West of England Development Conference; Sponsored by HGL – Commercial Construction

North Somerset Council – Lucy Shomali, Director of Development and Environment

The regeneration of Weston-super-Mare has seen over £75m invested into the town centre over the last ten years, creating a vibrant and diverse town focused around living, learning and lifestyle. Lucy will share more intel on North Somerset Council’s future regeneration plans for Weston-super-Mare and the surrounding area.

Goram Homes – Stephen Baker, Managing Director

Goram Homes is a subsidiary of Bristol Holding Ltd, which is wholly owned by Bristol City Council. They work in partnership with the private sector to build sustainable and affordable homes. The housebuilders have three major developments in the pipeline across Bristol. They are currently working in a joint venture with Vital Energi on their Castle Park Energy Centre, that will further develop the city’s low carbon heat network and deliver a new mixed-used development. Goram have also received approval for their new 268-home scheme in Lockleaze

Wildfox Resorts – Claire Pearce, Director of Planning & Economic Development

Gravity’s ‘Wildfox Resorts’ development in the Afan Valley, Port Talbot, is aiming to create over 1000 jobs in the region. Following £250 million investment , in a 50-bed hotel, spa, restaurant, viewing area, 570 lodges, biking and walking trail. Claire – director will be joining the session to discuss regeneration and revitalisation of towns, cities and valleys within Wales.

Cubex – Elgan Jones, Associate Director

Cubex have successfully delivered a number of schemes across Bristol and the West of England. The dynamic property developer and investment company has acquired and developed a wide range of commercial and residential projects with a combined value in excess of £500m. They currently have a £100m+ development pipeline throughout Bristol including a £25m logistics development, and over £80m in projects associated with the city’s Finzels Reach scheme.

Abri – Michelle Hyde, Head of Land and Planning, West

Abri’s latest development in Bristol will be at the The Old Brewery site in Southville where they will build 107 affordable homes and seven commercial units. This scheme forms part of Abri’s commitment is to deliver at least 1,000 new homes every year, and they are looking to exceed that target with this scheme. Michelle will give more details on this scheme and other developments in the West of England which will help them break 1,000 homes built per year.

Rengen Developments – Chris Birakos, Development Director

Rengen have big expansion plans for the next 12 to 18 months. Having found success with the same method after the 2008 recession, the residential and student accommodation specialist said it planned to capitalise on the current economic climate and ramp up spending – currently at £200 million in gross development value but aiming to double that. Chris will join the session to reveal more about Rengen’s expansion plans.

Grainger PLC – Isabelle Phillips, Acquisitions Manager

As the UK’s largest residential landlord Grainger and one of the biggest names in Build to Rent and have a long term pipeline of 9,000 BtR homes worth £2 billion. They are pushing ahead with a number of projects with Bristol being a key target city for Grainger. The latest project is the 231 unit scheme being developed by Cubex and Isabelle will give more intel on this scheme and Grainger’s future plans in Bristol and the wider region.

Keepmoat Homes – Dan Haines, Regional Director

Keepmoat Homes are to build 425 new residences at Parklands Village, Weston-super-Mare, making this the developer’s first venture in the area. The scheme, in partnership with Homes England, will deliver much-needed homes in the area, including 30% affordable homes, 20% accessible homes and 15% zero carbon homes, with the remainder achieving up to 80% reduction on carbon output. The homes will be built using modern methods of construction, using off-site, precision-manufactured components which will improve the efficiency and quality of the build process. Dan will give more intel on this scheme and Keepmoat’s plans for further development in the West of England.

Alliance Homes – Louise Swain, Group Chief Executive

Louise will join the panel to discuss their delivery partnership with Curo which will ensure they can continue to create more high quality affordable homes for people who need them. They recently secured a pipeline of grant funding which will support their strategy of delivering 2,000 new homes over the next ten years but with ambitions to increase that total. Louise will give more intel on these plans in the South West including schemes in North Somerset.

VU.CITY – Peter Cutler, Business Development Manager

Peter Cutler is a Business Development Manager at VU.CITY with a particular focus on England’s South East and the Midlands.

VU.CITY is a game-changing solution for urban development teams and is being used to speed up all aspects of the planning process from design concept stage right through to planning application submissions.

Their accurate 3D city models allow for collaborative virtual feasibility and visual impact studies for proposed developments across 20+ cities in the UK and internationally.

Network Rail Property – Kirsten Durie, Principal Development Manager

Network Rail are part of the proposals for more than 20,000 jobs and up to 10,000 new homes in Bristol over the next 25 years are part of a newly published “vision” for one of the biggest regeneration projects in the country. Plans to transform the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone and the industrial inner suburb of St Philip’s Marsh, are expected to bring £1.6bn to the city’s economy each year. Kirsten will discuss these the proposal and also give insight into NRP’s wider residential development plans in the West of England.

Platform Housing Group – Gerraint Oakley, Executive Director Growth and Development

Platform Housing Group are one of the UK’s most reputable registered housing providers and are in expansion mode, targeting the OxCams Arc and parts of the East of England as places that they’d like to develop within. As part of this conference, they will speak for the first time publicly about their ambitions and engage with leadership from across the built environment sector in the region about supporting them on their journey.