The RO Group has announced that it has appointed Tim Cakebread as planning manager. In his new role, Tim will be based at the company’s Potters Bar office and will work across the group’s extensive land and property portfolio.
Edward Rowlandson, Group Managing Director at RO said: “Tim is an ambitious chartered town planner, and brings a decade of diverse experience, spanning both the public and private sectors.
He is highly proficient in project management and in navigating intricate planning systems to successfully deliver a range of projects throughout the South of England, our key geographical focus area.
“Our strategy required the appointment of a collaborative planner to join our multidisciplinary team across project inceptions to completions, and Tim delivers on that requirement. Our focus is to make positive and sustainable changes to the built environment, which Tim’s expertise will further support.”
The RO Group is a family-owned group of companies established in 1932 and has always invested in a diverse range of interests which today embraces commercial property, housebuilding and venture capital.
RO Real Estate, the commercial property division, has built over 1.1 million square feet to date and currently manages over 325,000 square feet of office, industrial and retail space. All acquisitions are funded through existing cash resources, meaning that The RO Group is able to move quickly if the appropriate investment criteria are met.
RO Land was established in 2020 to build on the group’s existing successes in land acquisition and planning. Its objective is to add value to land by unlocking its development potential. It promotes greenfield and brownfield sites for a wide range of uses, including residential, commercial and alternatives such as renewables. It has a long-term investment approach which allows it to unlock sites that may be considered too difficult by other promoters.
In his previous role as a principal planner within the strategic major planning team of Uttlesford District Council, Tim focused on large-scale applications. His responsibilities included managing a diverse caseload focusing on greenfield residential projects, but including all types of applications, which will benefit the RO Group, as the owner of over 325,000 square feet of property as well as almost 200 acres of land.
Prior to his time at Uttlesford District Council, Tim was an associate director at Savills, where he was the day-to-day lead on a variety of complex projects, which involved working closely with clients and council officers.
In experience that is highly relevant to the RO Group, he delivered a number of very successful mixed-use schemes, such as obtaining the hybrid planning consent at the Edmonton Green Shopping Centre and the implementation of Hurlingham Retail Park. He also delivered planning strategies for development opportunities and planning applications for office refurbishment and extension schemes in London.
Tim graduated from the University of Sheffield with MPLAN (Merit) and BA (Hons) degrees and is a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
To find out more about The RO Group visit their website.
