Cllr Ian Ward

Leader
Birmingham City Council

Adam Willetts

Associate Director
Urban Splash

An Architect by training Adam is actively involved in all aspects of the development process from acquisition through to completion with significant experience in the sympathetic restoration of historic buildings.

Notable projects include the redevelopment of key buildings at the listed Royal William Yard, Plymouth, which has been recognized on a regional, national and international basis for the design and regeneration of heritage assets. Adam also spent a period of time at Argent as a Project Director working on the Paradise Commercial Regeneration Scheme in the Heart of Birmingham.

Ashley Kensington

Managing Director
St Joseph, Berkeley Group Plc

Ashley has 20 years’ experience within in the development sector specialising in property investment, acquisition and obtaining planning consents. For the last 15 years she has worked at the Berkeley Group with posts held in St James, Berkeley Commercial and more recently in St William where she assisted in setting up the joint venture with National Grid.

In August 2018, Ashley moved to St Joseph to assist the Berkeley Group’s expansion into the West Midlands with responsibility for land, planning and asset management.

James Blakey

Planning Director
Moda Living

James Blakey was employee number two at Moda Living in 2014 and is an exceptionally experienced Planning Director with 30+ years experience with roles at CBRE, Deloitte, United Utilities, West Property and Morgan Stanley. James has led the planning strategy for The Mercian, which is now under construction, and Great Charles Square in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter

Moda Living is the largest privately funded build-to-rent platform in the UK and has one of the most ambitious build-to-rent development pipelines in the UK. Moda already has £850m of projects under construction, with more expected to start on-site during 2020 – the first phase of its £2.5bn pipeline of over 7,500 rent-only homes.