Midlands Development Conference

The Midlands Engine APPG – Jane Stevenson MP, MP for Wolverhampon North East and Vice Chair

The Midlands Engine APPG works to bring together MPs and Peers in the Midlands to promote regional economic growth and development, raising awareness of aims and objectives of the Midlands Engine Partnership and providing a forum to support those ambitions and projects. She has been a strong advocate for regeneration and inclusive growth in the Midlands and will lend her expertise to the opening session.

Godwin Developments – Stephen Pratt, Co-Founder

Godwin Group are one of the most active developers in the Midlands with a portfolio of over £1billion in their development pipeline. They are currently working on a host of residential and commercial projects in the region including a 100+ housing scheme and a 783-bed student development in Nottingham, a large mixed-use scheme in Worcester, two residential developments in Derby and a host of commercial projects such as petrol filling stations, drive thrus and food-to-go units for well-known brands.

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council – Helen Martin, Chief Officer of Regeneration and Enterprise

With over £1bn set to be spent on capital schemes lead by the council and their partner developers in the coming ten years, Helen is at the forefront of plans to deliver a world class place. As part of this conference she leads our audience through details for each project, prospective future sites for regeneration and how the built environment can get involved in delivering economic change for the region.

Birmingham City Council – Cllr Ian Ward, Leader

Emerging from the success of the Commonwealth Games, it’s an exciting time to live and work in Birmingham. As the city undergoes multiple regeneration projects such as the 20 year £700m Perry Barr masterplan or a city centre which places active travel at its heart, over £300m of other schemes across the city are also coming forward in 2023. Cllr Ward joins our event to ponder the future of the city and how to create healthier, smarter greener places.

Midlands Connect – Karen Heppenstall, Head of Rail

Midlands Connect are one of the organisations leading the charge on creating a sustainable transport and infrastructure in the Midlands with one of their flagship schemes being the £3.5bn Midlands Engine Rail programme. Karen joined Midlands Connect as Head of Rail in April 2021 and has already influenced the shape of the Strategy Refresh published in late in 2021 and is working closely with senior colleagues at Network Rail and DfT to address current challenges in the region and will join the conference to discuss their role in creating tomorrow’s net zero Midlands.

Watkin Jones – Ben Wrighton, Strategic Planning Director

Watkin Jones are one of the Midland’s most active developers with several major schemes in the works. Their 550 apartment BtR scheme in Birmingham City Centre was recently given planning permission and will be there largest such project to date. They are also one of the drivers behind the region’s PBSA boom and are planning a 360 bed scheme in Nottingham. Ben will discuss these schemes and the role Watkin Jones have to play in the Midlands’ continuing growth.

Derby City Council – Rachel North, Director of Communities and Place

Derby City Council are moving forward with their 2030 Masterplan which will create 4,000 jobs, leverage £3.5 billion of investment and the development of 1,900 city centre homes. Rachel will give an update on the masterplan, as well as how the council are supporting landmark projects including the £200 million Becketwell regeneration scheme.

Apsley House Capital – Robin Norstrom, Director

Apsley House Capital are leading professionals in the property sector who aim to promote urban living by expanding and regenerating city centres.  Working in partnership with Galliard Homes, Apsley House Capital is currently working to deliver £500 million worth of regeneration and development in Birmingham City Centre. The Galliard Apsley partnership is overseeing five major developments in Birmingham with The Timber Yard to be the first development completed by Q4 2021. In total the schemes will amount to approximately 2,250 new homes to be delivered by The Galliard Apsley Partnership over the coming years.

Make it Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire – Caroline Mairs, Head of Investment

The Make it Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Investment Services team provides a tailor-made service for businesses relocating and expanding in the area.

We create new jobs, build and expand local businesses and attract new investment and development projects. The team work to help Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire make its mark by showcasing its productivity, liveability, and opportunities.

