Sue Elton

Sue joined the Wellington office as a consultant in mid-2022 after completing a Master’s in Resource and Environmental Planning. Her academic research inquiry considered opportunities for soundscape planning in urban New Zealand. This project focused on both adverse and positive effects, as defined in the Resource Management Act 1991, considered perceptions of sound environment, and noted the value of quiet areas to urban dwellers. 

Sue’s interest in urban planning, environmental sound, and acoustics evolved from an earlier career in music education where she championed both singing and listening as crucial components of musical development. She has spent much of her adult life in Wellington, with a decade’s diversion in London. She plays piano and has long enjoyed choral singing. Sue has two adult children, and she now lives in the Wairarapa.

Qualifications & Memberships

• Master of Resource and Environmental Planning (First Class Honours) – Massey University, NZ

• Master of Arts: Music Psychology in Education (with Distinction) – University of Sheffield, UK

• Affiliate of the Acoustical Society of New Zealand