Midlands expands land and planning team

22nd Sep 2021

Cala Homes (Midlands) has announced the appointment of Caroline Owen as Senior Planning Manager to support the region’s ambitious growth plans across Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Solihull.

At Cala Homes (Midlands), Caroline will be responsible for navigating planning for significant sites within the Cala and its sister brand Legal & General Homes portfolios. This will also consist of working on live sites to ensure planning conditions are met for the wider development facilities including those at Fernleigh Park in Stratford-upon-Avon, Cross Trees Park in Shrivenham and Nobel Park, a 1,200 home mixed-use development in Didcot which falls under the Legal & General Homes brand.

In addition, Caroline will be working on sites that are currently progressing to planning application stage and providing strategic counsel and assisting on the bidding process for potential new sites, of interest to the company, to ensure a strong pipeline of new homes in the region.

Commenting on her appointment, Caroline said:

“I am looking forward to working with my new Cala colleagues to bring forward opportunities for high quality developments, working closely with local communities. My immediate focus within the Land and Planning team is to ensure that we are delivering our commitments and obligations in relation to our current live sites and to ensure we plan proactively for the next stages of development on these sites. In addition, I will be reviewing opportunities within the region to target for new sites moving forward. To help achieve our growth ambitions, we’re interested in working on sites with the capacity for a minimum of 50 homes in towns and larger villages, with and without planning.”

Bernie Vent, Regional Land Director at Cala Homes Midlands, added:

“Caroline brings a wealth of planning knowledge and experience to the team which will be essential in helping us achieve planning consent for land opportunities within our pipeline. We are excited to welcome her on board and we look forward to working together to bring forward a diverse mix of sites to expand our offering of providing high-quality, community focused new build developments across the Midlands region.”

Flagship developments for Cala Homes Midlands include Fernleigh Park, in Stratford-Upon-Avon, where the company is lead developer on the first phase (400 homes) of the proposed garden village with further capacity for up to 3,100 new homes. The major project will transform the former Long Marston airfield, opening up 52 acres of green space and outdoor amenities.

For more information, visit www.cala.co.uk.