Bristol-based property developer Ashfield Land has appointed Claire Cope as a board director. Claire, pictured, has joined from the Bristol office of development consultants Turley, where she worked for nearly nine years in a number of roles, mostly recently as associate director.
At Ashfield, Claire has a national role working across its Bristol, Birmingham and Glasgow offices as well as with the firm’s head of the London office Nick Scott. 
She will be heavily involved in defining Ashfield’s future strategy as the business continues to grow its interests across the UK.
The firm has been involved in a number of major schemes in Bristol including redevelopment of the landmark former Maples store on The Triangle in Clifton, creating 65,000 sq ft of leisure, health and fitness, retail and a restaurant, and the construction of the nearby St Catherine’s Court office scheme alongside the Clifton Pro-Cathedral, which it redeveloped as student accommodation.
It also owns 180 acres of greenfield land near Cribbs Causeway jointly with Persimmon Homes with planning permission for 1,100 houses, a district centre, school, a network of high quality green spaces along with sustainable transport links.
Claire is also taking a lead role in coordinating the planning process in many of the firm’s flagship projects. She has a Master’s Degree in Planning from UWE and is a full chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).
At Turley, her roles included head of local engagement, leading on all national public consultation work which involved a number of major town centre regeneration schemes, leisure schemes, major residential development schemes and port redevelopments.
Ashfield managing director Andrew Fisher said: “Claire brings with her a wealth of experience in planning and development. She will be a terrific asset to the Ashfield board. As we continue to build the Ashfield business across the UK, Claire’s experience in dealing with complex planning and development issues will be invaluable. We are delighted to have her join.”
Claire added: “Ashfield has a reputation for being an entrepreneurial company, with a strong track record in delivering quality projects across the UK. As the planning environment continues to become increasingly complex, I’m looking forward to working with the team at Ashfield to build on its already steadfast reputation.”
Established in 1990 by Andrew Fisher and Robin Faber, Ashfield Land is one of the UK’s leading property companies specialising in the acquisition of strategic land, investments and development. The private company has a development portfolio valued in excess of £1bn and has a strong track record of making rapid decisions on acquisition opportunities across the residential, commercial and retail sectors.
