Dr. Kelly Watson
Principal - Place Advisory
Kelly joined Hillbreak at the start of 2026 to develop and lead our Place Advisory practice with a focus on place-based social impact and social value for the property sector. She has wide-ranging experience in sustainability, social impact and placemaking, with a particular specialism in social strategy and impact assessment. She has 15 years of combined industry and academic experience in the development and application of socio-economic impact approaches for cities, anchor institution, infrastructure and built environment clients.
Kelly was, until the end of 2025, Director at Hatch where she led Social Advisory services for developer and investor clients in the UK, including Legal & General, Aviva Investors, Royal London Asset Management, Muse Places, Landsec U&I, Stanhope, Ballymore, and Peel Land. With her team, she delivers a combination of corporate level support and strategic frameworks, as well as place-based research, analysis, strategy and impact assessment for assets and development projects.
She previously completed a social value PhD at the University of Manchester partnered by Arup Buildings, and then spent several years working on smart city research and urban innovation before moving into a consulting role in Arup’s social value team for two years before joining the Urban Solutions team at Hatch.
She is the author of a number of peer reviewed publications, across both social value and post occupancy evaluation in the built environment and applying urban learning in smart cities. She has been extensively involved in working groups on social value convened by RIBA and UKGBC and is a Trustee of the Quality of Life Foundation.
Kelly holds a PhD in the application of social value measurement methodologies to buildings and places, an MSc in Environmental Governance, and a BSc in Geography, all from the University of Manchester.
Outside of work, Kelly is an enthusiastic gardener who continues to learn by trial and error, and enjoys spending time with her young family in Stockport.
