Melissa Vento

Selected Project Experience

• Senior Transport Planning Team Leader managing a team of up to 8 and overseeing delivery across a diverse portfolio of transport planning projects.
• Lead, mentor, and develop transport planners through structured training, performance management, and annual appraisals to maintain high-quality service delivery.
• Monitor team utilisation and proactively secure future workload, contributing to business planning and a sustainable project pipeline.
• Manage project financial performance through monthly reviews, including key account oversight, budget control, debt management, resource planning, and pipeline forecasting.
• Experienced Project Manager, delivering projects to time and budget while aligning with commercial objectives and achieving high levels of client satisfaction.
• Build and maintain strong client relationships, supporting repeat business and generating new opportunities.
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Champion and Co-Chair, leading initiatives to promote awareness and embed inclusive practices across the organisation.
• Apply lessons learnt from project delivery to drive continuous improvement and successful future outcomes.

• Development Management & Highways Advisory (London & South East)
  Project Manager and Highways Development Control support across multiple authorities (Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, LB Hounslow, RB Greenwich, LB Lewisham, Medway Council).Reviewed major and minor planning applications, liaising with developers to ensure transport impacts are robustly assessed and mitigated.
  Provided clear, pragmatic advice to support positive planning outcomes for both local authorities and developers.

• Parking Strategy & Studies
  Project Manager for parking studies across Buckinghamshire Council, Bracknell Forest Council, and LB Waltham Forest. Led comprehensive parking supply and demand assessments, including a 10–15 year strategy for Bracknell. Managed a county-wide asset review for Buckinghamshire, developing an evidence base to inform retention, optimisation, and redevelopment of parking assets.

• Development Planning (Private Sector)
  Managed and delivered Transport Assessments and Statements, alongside supporting documents (CMPs, CLPs, DSPs, Travel Plans, Parking Management Plans) to support planning submissions.
  
• Workplace Parking & Business Case Development
  Delivered workplace parking feasibility studies and Outline Business Cases for London and South East authorities, supporting policy and funding decisions.

• Active Travel & Strategic Planning
  Programme and Project Manager for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), successfully adopted in 2022.

• Managing, writing and contributing towards a range of Transport Assessments/Statements for a variety of uses including commercial premises, residential developments, schools, hospitals, hotels and mixed use developments;
• Project, technical, management and assistance to support to a wide range of transport projects;
• Project management and assistance to project reviews, invoicing, project QA, and project finances;
• Attending client meetings to provide technical advice and initial scoping meetings with local authorities and design team meetings;
• Managing junior members of staff including reviewing technical work and written reports;
• Writing Travel Plans, Delivery Service Strategies and Construction Management Plans for various stages of the planning process for schools, residential developments and commercial premises;
• Providing design advice to the clients regarding car parking, cycle parking and accesses, ensuring they are in accordance with local, regional and national policy;
• PICADY, ARCADY and LINSIG modelling of junctions to assess capacity prior to and after development proposals are implemented;
• Attendance to public consultation events on behalf of clients;
• Extensive spreadsheet analysis using MS Excel; and
• CIHT representative for Transport Consulting London.

Main duties included the production of transport assessments and associated documents to support developers planning submissions.

Summary of key project experience at Arup (list not exhaustive):

• 40 Leadenhall Street (Project Vanquish), Vanquish Properties UK Ltd, City of London: Arup were appointed by Vanquish Properties UK to provide design advice and provide a Transport Assessment and Travel Plan for the re-development of existing office buildings on Leadenhall and Fenchurch Street now named 40 Leadenhall Street. The development proposals include the erection of a 36 storey tower comprising mainly B1 office and some retail uses. Planning permission was granted in early 2014. Melissa provided the main support to the project manager in completing the report and associated documents, Melissa provided cycle, car parking and service strategy advice to the client in accordance with local and regional policy. This project has also been known as ‘Gotham City' ‘in local media news.

• High Speed Rail 2, High Speed 2 Ltd: Arup Transport Consulting were appointed to undertake the Local Transport Assessment arising from the development of the new HS2 station at Euston Station. Melissa provided support in for the production of the Transport Assessment for the whole Euston Station complex, this work formed part of the hybrid bill documentation, submitted at the end of 2013. Melissa was involved the design of surface access facilities, producing local network flows for local modelling, using PICADY and LINSIG to model local junctions and Melissa also took on the role of to help coordinate the local modelling team.

Main duties included the production of transport assessments and associated documents to support developers planning submissions.

Summary of key project experience at Arup (list not exhaustive):

• Taxi Study, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, West Sussex Council: Mouchel were appointed by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and West Sussex Council to undertake a Taxi Study to establish if there is an unmet demand for Hackney carriage licences. Melissa was selected to attend and conduct the consultation with Hackney carriage drivers and private hire drivers at the local town halls. Following the consultation Melissa completed the consultation report as part of the wider study, which also included quantitative and qualitative analysis of the questionnaires and other data that were received from the consultees.

• M3/M4 Managed Motorways, Highways Agency: Mouchel have been appointed by Consultant to The M3 M4 Managed Motorways (M3M4MM) projects. The purpose is to provide a scheme that will alleviate the transport and safety problems identified on the M3 and M4. As part of the key deliverables a number of economic assessments were undertaken. Melissa was responsible for undertaking the INCA assessments for the model and also completed the technical report.

My role in this position included the following duties:

• Writing evidence for appeals for the Planning Inspectorate;
• Investigate complaints in respect of breaches of planning legislation which include regular site inspections;
• Encouraging the resolution of problems by advising the public about ‘permitted development';
• Identifying and providing advice in relation to lawful uses and planning permission;
• Requesting the cessation of any unauthorised uses of developments;
• Bringing unauthorised development under control and where necessary issuing notices under the relevant Planning Acts;
• Organisation and Management of an average case load of 220 investigation files; and
• Writing committee reports for council members.