An architect-planner, Alan Stones has thirty years’ experience in architecture, design brief, design guidance and historic building conservation work. He was Head of Historic Buildings and Design at Essex County Council and co-author of the Essex Design Guide 1997. He was Principal Director at architecture and urban design practice Melville Dunbar Associates before going independent in 2003. He was Chair of the Urban Design Group, the national professional body for urban designers, from 2002 to 2004. He holds the Diploma of the Architectural Association, has a postgraduate diploma in town planning from the Anglia Polytechnic University and is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Institute of Historic Building Conservation.