Stewart Milne Homes has strengthened its senior team as it gears up for major growth in the Central Belt with eight land acquisitions in the pipeline in the next six months.

The housebuilder, which aims to deliver 500 new homes in the Central Belt every year, said it will be investing significantly in purchasing land for new developments and securing planning consents. It will also be starting on sites which have been granted permission such as 77 new flats and townhouses at Cathcart on the south side of Glasgow, and 68 detached family homes at Pentcaitland in East Lothian.

Stuart Henderson will lead the housebuilder’s goal of being at the forefront of designing the very best homes and neighbourhoods across central Scotland in the newly created role of design director. A qualified architect, Stuart has worked at Stewart Milne Homes for 17 years, during which time the house-builder has won numerous awards for design and quality.

Formerly land director, Gary Milne has been appointed technical director to head up a team which provides engineering support to the land, design and construction parts of the business. A Chartered Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Gary joined Stewart Milne Group in 2001 and sits on the Board of Stewart Milne Homes.

Finally, Grant Kirkhope moves from a strategic group role to join Stewart Milne Homes as land director, responsible for identifying, appraising and delivering land opportunities across the region. Grant joined Stewart Milne Group from Persimmon Homes in 2014.

These internal succession appointments follow the recent appointment of Bryan Galloway as construction director.

Managing director Gerry More said: “These changes now ensure that we have a robust structure to fully capitalise on the new opportunities in the Central Belt, where we are adding attractive sites in the east of Scotland to our strong pipeline of developments in the West.

“With distinct teams in design and technical, working closely with the land team, we will have an increased focus on the front-end of our business to make sure site infrastructure works start in an effective and efficient manner. Ultimately, this will accelerate the delivery of much-needed homes across the country in line with government policy.”