Planning consultancy Turley Heritage has appointed Catharine Kidd as its first director in Scotland as the UK-wide firm targets expansion north of the border.

Based in Turley’s Edinburgh office, Ms Kidd will cover the whole of Scotland but will also be available regularly in the firm’s Glasgow office to serve clients in the west of Scotland, the firm said.

Bringing with her nearly 20 years’ experience within the heritage sector, primarily relating to heritage planning advice for capital developments involving historic buildings and environments, she joins the firm having run a successful independent heritage consultancy in Scotland for several years.

During this time she has worked as part of multidisciplinary teams on masterplan and design proposals to inform new design and regeneration within historic areas.

Her previous role involved providing strategic advice and preparation of supporting documentation for planning and listed building consent applications such as hospitals, university and college estates, commercial and industrial sites.

High-profile examples include the ‘The Registers’ development on St Andrew Square in Edinburgh, Bangour Village Hospital Masterplan in West Lothian, and asset disposal strategies for listed City of Glasgow College sites.

Prior to this, Ms Kidd worked with the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust where she gained considerable project management experience across Scotland in delivering creative adaptation and re-use of historic buildings from inception to on-site completion. Projects included the recently-opened Patrick Geddes Centre at Riddles Court on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, and the former Inverness Royal Academy.

Speaking about her appointment, Ms Kidd said: “Joining Turley represents an exciting new turn in my career and opens up new possibilities to grow a heritage service to suit Scottish development needs. Being part of an established and highly-regarded consultancy means that I can be involved with even more significant projects and learn collaboratively from my colleagues. While I have enjoyed practising independently, Turley has the professional support and resources in place that I need, allowing me to focus on serving clients and delivering successful outcomes.”

Senior director and head of heritage, Roger Mascall, added: “I am delighted to welcome Catharine to Turley and our heritage team. Having somebody of her reputation and experience on the ground in Scotland allows us to serve our clients more effectively with the informed advice and deep understanding of heritage matters that Turley is known for.”

Turley operates from 13 offices in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, City of Derry~North West, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Reading and Southampton.