Ben Clifford took up post as ‘Lecturer in Spatial Planning and Government’ within the Bartlett School of Planning at University College London (UCL) at the end of April 2009 and was subsequently promoted to Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor within the School. Born and raised in the exciting ‘edge city’ of Croydon, he is a geographer by background and training. His interest in planning developed whilst studying geography at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. Following this, Ben returned to London to undertake PhD research at King’s College (KCL). His PhD was funded through the then ESRC-ODPM joint scheme and his thesis, entitled “Planning at the Coalface: British Local Authority Planners and the Experience of Planning and Public Sector Reform” examined how local authority planners, as ‘street-level’ professionals, were reacting to New Labour’s reforms of the planning system whilst they were helping to implement them. Overall he argued that ‘the coalface’ has a vital role in shaping the contours of modernisation and for a more implementation-focused examination of state reforms.

During the course of this PhD research, Ben was seconded for three months to work in Communities and Local Government (the then government department responsible for planning in England) to assist with work on planning reform. This initial secondment was then followed by a further three month period spent working as a policy advisor on the secretariat of the Killian Pretty Review, a national review of the planning application process.

At UCL, Ben has been involved in research on devolution and planning, local authority housebuilding, deregulation and planning (particularly permitted development in England) and outsourcing and the public interest in planning. His research on permitted development was recognised with an RTPI prize in 2018. He has academic visiting positions with the University of Melbourne and Public Health England.

In addition to his duties in research and teaching, Ben serves as the Programme Director for the MSc Spatial Planning and the MSc Spatial Planning Degree Apprenticeship at UCL and is the departmental tutor with oversight of all taught postgraduate students and courses in the Bartlett School of Planning.