New chairman for CLA Staffordshire
Piers Monckton has been elected as the new Chairman for the Staffordshire Branch of the CLA, which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses.
Piers Monckton has been elected as the new Chairman for the Staffordshire Branch of the CLA, which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses.
Piers runs the Stretton Estate, which sits between Wolverhampton and Stafford, and comprises an in-hand farm, tenanted farms and residential properties. Having spent 23 years in the City, his focus has been on the business aspects of the estate and making targeted investments to make it sustainable for future generations.
Commenting on the challenges faced by Staffordshire CLA members Piers said: “Staffordshire has been the sacrificial lamb of HS2. The scheme adversely impacts broad swathes of the county but brings precious little in the way of benefits. The CLA is continuing to campaign for reform of the compulsory purchase regime and working hard to achieve fairer compensation for those impacted”.
Piers takes a particular interest in housing, saying: “Successive governments of all colours over multiple decades have failed adequately to address the pressing social need for more housing, both for owner occupiers as well as tenants. The CLA is well placed to lobby government to change longstanding legislation that has resulted in the current situation, which is unsatisfactory for landlord, owner-occupier and tenant alike”.
A director of a number of unquoted companies, Piers is also involved in the proposals for the West Midlands Interchange north of Wolverhampton at Four Ashes – a freight interchange with warehousing and other associated development that could deliver 6-8m square feet of new rail-served warehousing and more than 6500 new jobs.
Retiring Chairman Sarah Baugh of FBC Manby Bowdler has been elected as CLA Staffordshire President.