The House Builders Federation has shed at least five staff in a major shake-up of its role.

The departure of five individuals from its thirty-strong staff follows an internal strategic review completed on 11 March.

The “review into how the HBF does things” led to changes aimed at improving the way the HBF addresses its members.

The highest profile departure is the federation’s director of communications, Pierre Williams, who has long been the public face of the HBF.

It is understood that a new communications manager and deputy chief executive will be sought. In the meantime, press relations are to be handled by the HBF’s director of external affairs, John Slaughter.

Slaughter said: “The fact that some are leaving does not mean there is a downsizing of the organisation. We're restructuring in the light of the review process, but we're not necessarily going to change our head count."

The other departures have hit the trade body’s offices in York and Birmingham, with two redundancies being made in each. The review means that the Birmingham office now only has one member of staff, planning adviser Carol Muston.

One HBF source said: “What’s happened is that a number of the positions we dealt with are now at head office. It’s not a cost-cutting exercise, but a review into how the HBF does things.

“The review was prompted by the HBF needing to be more responsive to the wishes of its members. Some people have felt we could be more proactive.”