Simon Cooke
urbanist; former regeneration portfolio holder and leader of the Conservative group, Bradford City Council; author, In Defence of  a New Suburbia

Simon is a former marketing professional and was a councillor in Bradford for 24 years representing a ward entirely within West Yorkshire’s green belt. During this time, Simon spent six years as portfolio holder for Regeneration, a further six years as Conservative Group Leader as well as serving on the Local Government Association’s Housing, Transport and Environment Board and as a director of a large housing association managing over 20,000 social homes.

Simon is the author of the Letter on Liberty, In Defence of  a New Suburbia – an argument for why suburbia isn’t simply second best to city living, but the sought-after ideal for most families in search of freedom. He has an MSc in Urban Regeneration and worked in business development for housing and regeneration charities. Today he is mostly retired and playing Dungeons and Dragons while carefully explaining to anyone who’ll listen that we need to scrap the green belt, reform planning and build lots more houses.

Follow Simon on X: @SimonMagus

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