AMANDA Piper has joined Morton Fisher as a legal executive in the wills and probate division of the firm's Worcester office.

The former pupil of Christopher Whitehead High School, Worcester, did her legal training in Worcester before working for Birmingham law firms Martineau Johnson and Gateley Wareing. She is now married and has returned to Worcester.

"I was keen to work locally and also develop my legal skills in another field," said Mrs Piper.

"I originally trained in debt collection and insolvency, but the chance to join Morton Fisher in the wills and probate division came just at the right time for me."

The firm has just moved to new offices in The Tything, Worcester.

n NEIL Grinnall Homes has appointed a new planning and development director to give the rapidly-expanding developer in-house expertise to lead new site acquisitions through the complex planning process.

Grant Arbuckle, 42, has more than 20 years experience in planning and development and will oversee new projects for the Droitwich-based residential developer from pre-site acquisition through to planning approval.

The New Zealander has spent the past 10 years with retirement home specialists McCarthy & Stone in the south-east and Midlands, and was most recently with Cheltenham-based Pegasus.

n THOMAS Vale Construction, based in Stourport-on-Severn, has appointed three new managers for its offices in Stourport, Birmingham, and Leicester.

Glen Schofield joins the Stourport office as a director, heading up the housing division, which specialises in new-build and stock improvement works.

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building, a Fellow of the Faculty of Building and an active member of the Constructing Excellence Programme.

Barry Sugrue joins the Birmingham office and Richard Draper the Leicester office.

The company has recently won a clutch of major Partnership Contracts on schemes throughout the Midlands region and the firm's order book currently stands at a record £100m.