John Downey

Founder & Principal Planner

John Downey is a Chartered Town Planner and Director of Downey Planning. John has over twenty years’ experience both in Ireland and the United Kingdom working in both Planning Authorities and Private Consultancy. Prior to establishing Downey Planning, John was a Founder and Director of DHP (Downey Hynes Partnership), Director of planning at KSA and was previously a partner and director of planning at Ryan Walsh Associates based in Dublin. During his time in public sector planning, John was a Senior Executive Planner with Fingal County Council Dublin where he was in charge of developmental control.

He is a former chairperson of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and is a member of the Irish Planning Institute. He is currently the Irish Representative on the General Assembly of the RTPI in London. John has led many Planning and Development Projects including the preparation of local area plans, large planning submissions to Development plans, master planning, project management of multi-disciplined professional teams, major planning applications and associated planning appeals. He has advised several organisations similar to the HSE on institutional lands including the Archdioceses in Dublin. He has also attended as expert witness at oral hearings and has advised on planning law and associated regulations. He has presented Development Control/Development Plan issues at several planning conferences. He is an active planner both in practice in Downey Planning and on the planning organisations that he is involved with giving him a highly endorsed professional reputation throughout Ireland and the UK.