Catherine Williams will join the Home Builders Federation (HBF) in July from Bellway Homes, where she is a regional planning director.
Williams replaces Sam Stafford, who left HBF earlier this month after three years to become managing director of the Land, Planning & Development Federation (LPDF) .
Williams has worked as a planner for more than 15 years across both the private and public sectors; she has been responsible for developing planning strategies and advising on major planning applications.
Prior to joining Bellway in 2022, she spent a decade at Savills, where, as a director within the planning team, she worked with house-builders to support residential-led, mixed-use developments.
鈥淚 am delighted to be joining HBF at such a pivotal time for the home building industry,鈥� Catherine Williams said of her new job. 鈥淩ecent planning reforms have paved the way for accelerating house building but there is more to be done to speed up planning decisions and develop more effective Local Plans. I am excited to be representing home builders to support the increased delivery of high quality and sustainable new homes.鈥�
Neil Jefferson, chief executive of the Home Builders Federation, said: 鈥淲ith the Planning & Infrastructure Bill on the horizon, planning has never been a more significant issue for the home building industry. Catherine鈥檚 experience and expertise in navigating strategic plans and planning policy will be vital if we are to streamline the planning process and unblock the housing pipeline.鈥�
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