Arcadis hires northern housing boss

Arcadis has appointed John Carleton to lead its UK housing and regeneration sector.

Based in Manchester, Carleton will lead the consultant’s Housing for the North (HfN) campaign, which aims to help address severe housing shortages across the region and support the positioning of the Northern Powerhouse.

The campaign to create a Housing for the North (HfN) organisation would provide the mandate for direct public delivery of much needed new housing within a devolved regional structure, ensuring that homes of all tenures are built.

Carleton will also have wider responsibility for client relationships, providing strategic solutions and premium services for housing and regeneration.

He was previously managing director at housing association Genesis, which owns and manages 33,000 homes across London and the east of England.  Prior to this, Carleton was in corporate finance working at PwC and has also worked as a director of the Housing Corporation, where he was the organisations lead on regeneration and responsible for the North of England.

Carleton said: “Population growth and the increasing focus on our regional centres means that the need for housing and urban regeneration is at an all-time high.

“We need to make sure that our cities live up to their potential, and in doing so that the future needs of their people are being cared for, from a social, economic and environmental perspective.

“This is no small challenge, and I’m excited to be joining Arcadis and working with the team to apply some big ambitions to addressing the housing crisis.”

Mark Cowlard, managing director for the buildings sector at Arcadis, added: “John’s expertise and breadth of experience in both the public and private sector, along with the contacts he has made across both, will undoubtedly help Arcadis to grow its housing and regeneration drive.

“Rapid urbanisation is having a significant impact on how our cities function, and ensuring we are equipped to offer the best solutions to respond to population growth is going to be vital for tackling today’s housing crisis.”