Michael Hardware has been appointed to head Chelgate’s planning public affairs division, Chelgate Local.

With a career spanning over 30 years, 24 of them at Chelgate, Michael has a wealth of experience in property and construction. Over those years he has worked with many of the leading developers and housebuilders undertaking planning public affairs and consultation assignments on a myriad of different projects across the country.

As a serving county and district councillor, he brings experience from ‘both sides of the fence’ to client assignments. He is vice-chairman of a county planning committee, sits on a district planning committee and is an opposition local plan spokesman.

As director of planning and property, Michael will oversee the continued growth of Chelgate Local, building on schemes secured across London and the south east. Currently, the firm has projects totaling 90,000 plots on its books ranging from 100 in Ashford in Kent to 10,000 in South Oxfordshire, from 750 in Basildon to 650 in Farnham in Surrey, and from 2,500 in Epping to 5,000 in Tandridge.