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Professor Michael Benfield PhD
FCIB FRICS FCMI FASI FGS FFB MCIM MIE AIPS ACEA AIWSc
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- Doctor of European Planning & Property Development
- Professor of Research & Scholarship in Civil and Construction Engineering
- Freeman of the City of Coventry as a Carpenter and Builder
- Built the first private Timber Frame housing project in 1960's and 70's
- Served as Board Director of Property Investment and Health Care PLC's
- Advisor to the Board of Trustees of the Walter Segal Self-Build Trust
- Member of the Faculty of Building's select Low Cost Housing Committee
- Written on property development and planning issues from a futurological, environmental and social equity perspective
- Extensive knowledge of European land tenure, planning, housing and property development
- Chairman of the UKTFA's Construction Industry Training Committee
- Board Member of the New Homes Marketing Board
- One of the four co-founders of The Green Party
- Won various National Housing and Civic Trust Awards
- Founded a substantial firm of contractors and house-builders
- Developed a multi-office practice of surveyors, valuers and estate agents
- Served as a board Director of an Advertising Agency
- Delegate to UNCTAD for the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council
- Founder Member of the Community Land Trust
- Respected Academic Researcher
- Chartered Building Consultant, Chartered Surveyor & Chartered Builder
- Addressed conferences in Australia, Canada, India, and most of the EU
Having grown up ‘on the tools’ with timber mills, joinery, carpentry and building, Professor Benfield founded a substantial firm of contractors and house-builders before developing a multi-office practice of surveyors, valuers and estate agents (rather innovative at the time).After winning national housing and Civic Trust awards for innovative housing, in the mid 1960’s, he built the first private development of timber-framed houses in the Midlands
His academic research and consultancy involvements span the EU, Central Europe and the former Soviet Union, giving him an enviable understanding of land, property and housing markets, issues and regulations.
He has served on many boards and committees including an advertising agency, property-related plc’s, and professional bodies. He has been a delegate to UNCTAD for the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council, a Founder Member of the Community Land Trust, and advisor to the trustees of the Walter Segal Self-Build Trust, which promotes the use of timber frame structures for low-cost self-build housing and other community structures. As a member of the Faculty of Building’s prestigious Low Cost Housing Committee he presaged many of the sustainable building issues now coming to the fore.He is one of the four co-founders of what is now the international Green Party and movement.
Renowned within the timber-frame industry, Professor Benfield is a frequent speaker at environmental, timber, construction and housing-orientated events, nationally and internationally.He is former chair of the UK TFA’s Construction Industry Training Committee and currently serves as a board member of the national New Homes Marketing Board, the Home Builder’s Federation (Wales) executive, the Wales Forest Business Partnership and Wood Knowledge Wales, which he chairs.
He is also managing director of the Benfield ATT Group (Advanced Timber-Frame Technology), Chartered Building Consultants and Chartered Surveyors, who design, manufactures and build engineered timber frame structures for housing, schools, leisure, hospitality, health care, etc. and provide ‘one stop’ professional services for timber-frame projects.
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