Graham Galpin MSc SFIPM
Graham Galpin is a civic and community leader with a strong track record in local government and town centre regeneration.
He is particularly well known for his work in Ashford, Kent, where he served as a Cabinet Member for Town Centres & Business at Ashford Borough Council.
Before his period in local government, Graham was a respected consultant on economic and social development. He developed and evaluated both United Kingdom and European revitalisation programmes for towns, cities, rural and communities.
Graham has been involved in wider regional and national conversations about economic development, planning and place leadership, and has participated in several forums, including the Expert Advisory Panel on High Streets. That expert panel – also known as the Timpson Review – led to the launch of the High Streets Task Force, in which Graham then served as an Expert.
He has also chaired and presented at many conferences on town centres, including at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Graham is a recognised thought leader – including around current devolution debates – and has been cited as someone with practical experience of making things happen on the ground. He has been featured on television and in national newspapers as a successful place leader.
In 2026, Graham was awarded the Institute of Place Management’s highest honour – a Senior Fellowship – in recognition of his outstanding contribution to place leadership, town centre regeneration, economic development and public service.
Graham’s specialisms
Graham’s blogs
Graham Galpin reflects on place partnerships, and why listening, communication and collaboration matter in successful towns.
Graham’s project examples
Ashford town centre
Graham led an innovative programme of reinvention in Ashford that sought to restore pride and ambition on the town.
He curated a vibrant independent offer through the purchase of a failing shopping mall and revitalised it with a package of business support measures which included the well-regarded Made in Ashford shop, a collective of craftspeople and artists which is still trading.
He led the team to create a varied programme of events to reconnect people to their place to make it more distinctive and interesting.
Ashford’s successes became well publicised, and appeared in an article in the Daily Mirror.
Expert Advisory Panel on High Streets
In 2018, Graham met with the then High Streets Minister, Jake Berry MP, when he came to visit Ashford. He was invited to join an expert panel chaired by Sir John Timpson, to establish how to secure a better future for high streets.
Graham’s strategic insight provided the panel and the minister with confidence to secure government funding for high street renewal. He was especially proud to have suggested and inspired a Task Force to assist those with an interest in their town to take positive action.
The result of the panel’s report was a £650 million Future High Streets Fund, and the creation of a High Streets Task Force.