Northern Powerhouse Development Conference; In association with Clear Futures

Transport for the North – Martin Tugwell, Chief Executive

Considering the major alterations made to Northern Powerhouse Rail and the cancellation of the Eastern leg of HS2, Northern leaders will use 2022 to make a renewed and concerted push for deserved investment in infrastructure. Martin joins the event to set out next steps for TfN after the recently announced Integrated Rail Plan confirmed £54 billion of spending for the Midlands and North which will include the HS2 line between Crewe and Manchester, a new highspeed line between Warrington, Manchester and Yorkshire and a West Yorkshire Mass Rapid Transit System – with an initial £200 million committed to get the project off the ground.

Muse – Phil Mayall, Regional Director

With more than £3.5bn pipeline in projects across the North including Salford and Stockport, Muse are a key driver of responsible growth and development in the region. Sustainability is one of their core focuses and the £1bn Salford Central scheme, and the £2.5bn Salford Crescent Masterplan they are bringing forward alongside the English Cities Fund are designed to be exemplars of sustainable development. Muse are also heavily involved with the ongoing transformation of Stockport, partnering with the council on the place-changing £145m Stockport Exchange scheme. Phil will discuss how their developments are contributing towards a sustainable and inclusive Greater Manchester and Northern Powerhouse.

Harworth Group – Lynda Shillaw, Chief Executive

Harworth Group is a leading land and property regeneration company in the UK, owning and managing over 15,000 acres on approximately 100 sites in the North of England and the Midlands. The group has a wide array of major projects in the pipeline, securing planning consents for 9,355 residential plots and over 9 million sq ft of commercial space. Schemes include, the £350m Shottle Garden Village, a £181m employment park in Lynemouth and a 1,000 home development on the site of the former Ironbridge Power Station in Telford.

National Highways – David Haimes, Regional Investment Programme Director

David joins us to outline National Highways’ strategy for the North of England and will share details of some of their key projects which will include £1bn upgrades to the A66, the £290 million dualling of the A1 above Morpeth and the £250+ million upgrades to the M62. He will also discuss their ambitious plan to put roads at the heart of Britain’s net zero future.

Manchester City Council – Cllr Bev Craig, Leader

Manchester is thriving and is at the start of its next era of investment and development. Pledging to make the city a more inclusive place to live and work, Bev is leading on the charge to implement the vision she set out in 2022. Bev joins the conference to talk about some of the projects that the council are keen to move forward with in the coming year including Gorton Town Centre regeneration and the 1500 home Wythenshawe vision.

Hull City Council – Cllr Daren Hale, Leader

Hull and the Humber have several nationally leading Net Zero and Green Energy projects coming to the fore, its an exciting time to live in East Yorkshire. Ranging from the £186m upgrade to the Alexandra Dock site by Siemens to the Humber Hydrogen Strategy which will bring together Equinor, Uniper and other major stakeholders to decarbonise industry and provide clean energy, Darren joins the event to showcase forthcoming green regeneration schemes that his team are promoting and pioneering.

Maple Grove Developments – Karen Hirst, Managing Director

Maple Grove Developments were chosen to partner Lancashire County Council on the massive ‘Lancashire Central’ development which is expected to generate over 2,000 jobs. Industrial developments form a large part of the scheme as well as research and development, retail and leisure hubs. Aside from those plans, Maple Grove are also active across the north of England delivering industrial schemes in Yorkshire and the North West and Karen will be on hand to give insight into these schemes and how they will create future ‘place’ in the north.

Leeds City Council – Cllr James Lewis, Leader

Leeds City council have been undertaking a significant programme of investment to support regeneration not only in the city centre but in the outlying suburbs and in 2022 and beyond this is set to continue. With Vastint’s 20 acre Aire Park regeneration, a 1 million sq ft new hospital and a major new innovation district, there is nearly £4bn of major works planned for the city centre as well as the planned £2bn West Yorkshire Mass Transit System. The city is also leading the way with its Housing Growth Programme, which will see the development of 1500 new social homes over the next five years. James joins the event to detail how Leeds is coming together with wider Northern leaders to press forward with levelling up the North.

Northumbria University – Simon Newitt, Chief Financial Officer

Simon is the Chief Financial Officer at Northumbria University where he leads the University’s Campus Commercial team, as well as the overall responsibility for the University’s financial performance and control. The University supports 28,000 students and shapes the region’s economic landscape with its campus development supporting the regeneration of Newcastle and Gateshead. He will discuss the University’s contribution to the region’s economy and future development plans.

