Stephen Ottewell was appointed to the role by employee-owned engineering, environmental and planning consultants Caulmert last month and will be based in Altrincham, Cheshire.
He had been with outsourcing and public services firm Capita, as its Chester-based national planning director from 2016 and was its business development director from May 2024 until 30 October.
Before that, Ottewell, who has a masters in town planning from Sheffield Hallam University and in business administration from Warwick University, had been an associate director of real estate investment and development firm Urban Vision Partnership for nine years.
A statement on Linkedin from Caulmert on Friday (7 November) said Ottewell’s appointment is a “step forward in strengthening our planning division and expanding our reach across the UK”.
Ottewell said that he had “moved away from the day-to-day practical side of planning and that was something I wanted to get back to”.
In further comments on LinkedIn, he added: “I’m excited to join a 100 per cent employee-owned, multidisciplinary consultancy that brings together expertise in planning, environmental, and engineering services.
“I’m looking forward to helping shape and grow our planning offer.”
