Mandy spent many years developing and running an organic market garden as part of a small co-op in Somerset, where she helped build a straw bale barn and eventually a straw bale house. Having experienced the challenges of the planning system first-hand, she decided to train in Town and Country Planning, qualifying with an MA in 2008. She spent several years as a policy planner at Sedgemoor District Council where she worked on projects including community engagement and Gypsy and Traveller policy, later specialising in Neighbourhood Planning. Since then she has spent time as a self-employed consultant and worked for a Local Authority in Devon as a Neighbourhood Planning Officer. Recently she has been indulging a long-held interest by studying creative writing at Exeter University.
When she’s not at work or writing you can usually find her outside: in the garden, down the allotment, on the beach or tramping the lanes and footpaths of the Devon countryside.
I Love Devon Because...
Of its rich red soil, abundant hedgerows, small fields, thriving farms and friendly communities.