South West Infrastructure Partnership Action Plan 2030 with ICE President David Porter

David Porter

David Porter is director of engineering with the Department for Infrastructure, which is Northern Ireland’s highways authority. In this role, he is also the chief highways engineer and head of the civil engineering profession in the Northern Ireland civil service.

Porter is responsible for the development of the department’s professional and technical staff, engineering policies and standards, and health and safety. He also leads on procurement and the internal consultancy.

Previously, he was chief executive of the Rivers Agency, Northern Ireland’s flood defence and drainage authority.

Porter has served on the ICE Council three times, twice as the Northern Ireland representative and once as a general member. He is a trustee who, until recently, held the learning society portfolio. He has also served on several institution committees and panels.

A fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering, Porter was awarded the Poskitt Medal by ICE Northern Ireland in 2017 and the President’s Award by Engineers Ireland in 2018.

Professor Colin Taylor

Colin is emeritus professor of earthquake engineering at the University of Bristol. He is an ICE policy Fellow for sub-national infrastructure decarbonisation, and is champion of the South West Infrastructure Partnership’s net zero route mapping activities. He has over 40 years' research and practice experience on the impacts of natural hazards on all kinds of infrastructure systems.

Miranda Housden

As the South West director at the ICE, Miranda is responsible for raising the profile of civil engineering in the region, maintaining professional standards, encouraging a diverse future workforce and providing leadership and direction to the ICE South West team and more than 6,000 ICE members.

Prior to moving to the South West, she was the ICE director for London and South East England, having previously been the London director for the Royal Institute of British Architects. Miranda has produced a number of films including Engineering the London Underground, Engineering Plymouth and Engineering Happiness for which she was awarded the Institution of Civil Engineers Garth Watson medal.

Alongside her ICE role, Miranda is chief executive officer for the South West Infrastructure Partnership.

Peter Kydd

With more than 45 years’ experience as an infrastructure consultant, mainly with Parsons Brinckerhoff (now WSP), Peter Kydd continues to advise WSP on matters such as tidal power and decarbonisation.

He has written numerous papers on these subjects and is a seasoned conference presenter on all aspects of tidal energy.

A founding member of the South West Infrastructure Partnership, Kydd served as its chair in 2020-23. He also chaired the South West Marine Energy Park in 2012-16.

More recently, Kydd has been a technical adviser on tidal power to the Severn Estuary Commission. He has also worked extensively for the Crown Estate, the West of England Combined Authority and the governments of Wales and the UK. 

Kydd is a Fellow of the ICE. In 2024 the institution awarded him its Gold Medal for engineering excellence.

Pippa Gibbs Joubert

Pippa Gibbs Joubert is an associate director at Copper Consultancy, has dedicated her career to building public and political consensus around major infrastructure projects through communications and storytelling.

Passionate about the societal benefits of infrastructure to promote societal equity and sustainability, she has led communications, consultation, and engagement for some of the UK's most sensitive, complex and high-profile major infrastructure projects.

Jez Haskins

Jez has over three decades of experience in infrastructure and major project delivery. He has held a range of senior leadership roles within the business, including sector and contracts director, leading the delivery of a variety of projects and programmes covering rail stations and depots as well as urban realm schemes. Jez has also led, as project director, major London Underground projects, including the Tottenham Court Road and Victoria Station upgrades.

In his current role, working across all Taylor Woodrow’s interest in the energy and transport sectors, he focuses on shaping strategy, developing new markets and opportunities and driving business change, which will allow the successful delivery of complex infrastructure projects.  

David King

David is an experienced infrastructure professional with a strong track record in delivering complex highway and civil engineering projects. With a career spanning roles from apprentice road operative through to senior project leadership, David has developed extensive expertise in project and contract management, construction delivery, and stakeholder coordination.

David has worked across both contractor and client-side environments, including roles with National Highways (formerly Highways England), Skanska and Carnell, overseeing schemes from initial design through to construction and handover. His practical, problem-solving approach is underpinned by a strong technical knowledge of highway standards and a focus on safe, efficient delivery.

Iwan Davies

Iwan works at Taylor Woodrow civils Southwest, actively contributing to the delivery of key infrastructure projects through the National Highways Southwest Scheme Delivery Framework (SDF). He began his career through a five-year degree apprenticeship in civil engineering and site management, gaining hands-on experience on the National Highways Southwest maintenance and response contract.

Since joining Taylor Woodrow in July 2025, Iwan has worked on the A432 Badminton Bridge Renewal Scheme, supporting the delivery of complex highway improvements. He is currently working towards IEng status with the ICE, alongside continuing to develop his expertise in project delivery.