A planner from a leading local developer has secured a spot in the Top 100 Influential Women in Construction list.
Kate Harrison, Strategic Planning Manager for Persimmon Homes West Wales, was awarded the accolade by the National Builders Federation after delivering planning permission for 1,200 homes for local people in the region.
Kate has been with the five-star housebuilder for the last five years after six productive years in the development and planning profession in the public sector. As a certified town planner specialising in the housing sector, she contributes to every phase of development, from initial land assessments to project completion and approvals.
As part of her role, Kate plays a role in forecasting housing need in parts of the West Wales region – stretching from Pembrokeshire to Rhondda Cynon Taf – navigating local and national planning policies in order to deliver homes for local people by designing proposals that contribute positively to biodiversity, the environment, active travel, transport, and wellbeing.
Kate is also passionate about promoting gender diversity in the construction industry and believes it brings a balanced array of strengths and perspectives, leading to enhanced success. She has played a key role in a number of initiatives at Persimmon from the championing of Target 50 – a business campaign to recruit 50 female apprentices and trainees – to engaging in the Women’s Network.
Commenting on her achievement, Kate said:
“I am thrilled to have my work recognised by the National Builders Federation and I want to thank those who encouraged me and have played a part in my professional successes.
“My ongoing pursuit is obtaining the next planning achievement and site acquisition to contribute to housing delivery in the areas that truly need it, and while the role presents its challenges, the satisfaction of successful completions of projects I've contributed to is highly rewarding.
“I am also really proud of my work on gender diversity at Persimmon, including the championing of Target 50 and participating in the Women’s Network, making this particular award a really important one for me.”
Persimmon Homes West Wales Managing Director Stuart Phillips added:
“Kate is a fantastic part of the team and fully deserves to be recognised like this. She has been instrumental in securing planning consent for around 1,200 homes – with 500 homes currently in the planning system – delivering more high-quality homes for communities across the region.
“This hands-on job has seen Kate flourish, expanding her expertise, commercial acumen, design skills, engineering knowledge, and management of large-scale housing projects, as well as building relationships with local authorities and private enterprise partners. We are very proud of her.”
