Christopher Wood

Christopher Wood was Professor of Environmental Planning and Co-director of the EIA Centre.

Following an education in chemistry and town and country planning, Professor Wood became a researcher in the University of Manchester Pollution Research Unit. He was an associate of Land Use Consultants, London, before becoming a university teacher. He was a pioneer in developing the field of environmental planning, originally by undertaking and directing studies on the control of noise, air, water and land pollution by land use planning techniques. He has been involved in environmental impact assessment (EIA) research, teaching and training since 1974 and has a particular interest in the relationship between EIA and land use planning. He was a founder council member of the UK Institute of Environmental Assessment. He was an elected council member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), chairman of its working party on environmental assessment, and was the founder convenor of the Steering Group of the RTPI's Environmental Planning and Protection Network. He received his fellowship of the RTPI for his work on environmental planning.

He has published extensively on environmental planning generally and on EIA and strategic environmental assessment in particular. The second edition of "Environmental Impact Assessment: a Comparative Review" was published by Prentice Hall in 2002 and a co-edited book on "Strategic Environmental Assessment and Land Use Planning: an International Perspective" was published by Earthscan in 2005.

He was co-editor of the journal "Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal" and was the recipient of the International Association for Impact Assessment's Rose- Hulman Award in 2003 'for a lifetime of excellence in promoting impact assessment'. He was Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Manchester from 2002 to 2004 as it prepared for the merger with UMIST in 2004. He received an OBE for services to environmental planning in 2005 and was awarded the higher doctoral degree of Doctor of Letters in 2006.

1969-1973 Research Associate, later Research Fellow, Pollution Research Unit, University of Manchester.

1973-1976 Senior Planner, later Associate, Land Use Consultants, London.

1976-1981 Lecturer in Town and Country Planning, University of Manchester.

1981-1990 Senior Lecturer in Town and Country Planning, University of Manchester.

1989-1997 Head of Planning and Landscape, University of Manchester.

1988-2005 Co-Director, EIA Centre, Planning and Landscape, University of Manchester.

1990-2005 Professor of Environmental Planning, University of Manchester.

1996-1999 Member, Economic and Social Research Council Politics, Economics and Geography Research College.

1999-2003 Convenor, Royal Town Planning Institute Environmental Planning and Protection Panel.

1999-2005 Co-editor, Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal.

2002-2004 Dean, Faculty of Arts.

2004-2005 Acting Head of Architecture.

Environmental planning and management; environmental impact assessment; strategic environmental assessment; pollution studies.

Jones, C E, Jay, S, Slinn, P and Wood, C M (2007) Environmental assessment: dominant or dormant? In Holder, J and McGillivray, D (eds) Taking Stock of Environmental Assessment: Law, Policy and Practice Routledge Cavendish, Oxford, 17-44.

Miller, C and Wood, C M (2007) The adaptation of UK planning and pollution control policy Town Planning Review 75 597-618.

Jay, S, Jones, C, Slinn, P and Wood, C M (2007) Environmental impact assessment: retrospect and prospect Environmental Impact Assessment Review 27 287-300.

Jones, C., Baker, M., Carter, J., Jay, S., Short, M. and Wood, C. (eds) (2005) 'Strategic Environmental Assessment and Land Use Planning: an International Evaluation', Earthscan, London (300pp).

Hartley, N and Wood, C M (2005) 'Public participation in environmental impact assessment - implementing the Aarhus Convention', Environmental Impact Assessment Review 25 319–340.

Short, M, Jones, C, Carter, J, Baker, M and Wood, C M (2004) Current practice in the strategic environmental assessment of development plans in England Regional Studies 38 177-190.

Carter J.G., Wood C.M. and Baker M. (2003) 'Structure plan appraisal and the SEA Directive', Town Planning Review 74 395-422.

Carter J.G., Wood C.M. and Baker M. (2003) 'The environmental appraisal of national park management plans in England and Wales', Journal of Environmental Management and Planning 46 271-290.

Wood C.M. (2003) 'Environmental impact assessment in developing countries', International Development Planning Review 25 301-321.

Jay S. and Wood C.M. (2002) 'The emergence of local planning authority policy on high-voltage electricity issues', Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning 4 261-174.

Fischer T., Wood C.M. and Jones C.E. (2002) 'Policy, plan and programme environmental assessment in England, the Netherlands and Germany: practice and prospects', Environment and Planning B 29 159-172.

Ahmad B. and Wood C.M. (2002) 'A comparative evaluation of the EIA systems in Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia', Environmental Impact Assessment Review 22 213-234.

Wood, C M (2002) 'Environmental Impact Assessment: a Comparative Review', Prentice Hall, Harlow (405pp) (second, completely revised, edition).

Barker A. and Wood C.M. (2001) 'Environmental assessment in the European Union: perspectives, past, present and strategic', European Planning Studies 9 243 - 254.

Wood C.M. (2001) 'Environmental assessment'. In Miller C.E. (ed) Planning and Environmental Protection, Hart, Oxford, 147-172.

Wood C.M., Dipper B. and Jones C.E. (2000) 'Auditing the Assessment of the Environmental Impacts of Planning Projects', Journal of Environmental Management and Planning 43 23-47.

Wood, C M (2000) Screening and scoping. In Lee, N and George, C (eds) Environmental Assessment in Developing and Transitional Countries: Principles, Methods and Practice John Wiley, Chichester, 71-84.

Recent Research Projects

1999-2001 Institutional strengthening of the EIA systems in Mediterranean Environmental Technical Assistance Programme countries: World Bank: £250,000 (with numerous co-operating organisations).

1999-2002 The treatment of electricity transmission issues in statutory development plans: ESRC CASE award (with NGC Ltd): £30000.

2000 Environmental statements: a review: Terence O'Rourke plc: £2,500.

2000-2003 The effect of strategic environmental assessment on the preparation of structure plans: ESRC CASE award (with the Royal Town Planning Institute): £30000.

2001-2003 The effect of environmental appraisal in achieving environmentally-beneficial changes to policies and proposals in development plans: ESRC: £98,000 (with Carys Jones and Mark Baker).

2001-2004 SEA methodologies and practice in transportation policies, plans and programmes: ESRC CASE award (with TRL Ltd): £30000.

2004-2005 The use of EIA in Scotland (with Carys Jones and Stephen Jay)