HBF appoints planning director 

The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has appointed Sam Stafford as planning director, starting in early July. 

He replaces the previous planning director Andrew Whitaker who is retiring after 28 years at HBF. He will join the wider management team to continue to deliver representation for HBFs membership. 

Stafford’s experience lies in development management as a planning consultant in multi-disciplinary environments.

Stafford said: “There has arguably never been a more pressing need for a strong, confident planning system, but I am struggling to recall a time in my career when the system has conveyed the impression to the extent it is doing now as being the opposite of these things. I will relish representing the house building industry in discussions with partners about how we work towards getting more and better local plans adopted and more and better applications approved.”  

Image credit | HBF