Frances Fernandes

Frances has spent most of her career at the forefront of challenging projects or innovative policies. This has included her pioneering work for the Planning Inspectorate, putting flesh on the bones of the 2008 Planning Act, which for the first time since 1947, set up a new and separate regime for deciding applications to develop nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) in the UK.

As a senior leader within the Planning Inspectorate, she was responsible for chairing panels of examining inspectors, examining the most complex and high-profile NSIPs across the full range of infrastructure including Hinkley Point C and Wylfa Newydd new nuclear power applications, Norfolk Boreas, Rampion, and Dogger Bank offshore wind farms, electricity transmission lines, and transport. Frances also co-founded Fernhay, designing and developing an innovative electric assist e-quad vehicle for local sustainable parcel deliveries. The e-quad is now in commercial production across Europe. Now as Managing Director of Infrastructure Matters, Frances is combining her expertise in NSIPs and the Development Consent Order (DCO) process to collaborate directly with clients ensuring design considerations are integral to the work of bringing these complex applications together. She also provides training in all aspects of the DCO process. Frances is a Fellow of the Royal Town Planning Institute. She holds an MSc from University College London and a BSc Hons from the University of Dundee.