Wil Vincent

Wil Vincent is an Assistant Lecturer in the Built Environment, having graduated from both our undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Planning at Birmingham City University. He is Programme Leader for the Faculty’s Generalist Degree programmes, offering remedial support to student to maximise their chance for successes on their degree programme. He teaches on a range of modules within the field of Spatial Planning and the wider Built Environment.

Professionally, Wil has three years planning experience with PJ Planning, a national planning consultancy, working on a wide portfolio of planning applications and appeals, as well as supporting a various stakeholders with Local Plan, and evidence base representations. Wil also provided planning advice for a number of clients dealing with highly complex applications and situations, including land in green belt, heritage assets, and housing in the absence of a five year supply of deliverable housing.

Wil’s specialist knowledge of the current development management system in the UK allows him to bring his expertise into the classroom, combining theory and practice using real life scenarios to provide students with opportunities to develop both their theoretical and practical applications of core planning principles. For example, he has led modules looking at the conversion of BCU former campus in Parry Barr into the Athlete’s village for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the creation of neighbourhood strategies within Birmingham, and the potential impact of large scale development existing and potential communities.

Wil’s Ph.D. focuses on the ideas of studentification, and the ways by which transient user groups such as students can successfully help in the creation and enhancement of sustainable communities. This research project will focus on the West Midlands area and seek to create a ‘framework’ that can be utilised and transferred nationally and internationally.

Wil is also one of the Faculty’s champions in supporting student learning experience and development within the Faculty, having worked as part of the University’s participation in the ‘What Works?’ Programme funded by the Higher Education Authority and Paul Hamlin Foundation. This has seen Wil act as a co-author on the HEA Publication “Student academic partners in Built Environment education” and lead the Faculty’s pre-arrival and transition support programme for the Faculty between 2014 and 2017. This has included leading the client side development of new technologies to support student transition, belongingness and preparedness to study through the use of app based technology.

Outside academia, Wil is a proud supporter of the ‘Long Live Southbank’ campaign in London, which to date remains the most responded to planning application in history, and, in his mind demonstrates the value of active engagement with all groups within society, and how community spaces come in all shapes and sizes!