If you don’t know much about us, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire is a major UK growth opportunity and a diverse place for your business with high ambition. We have urban centres, manufacturing towns, historic market towns, large areas of rural land and areas of outstanding natural beauty including the Peak District National Park. At the heart of the country and on the doorstep of two major urban conurbations, with fast and regular connections to London and to the rest of the country.

Network Rail – Steven Ireland, Head of Stations, Security and Customer Relationship Management

Network Rail are currently delivering a £1.5bn investment as part of their Midland mainline upgrade which will enable a plethora of economic growth. As part of the session, Steven will deliver an update of their work while also talking through a few key case studies on where they are working with regional stakeholders to unlock regeneration.

Cundall – Belinda Morgan, Partner

Cundall is a leading multi-disciplinary engineering design consultancy built on sound ethical principles with sustainability at the heart of everything they do. They are the world’s first consultancy to be formally endorsed as a One Planet Company by sustainability charity Bioregional and achieved carbon neutrality in September 2020.

Belinda is a chartered mechanical engineer and Partner in Cundall’s Birmingham office. She has over 30 years’ experience working within the industry and is heavily involved in the logistics sector at Cundall. With a strong focus on net zero carbon, she is keen to expand the knowledge and advancements from other sectors into the logistics sector and offer clients cost effective solutions for reducing carbon emissions in line with government guidance.

MEPC – Ross Fittall, Senior Development Manager

Developer MEPC is advancing phase 2 of the £700m Paradise Birmingham scheme which includes a 17 storey hotel and a 10 storey office building that features a sky bar for panoramic views of the city. They are an important component of Birmingham city centre regeneration and Ross joins the conference to talk about this scheme and MEPC’s other ambitions across the Midlands.

Public Sector PLC – Kate Howe, Development Director

As experts in asset management, development and regeneration through working with local authorities across the UK, Kate Howe is looking forward to chairing the conversations of the day and will be on hand to talk about how Public Sector Plc partnership model has the capability to unlock development and economic growth across the Midlands

Placefirst – David Mawson, Chief Executive

With a rapidly growing number of UK wide developments in the pipeline, Placefirst are growing their property portfolio in a major way in 2021. Whether it being a main development partner in the £1bn Bolton masterplan or their £65m Wolverampton city centre housing scheme, David will detail all of their ambitions as part of the event.

Urban Growth Company – Sue Barrett, Chief Operating Officer

Supported by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and the West Midlands Combined Authority , the Urban Growth Company is a critical catalyst for growth, ensuring that ambitions for the HS2 Interchange site are fully realised by coordinating investment plans and growth opportunities. Sue will give an update on their key project – The Hub, which will create 8,000 homes, 70,000 new and supported jobs and over 650,000 sq ft of commercial space.

Severn Trent – Uma Shanker, Programme Director – Capital Delivery and Design

Severn Trent are set to invest £565m on 24 capital projects across the Midlands as part of the water company’s commitment to support nationwide green recovery plans. This investment into the region will see them lead the way in the water sector by delivering several UK firsts including new, innovative trials to reduce the risk of flooding, increased water supplies and transformed stretches of river; allied to the scheme will be the creation of 2500 new jobs.

West Midlands Rail Executive – Amanda White, Rail Programme Director

More information to follow.

Coventry City Council – Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Councillor

As one of the senior voices behind the proposed £2bn West Midlands Gigafactory, Cllr O’Boyle joins the event to give delegates an exclusive update on one of the most important projects for the whole of the UK. With a preferred site confirmed at Coventry Airport, the council believe 4500 high quality jobs could be created from the scheme, notwithstanding the opportunity for supply chain during construction.

Meecebrook Garden Community – Michelle Smith, Strategic Project Manager

Announced as a concept in December 2022, Meecebrook Garden Community hopes to deliver 6000 badly needed homes across several asset classes in Stafford. Plans also include a new school, major healthcare hub and green infrastructure and if approved will take shape over the next 17 years. Michelle joins the event to talk about some of the challenges faced in getting the project moving and anticipated key milestones ahead.

