Alan Prior is Deputy Head of the School of the Built Environment at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Previously, he was Head of the School of Planning and Housing at the Edinburgh College of Art. Before becoming an academic in 1985, Alan worked for ten years in development control and development planning in Scottish local government.

His research interests are in the operation and effectiveness of statutory systems of town and country planning, including development plans, development control and enforcement. He has led or been heavily involved in a number of research studies for the Scottish Office and Scottish Executive, including Review of Neighbour Notification (1995), Review of Planning Enforcement (1996), Review of Development Planning (1998), Review of Permitted Development and Related Mechanisms (1999) the Role of the Planning System in the Provision of Housing (2001), and the Review of Green Belt Policy (2004); the General Permitted Development Order (2007).