People: SLC Rail on track with senior hire; Demand for planning services sees team double in size; and more

Birmingham-based SLC Rail has announced the appointment of Neil Micklethwaite as its new non-executive director.

Micklethwaite, who is COO for CMAC Group, will join SLC Rail’s board this month.

He has held several senior positions in the transport sector, both within operating businesses and at group level.  This has included being the commercial director of Chiltern Railways, commercial director at First Great Western, customer experience and commercial director at East Midlands Trains, and more recently group business development director of Stagecoach.

Ian Walters, managing director of SLC Rail said: “We are pleased to welcome Neil to the board.

“Gaining access to his vast business development and commercial experience will be invaluable to SLC Rail as we continue to grow the business. We look forward to working with him.”

Micklethwaite added:  “It’s impressive to see what Ian and the rest of the team have achieved in such a short period of time.

“The company has made a positive impact on the rail industry through supporting third party projects and I’m excited to be working with them as they continue to make a difference to communities up and down the country.”

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Marrons Planning’s Stratford-upon-Avon team has doubled in size in less than 12 months – helping meet the needs of the planning consultancy’s growing client base in the West and South Midlands.

The six-strong team will take the lead in developing Marrons Planning’s offering in the regions, providing services including securing planning permission for development and promoting greenfield and brownfield land to meet future housing and employment needs.

Planning director David Fovargue joined the firm with more than 10 years’ experience helping clients secure planning permission. His experience and skills dovetails with the local knowledge provided by two additional recruits – senior planners George Smith, from Cherwell District Council who has more than six years’ experience of town planning in Oxfordshire, and Reiss Sadler, from Wychavon District Council who brings more than seven years’ town planning experience in Worcestershire.

Also supporting the Stratford-upon-Avon hub’s growth are associate directors Richard Cooke and Daniel Robinson-Wells, who bring knowledge and experience from Warwickshire and the wider region.

Leading the charge is partner Gary Stephens, who has more than 20 years’ town planning experience. He said: “We’re always looking for new people to help grow our business and increase our presence across the region.

“Moreover, the planning process is not getting any easier to navigate, with ever-changing policies and pressures, so having local knowledge and the ability to foresee and resolve issues is more important now than ever.

“David, George and Reiss bring expertise in Oxfordshire and Worcestershire, and will help maintain our excellent track record for securing planning permission and land allocations.”

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The new chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce says the region’s businesses can set a national example ensuring all communities share in the success of the economy.

Corin Crane has joined the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce after leading the Black Country Chamber for almost six years.

He succeeds Louise Bennett, who has run the organisation for 20 years and will remain with the Chamber for a brief period to handover.

Crane said he was joining a very strong Chamber at a time when Coventry and Warwickshire had much to look forward to – despite difficult economic times.

He said: “I’m incredibly honoured to be given this opportunity to lead the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber and will make sure that the brilliant work that Louise and the Chamber board have done over the last 20 years becomes the springboard for success in the future.

“I have a long history of supporting Midlands businesses and they are facing some difficult times in the coming months as we negotiate spiralling inflation, huge hikes in energy and fuel costs, hard to fill vacancies, increased pay demands and supply chain issues.

“But alongside the support many will need to survive and grow – I will be focused on celebrating the incredible stories of our local entrepreneurs and businesses that Coventry and Warwickshire is famous for, and making sure that every possible opportunity is seized.”