Olive Branch Place — Strategic Advisory

Strategic advisory for place, infrastructure & devolution

Helping Mayoral Strategic Authorities, combined authorities and central government navigate the most significant shift in England's planning and investment architecture in a generation.

Explore Services About Paul Frainer
20+
Years in planning,
place & digital
£20m+
Programme value
delivered
C-Suite
Advisor to central
& local government
SDS
Spatial Development
Strategy specialism
SDS Strategic Plan Local Growth Plan Place Investment Digital & Data LGR & Devolution Infra Pipeline Integrated Settlement Local Plan PLACE · INFRASTRUCTURE · INVESTMENT
About Paul Frainer

A practitioner at the intersection of place, policy and digital

Paul Frainer is an accomplished executive leader and government advisor with over two decades of experience spanning private sector engineering and environmental management, local government, and strategic consultancy. He is widely recognised as a thought leader in place-based investment, spatial planning reform, devolution and the digital transformation of planning systems.

Paul's career has been built at the sharpest end of complex delivery — from directing major service transformation programmes worth up to £20m, to advising at the C-suite level on how England's new devolution architecture should translate into fundable, investable growth plans. He combines deep technical expertise in spatial planning and economic development with a proven track record in programme leadership, organisational design and digital innovation.

A qualified strategic planner and economic development professional, Paul has worked across all tiers of local and central government — including with Proptech innovation funds and national digital planning programmes. He pioneered the application of digital, data and AI to planning systems from the mid-2010s, and has been involved in most aspects of the digital planning ecosystem including geospatial data, large language models and the codification of policy for reduced administrative burden and improved growth modelling.

Today, Paul works at the critical junction of England's devolution agenda — supporting Mayoral Strategic Authorities to develop Spatial Development Strategies, align Local Growth Plans with investable infrastructure pipelines, and build the institutional capacity to deliver on their statutory growth ambitions. He is a Senior Associate at Local Partnerships and a regular speaker and commentator on planning reform and place-based investment, including at UKREIIF, Solace Summit and PAS Chief Planners Conference.

PF
Add headshot here
MAYORAL STRATEGIC AUTHORITY Spatial Development Strategy · Local Growth Plan · Integrated Settlement Local Plans District & Borough level Infrastructure Plan Strategic & sub-regional INVESTABLE PIPELINE NWF · NHB · LGPS · Private Capital · Integrated Settlements PLANNING & INFRASTRUCTURE ACT 2025

Core Expertise

Spatial Development Strategies & Strategic Planning
Devolution, LGR & Place-Based Investment
Digital, Data & AI in Planning Reform
Infrastructure Planning & Investable Pipelines
Complex Programme & Change Management
Organisational Design & Governance

"Without connective tissue between an SDS, Local Plans and Local Growth Plans, a pipeline is just a list. With it, it becomes an investment proposition."

— Paul Frainer, UKREIIF 2026
What I Do

Four areas of deep specialism

Whether you need strategic direction at programme level, hands-on delivery leadership, or expert advisory for a specific challenge — I bring genuine practitioner experience, not just frameworks.

01

Spatial Development Strategies & Strategic Planning

End-to-end advisory on the design, commissioning and delivery of Spatial Development Strategies under the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025. From programme structure and team commissioning through to evidence base preparation, governance design and stakeholder engagement — helping Mayoral Strategic Authorities build the institutional architecture to make their SDS work.

SDS Commissioning Strategic Planning Evidence Base LGR & Devolution
02

Place-Based Investment & Investable Pipelines

Supporting Strategic Authorities to translate devolution ambitions into credible, fundable investment propositions. This means aligning SDS, Local Growth Plans and infrastructure planning into portfolios that institutional capital can read fluently — and structuring the evidence and narrative that secures Integrated Settlements and long-term inward investment.

Investable Pipelines Local Growth Plans Integrated Settlements Economic Strategy
03

Digital, Data & AI in Planning Reform

A pioneer in digital planning since the mid-2010s, with hands-on experience across Proptech innovation funds, national digital planning programmes, geospatial data infrastructure, and the application of large language models and AI to policy codification. Helping authorities accelerate the shift to open, machine-readable planning systems.

Digital Planning Open Data AI & LLMs Proptech Geospatial
04

Programme Leadership & Service Transformation

Over 20 years directing complex change programmes across local and central government — including large-scale technology implementations, TUPE and restructures, Target Operating Model design and Local Government Reorganisation. Programme Director leadership, critical friend reviews for at-risk programmes, and governance design to bring clarity to the most challenging delivery environments.

Programme Director LGR Target Operating Models Governance Design
Latest Thinking

From Strategy to Spade: Operationalising the UK's £725bn Infrastructure Decade

The capital is there. The policy is there. The 10-Year Pipeline is live with 780 schemes already mapped and £137bn of expanded PFI firepower behind it. What's missing is the connective tissue — the alignment between SDS, Local Plans and Local Growth Plans that turns a list of schemes into an investment proposition institutional capital can trust.

Read on Signal Over Noise →
£725bn
UK infrastructure investment decade
780
schemes in the 10-Year Pipeline
£137bn
expanded PFI firepower (NWF, NHB, UKEF, BBB)
2025
Planning & Infrastructure Act enacted
Insights & Commentary

Recent writing on Signal Over Noise

Regular commentary on planning reform, devolution, digital government and place-based investment — published on my Ghost blog Signal Over Noise.

From Strategy to Spade
Infrastructure & Investment
20 May 2026 · 6 min read

From Strategy to Spade: Operationalising the UK's £725bn Infrastructure Decade

How Mayoral Strategic Authorities need to align SDS, Local Plans and Local Growth Plans to build investable pipelines — and why the next 18 months will sort the prepared from the unprepared.

Read article →
Data > Evidence
Digital Planning
14 May 2026 · 4 min read

Data > Evidence: Briefing on the Transition to Live Open Data in England's Planning System

Commissioning bespoke evidence studies is slow, costly and locks data in reports. Open data changes the model — but councils need a practical framework for making the shift.

Read article →
Devolution and Reorganisation
Devolution & LGR
14 Nov 2025 · 5 min read

Devolution + Reorganisation: Why Councils Must Build Capability, Not Just Buy Capacity

The intersection of reorganisation, devolution, planning reform and Place is genuinely overwhelming. The answer isn't more consultants — it's building durable institutional capability.

Read article →
View all articles on Signal Over Noise →
Client Feedback

What clients say

Trusted by chief executives, planning directors and economic development leads across local and central government.

"Paul's strategic guidance was instrumental in navigating our complex local government reorganisation. His deep understanding of both policy and digital implementation created a seamless transition that exceeded our expectations."
Chief Executive
Regional Council
"Working with Paul on our planning digitisation initiative transformed our department. His ability to combine technical knowledge with practical implementation strategies resulted in significant efficiency gains and improved service delivery."
Director of Planning
Metropolitan Authority
"Paul's expertise in spatial development strategies helped us secure substantial government funding and establish a cohesive growth plan. His strategic vision and practical approach to implementation have been invaluable to our regional development."
Head of Economic Development
County Council
Get in Touch

Let's discuss your challenge

Whether you're at the start of an SDS commissioning process, navigating a complex devolution programme, or looking for strategic advisory support on place-based investment — I'd welcome an initial conversation.

+44 7940 558 328
paul@olivebranchplace.co.uk
Saffron Walden, Essex — serving nationally

Send a message