Newcastle College Group – Liz Bromley, Chief Executive Officer

Newcastle College Group is one of the UK’s largest college and training groups, and the first FE institution to be awarded Taught Degree Awarding Powers. With two campuses in the region they support 17,500 students in the North East and contribute to the region’s economy through the creation of jobs and skills. Liz will bring an education perspective to the conversation around potential devolution as well as discussing the contribution the sector can make to future inclusive growth and development.

The Growth Company/GC Business – Andrew Toolan, Senior Consultant

In their role as one the largest providers of business support, skills and employment services in the country, The Growth Company has been levelling-up communities throughout their 30-year history. In this session they’ll highlight the work they’re doing to enable growth and create jobs. In addition, they’ll talk about the role of GC Business – a relatively new part of the Growth Company, tasked with expanding the groups national offer, and how businesses and localities can benefit from working with them.

York St John University – Professor Karen Bryan, Vice Chancellor

Professor Karen Bryan joined York St John University as Vice Chancellor in April 2020, having previously held leadership roles at The University of Greenwich and Sheffield Hallam University. The University is expanding significantly as part of its Strategy 2026, and will grow to at least 10,000 students over the next 5 years from its current total of around 5,500. It is also planning to grow its role as an anchor institution at the leading edge of the intellectual, economic and social prosperity of the city of York and wider region.

University of Leeds – Professor Jeff Grabill, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Student Education

Professor Grabhill has been a Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Leeds since August 2021 when he joined from Michigan State University. The University is a major driver of economic growth in the region, creating the equivalent of 6,600 full time jobs, supporting more than 14,000 in total when supply chain and expenditure is taken into account. The University has also created over 100 spin out companies, with a capitalisation in excess of £500m and seven listed on AIM, more than any other in the UK. Professor Grabhill will discuss the University’s contribution to the Northern Powerhouse Economy through its creation of skills, jobs and more.

Tees Valley Combined Authority – Julie Gilhespie, Group Chief Executive

Julie is Chief Executive for both the Tees Valley Combined Authority and South Tees Development Corporation – the organisation set up to bring forward the 4,500 acre Teesworks Mayoral Development Corporation Area, the UK’s largest Freeport. The project has net-zero at its heart and one of its key components is Net Zero Teesside, a Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage project which will capture 10million tonnes of CO2 per year – the equivalent of three million homes, decarbonising the area’s carbon-intensive businesses by as early as 2030. Julie will discuss how the Combined Authority is working to bring thousands of jobs and a large amount of investment into the region whilst contributing towards the region’s net zero goals.

Cert Property – Howard Lord, Managing Director

CERT Property are a visionary and forward thinking property development company, responsible for a slew of exciting developments in Manchester in the past couple of years. They recently announced a 30 storey community living project on Clippers Quay in Salford which will see the development of 402 apartments and a large amount of communal amenities. Their projects are known for placing an emphasis on the creation of community and neighbourhood spirit, and Howard will outline their plans to further roll out this model across the region.

Great Places Housing – Helen Spencer, Executive Director of Growth

Great Places Housing Group are one of the North’s leading social housing providers with over 24,000 homes across the North West and Yorkshire. They have ambitious plans and hope to deliver 11,000 new homes by 2030, across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Yorkshire. These will be delivered by a variety of means, with their long term relationship with Homes England and through the Bloc and Innovation Chain North West partnerships as well as their private sector development arm, Cube Great Places.

Scarborough Group International – Paul Kelly, Development Director

Scarborough Group have a number of significant schemes in the Northern Powerhouse including SGI’s flagship schemes – the next phase of Thorpe Park Leeds – a mixed-use community of 3.25m sq ft comprising high-quality business space, industrial and logistics space, retail, leisure and new homes – and Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park; a sports, health and wellbeing-focused Life Sciences Park where it is embarking on a first phase of 850,000 sq ft in partnership with Sheffield City Council. SGI are also pressing ahead with the next phases of their £1bn Middlewood Locks project in Salford and  Paul will be on hand to talk about these schemes and SGI’s other future development plans in the Northern Powerhouse.

Bruntwood – Jessica Bowles, Director of Strategy

With 2.4m of assets under management nationwide, a 5m sq ft UK pipeline and 11 different locations, Bruntwood are one of the UK’s leading place makers. Jessica joins the event to discuss upcoming ambitions for her organisation and particularly their importance to the Greater Manchester regeneration ecosystem.