Highways England – Jason Hones, Regional Delivery Director

Highways England have £780m of major projects in the works across the Midlands including the £282m M42 Junction 6 plans and the £500m A46 Newark upgrade, Simon and his team are entering a busy few years. As part of the event, Jason will detail specifics of each project while also talking about working with the supply chain in partnership on new innovations, zero carbon roads, and the digital agenda.

Built Environment Networking – Amanda Griffiths, Director

Amanda is one of the Co-Founder’s of Built Environment Networking – formed almost 10 years ago.

She’ll be hosting throughout the day, running the days proceedings and managing the interaction between our delegates and the speakers.

Leicester City Council – Andrew Smith, Director of Planning, Transportation and Economic Development

Leicester City Council is at the forefront of major investment and regeneration across the region. The city is one of 133 council-led projects across the country to successfully receive a share of the Housing Infrastructure Fund, aiming to develop homes at a much quicker pace. Recently work has begun on a 321-acre major house building development, Ashton Green that will see a mixed-use development of up to 3000 homes and 24.7 acres of employment land. In addition to this the council has also been awarded a further £10 million in government funding to develop a highway system to maximise the accessibility to this development.

Staffordshire County Council – Anthony Hodge, Assistant Director for Business and Enterprise

More information to follow.

Built Environment Networking – Fahmida Nisa, Host & Event Manager

Nisa is a research, marketing and content specialist at Built Environment Networking. She will be hosting a number of the sessions throughout the day, running the day’s proceedings and managing the interaction between our virtual delegates and the speakers.

Woods Hardwick – Paul Woods, Planning Director

Paul Woods is a Planning Director at Woods Hardwick with responsibility for leading the Birmingham Planning Team from the Company’s Birmingham office in Fort Dunlop.  He has over 30 years’ experience of town planning gained in both the public and private sectors. As a consultant in the private sector, Paul has been involved in a wide range of planning and development schemes including large scale infrastructure projects, town centre redevelopment schemes, commercial and residential schemes and conservation and listed building projects.

Turner & Townsend – Mark Lyddon, Director, Infrastructure Regional Lead (Midlands)

Mark leads Turner & Townsend’s diverse, high performing and ambitious Central South Infrastructure Team. At the heart of the UK, the team have a wide ranging and exciting Client base, working on the region’s best projects and programmes. Working as one integrated team across service disciplines, the opportunity to make improvements to society and the environment in the region are incredible.

Significant experience of working in the infrastructure sector encompassing water, aviation, highways, rail, air and marine sectors, both for contracting and consulting organisations.

A considerable experience of leading and working within integrated teams on major programmes of work. Has been involved in the strategy and procurement of several capital delivery frameworks and supported their commercial maturity post contract through partnering and collaborative working arrangements. This work has been predominantly on actual cost, incentivised contracts, supporting various clients in a co-located and partnering approach.

Over twenty years experience using NEC based contracts and has provided internal and external NEC practitioner training. Has seen the benefits of incentivised and partnering contracts but also experienced many of the associated risks and challenges.

Early career experience gained working with contracting organisations has proved invaluable when establishing and delivering cost verification strategies.

Significant experience of unit cost data capture systems used for estimating and benchmarking of capital costs, operational costs for whole life costing and carbon accounting.

Experience and responsibilities as a Director, mentor and coach has developed strong skills in team leadership, personnel management, business unit finance, office administration, customer care and business development and planning.

Specialties:
NEC, partnering and incentivised contracts
Developing & supporting large Captial Delivery Programmes.
Pre & post contract commercial strategies and delivery.
Reviewing, identifying & implementing Captial Delivery Efficiencies.
Contract & Actual Cost Assurance.
Framework strategy & procurement.
Data collection, storage, analysis & utilisation.
Working in a collaborative and progressive environments.