Savills has announced the appointment of planning director, Rebecca Housam as head of its Leeds-based planning team.
Rebecca will work alongside Jonathan Ainley in the Savills planning team in Manchester to lead the wider Savills Planning North team, made up of Leeds and Manchester.
Since joining Savills Leeds in 2012 as a graduate, Rebecca has progressed through the business, forging strong relationships with developers and Local Planning Authorities along the way. She will now continue to do this at the helm of the 14-strong Planning North team.
Rebecca, who is a Chartered Town Planner, sits on the York & North Yorkshire Property Forum Steering Group and the Leeds Property Forum Steering Group. Over the years, she has been involved in a wide variety of projects, providing planning advice to a diverse range of clients including landowners, developers and private companies.
One of the notable projects which Rebecca will be leading on is the strategy and planning for RAF Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, after Savills was appointed by the Ministry of Defence as Strategic Property Advisor to help deliver projects within the Defence Estate Optimisation Portfolio at the end of 2024.
Adam Key, who led the Leeds planning team for the previous 12 years, will continue on the management board with an ongoing focus on strategic residential and employment development opportunities.
Commenting on her new role, Rebecca says: “To be given the opportunity to lead such a high performing and experienced team is a huge privilege. Under Adam’s leadership, we have been instructed on some excellent projects and developed strong relationships across the region, and this is something we want to continue to build upon.”
Jonathan Steele, director and head of regional planning at Savills, says: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Adam for his outstanding contribution as head of the Leeds planning team for more than a decade, whilst congratulating Rebecca on her new role, which is thoroughly deserved.
“The opportunities to collaborate across a number of sectors and initiatives across the north of the country are significant and I am sure Rebecca will build on the strong reputations that she and the teams have established over the years to ensure that the service we provide our clients remains the best in class.”