Sheffield Hallam University – Professor Kevin Kerrigan, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Business and Enterprise

As Pro Vice-Chancellor for Business and Enterprise Kevin has responsibility for the University’s diverse relationships with business, the UK’s leading Degree Apprenticeship offer and their thriving student and graduate enterprise activities. Kevin has been instrumental in the University’s new Civic University Agreement which sets out their commitment to the region’s economy and jobs, and support for a stronger, greener and fairer region. Professor Kerrigan will also provide an update on the university’s 20 year, £800 million campus masterplan including three newly announced buildings to be developed on the city centre campus.

Green Economy – Amy House, Director

Citu – Jonathan Wilson, Managing Director

Citu are leading the way on sustainable development in the region with their Climate Innovation District on the river Aire in Leeds which is set to deliver over 1,000 new low-carbon, timber framed homes underpinned by leisure, offices, a primary school, care home and a factory where the buildings are manufactured. As development director Jonathan will be well placed to discuss how we can create a greener, smarter and healthier West Yorkshire whilst also updating on the next phases of their £800 million investment in Leeds.

Stantec – Susan Emmett, Head of Stakeholder Engagement and Market Insight

Susan works across Stantec UK to develop strategic research and stakeholder engagement programmes that reflect the evolving challenges facing society, our clients’ ambitions and the needs of communities in which we operate.

A strategy, engagement and research professional who has spent 20 years working with the property industry and government, Susan joined Stantec from Homes England where she was Head of Market Engagement and tasked with driving a more strategic and coordinated approach to partner engagement.

Before this, Susan was Head of Housing and Regeneration for the think tank Policy Exchange, and Director of Residential Research for Savills. She began her career as a Business and Financial Reporter at The Times before assuming the role of Deputy Property Editor. Throughout her career, Susan has delivered thought leadership that has been used by government and industry leaders to inform decision-making and drive new business.

IBI Group – Peter Ridley, Director

Peter is an architect with over 25 years’ experience, gained around the world through a wide range of projects and in collaboration with recognised leaders of the profession. During his career, Peter has worked on mixed-use high-rise buildings, luxury homes, multi-family residential, large scale retail, cultural buildings and master planning, with sustainability and urban design key aspects of many of these schemes. Peter will reference key IBI Group regeneration and placemaking projects across the North of England including Trafford Waters, Outwood Wharf, Barnsley’s The Glass Works and Fleetwood’s master plan, and looks forward to chairing Session Five.

Mott MacDonald – Clare Wildfire, Global Practice Lead – Cities

Having led regeneration, low carbon and sustainable innovation projects across the globe, Clare now uses systemic engineering in her global leadership role to push boundaries and, most importantly, improve people’s lives. From her 30 years’ experience in the sector, originally as a building services engineer on low impact buildings, she combines her practical understanding of construction and development drivers with policy engagement, bringing insight into the technical, political, financial and behavioural aspects of sustainable development and healthy, resilient, low carbon living.  Clare is currently supporting an industry-led collaboration of infrastructure organisations supporting the UK transition to net-zero, including authoring a report ‘A place-based approach to net zero’ on the city-scale transition to net-zero which explores the challenges and opportunities facing city leaders.

AECOM – Richard Green, Director – Urban Advisory Lead

Richard’s core profession is architecture with over 28 years’ experience in master planning, strategic regeneration frameworks, large scale urban design and commercial architectural projects. As part of his roles with Clear Futures and AECOM, Richard and his team work across the UK on a number of important levelling up regeneration and development projects – supporting public sector clients in the delivery of their vision. Richard’s work relies upon a passion for placemaking, utilising the unique, inherent assets of a place to inform and guide viable, sustainable projects that align with economic reality.”

Clear Futures – Rob Holt, Director of Clear Futures and Director of Strategic Services

Rob Holt is a Group Director at Robertson and Director of Clear Futures, a strategic partnership established by Lewes and Eastbourne Council with Robertson and AECOM as their Strategic Delivery JV Partners. The partnership works together with the public sector to deliver sustainable infrastructure and services with the aim of creating low carbon societies. Robertson and AECOM work together with public sector partners to understand their requirements and long term aspirations. Robertson lead the operational and delivery side of the joint venture and in Rob’s role as a Director of the JV he is involved in setting the strategic direction of the partnership. Rob has over 35 years’ experience in various management roles across the health, education, housing and local authority sectors – he brings experience of complex property facilities management, and PPP contracts and has led and built highly talented teams.