Dr Saira Ali FLI PLI commenced her term as President of the Landscape Institute on 1 July 2026.
With over 20 years of experience in local government, Saira is an award-winning Landscape Architect recognised for her leadership in placemaking, heritage-led regeneration, and climate resilient design.
She leads the Bradford Council’s Landscape Design & Conservation Team, delivering city-shaping regeneration programmes that unlock economic growth while improving the lives of residents.
Saira’s work spans city centre transformation to neighbourhood-scale interventions, ensuring that investment benefits the people and communities who need it most. Through co-design, she leads in projects that shape behaviour change, making healthy, active lifestyles easier and more appealing while creating public spaces that improve health, wellbeing, and social cohesion.
Popular award-winning schemes such as the Townscape Heritage and Transforming Cities Fund Programme, illustrate how design excellence and heritage can create climate-resilient places with boosted inward investment, business confidence and footfall. Under Saira’s leadership, Bradford’s regeneration approach is centred around rain gardens, urban greening, and blue-green infrastructure.
As a passionate advocate for diversity and future talent, Saira is a mentor for emerging professionals while also speaking nationally on placemaking, climate resilience, and the social value of landscape and heritage in driving sustainable and inclusive economic renewal.
The LI looks forward to working with Saira as our new President and bringing her rich background in local authorities along with her insights in regeneration, placemaking and climate resilient design to deliver a new perspective for the landscape profession.
