Paul Houghton, a chartered town planner with extensive professional experience has been appointed as director and Head of Planning at DM Hall, one of Scotland’s leading independent firms of chartered surveyors. He will be based in the firm’s Bridge of Allan though his remit is Scotland-wide.

A member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (MRTPI), Paul has 26 years’ experience in a wide range of planning disciplines in both the public and private sectors and has worked at a senior level in town and country planning in Scotland for 17 years.

He said: “I am very pleased to have been appointed as Head of Planning at DM Hall and look forward greatly to assisting our clients, old and new to understand, address and resolve the planning issues which might stand in the way of their achieving their commercial objectives.”

Before joining DM Hall, Paul ran his own planning consultancy, Houghton Planning Ltd, and earlier worked at a senior level for two planning consultancies in Glasgow, in housebuilding in Scotland, and as a planning consultant and in local government, in England.

Gordon King, Partner of DM Hall’s country department said: “Paul’s appointments reflects further our overall aim to offer to all our clients the best professional advice available anywhere in Scotland.

“Paul is a consummate professional who is already making an impact on both the quality and the speed of response of our planning function.”