Adi Associates Environmental Consultants Ltd

Senior Planning Consultant

Éilis McCullough is a chartered town planner with 25 years experience of spatial and land use planning, environmental management and sustainable development. Éilis has worked professionally within both central and local government, in the UK, Ireland and in Malta, as well as with NGOs, and as an advisor in the community and voluntary sector.  She joined the Adi Associates team on her return to Malta after working abroad for some 13 years.

Éilis’ breadth of experience includes 8 years as a planner at the Malta Planning Authority, where over the time she was variously responsible for an Area Planning Team, chaired the Major Projects Group, was responsible for the planning appeals function of the Planning Directorate, and was involved in the review of the Structure Plan for the Maltese Islands, and in the preparation of the Marsaxlokk Bay Local Plan. Abroad, in the UK, Éilis’ wider experience involved her authorship of a number of national planning policy documents. Immediately before joining Adi Associates, Éilis was responsible for development management for Galway city centre (Ireland).

Éilis is responsible for the company’s planning support service, in supporting local councils and private individuals in all matters related to development management and land use planning. This includes assisting with the making of planning applications and taking forward of planning appeals, in the review of planning applications, in providing support in relation to Environmental Impact Assessments, Appropriate Assessments and other environmental assessments, in preparing responses to planning consultative documents, and in assisting in the undertaking of planning studies / surveys, including in relation to residents parking schemes, heritage trails, urban design studies, etc.

Éilis has a broader interest and considerable experience at all levels in environmental management and sustainable development. She has worked with central government on the preparation of the Northern Ireland Sustainable Development Strategy and the Northern Ireland Sustainability Indicators Set, as well as been a representative on the Northern Ireland Inter-departmental Group on Sustainable Development. Her experience with local councils includes responsibility for developing a sustainability appraisal methodology and a sustainable development training package for councils (Northern Ireland), in formulating sustainable locality action plans (in Malta, the UK and Ireland), and in preparing sustainable travel plans (Ireland).

Éilis also has considerable experience of working at the grass roots level, for communities in Malta, the UK and Ireland, in providing planning advice, and in developing environmental strategies, sustainability action plans, as well as in developing and delivering environmental awareness training courses.

Éilis has a background in education, as well as extensive experience in consultation and public engagement. She is committed to fostering and improving community engagement in particular, in the planning process and in the wider context of developing sustainable communities. She is passionate about promoting inclusivity and implementing innovative techniques and methodologies to get people talking and involved in the future development of their communities. She has brought her extensive background in this area to many of the company’s recent projects.

Éilis is passionate about the environment, is a committed vegetarian, and has been an active member of a number of environmental NGOs, most notably Friends of the Earth. She enjoys socialising and loves travel. She is a qualified Irish dance teacher and combines her love of dance, travel and people, by attending folk festivals Europe-wide.

Year joined Adi Associates: 2011

Expertise

• Environmental improvement
• Public engagement and public consultation
• Spatial and land use planning
• Sustainability action plans
• Sustainability training

Memberships

• Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute
• Member of the Irish Planning Institute

Qualifications

• B.Ed (Hons) Biological Science
• Post Graduate Diploma Town Planning