricket team and in any spare time that I have, I can be found outside pottering in my garden.
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Founding my own consultancy to allow me to work around my family life has been a dream of mine for a long time. Having found the opportunity to pursue this dream this year, and taking inspiration from my Danish heritage, Viking Planning was born.