A NEW senior land manager has joined Castle Green Homes as the business looks to expand into new areas.
James Hampson was recently appointed to the role at the housebuilder, which has offices at St Asaph and Preston Brook.
The company currently has sites across North Wales, Cheshire and the Liverpool City Region, but is looking to expand the geographic spread of the sites it develops to include Greater Manchester, North Staffordshire and North Shropshire.
James said: “Castle Green have an excellent reputation for acquiring new land opportunities, having secured several high-profile sites across the North West and North Wales. It’s clear how streamlined the decision-making process is and the ability to be agile is certainly one of the many reasons for their competitiveness in the land market.
“One of the main challenges most land buyers face at the moment is the availability of land. There’s also a high number of housebuilders operating in the North West, making the land market incredibly competitive in this region.”
James started his career as a land buyer for Bowsall Developments, before moving on to Countryside Properties, initially as senior land buyer, then land manager. His most recent role before joining Castle Green was land manager at Miller Homes.
“I completed a placement with Bowsall during my time at University which I thoroughly enjoyed, and I was fortunate enough to be offered a position in their land team once I had finished my degree,” James, from Altrincham, recalled.
“There are lots of different career options and routes into housebuilding including placements, degree apprenticeships along with traditional degrees. Although the job is office-based, I enjoy the variety offered by the role whether it’s being out on site or meeting landowners, land agents and planners.”
Land director Simon Finlay said: “James is a welcome addition to the team. He has experience of acquiring sites for affordable housing and private sale properties, which fits with our business model of delivering homes for housing associations under our Partnerships brand alongside open market homes. This will prove invaluable as we continue to grow the business and move into new geographic areas.”