Sun 1 Jun 2008
June
Rydon Construction has appointed David Francis as its new head of partnerships. His key responsibilities will be for the development of the housing related business and the managing of the delivery of regeneration schemes. Francis is a chartered valuation surveyor with an MA in Local Economic development and in addition to his practical experience of Housing Association development has a wealth of central government policy experience.Rydon Construction's managing director, Malcolm Pollard, commented: "David comes into the business with a wealth of related experience. Increasingly, as public sector tendering becomes more complex, our industry will need to hire people like David who have that specialist knowledge gained by working within the public sector at the highest levels."
Prior to joining Rydon, Francis was head of development for East Thames Housing Association.
"I believe passionately that the quality of housing and the environs can play an enormous role in determining peoples' life chances," said Francis. "Working for Rydon I know that I can take that belief into my daily work and help build better homes for people."
Community contractor Durkan Limited has promoted Ian Cresswell as director of Health, Safety and Environmental Management. In his new role, Cresswell will ensure that health, safety and environmental management will continue to be at the forefront of all projects the Company undertakes.Cresswell joined Durkan Limited seven years ago as Group Health and Safety Manager and in that time has achieved an average annual decline in the reportable yearly accident rate of two per cent.
Robert Clark, managing director of Durkan Limited comments: "Throughout his time at Durkan Limited, Ian has consistently delivered the highest standards in health and safety and proactively applied the Company's commitment to environmental issues in many creative ways. This appointment recognises Ian's contribution to the progress we have achieved in each of these disciplines and the necessity for continuous improvement in future years."
Property advisor Savills has appointed David Cliff as an associate in the planning department. The appointment brings the team up to ten people, which has more than doubled in the last two years.
Cliff joins Savills from his position as development control manager at Elmbridge Borough Council. He has ten years' experience working in various local authority planning roles since completing his MSc in Urban Planning.
His new role will include coordinating planning applications and appeals, negotiating with local authorities on development schemes and providing advice on the planning process.
He said: "I look forward to applying my knowledge and experience in public sector planning to a wide range of projects."
Carolyn Puddicombe, director of planning at Savills' Bristol office, added:
"We are growing quickly and advising on planning applications for some major projects across South West England and I'm sure David will be a huge asset to the team."
Lisa Bennett has rejoined Deeley Homes after moving back to the region following a year in the north west of England.She spent a two-year stint within the sales and marketing area of the firm - helping the Coventry Business Park-based company to sell out developments in the Warwickshire area.
Deeley Homes is now expanding its portfolio across the Midlands and Bennett's return has come at the ideal time with new developments underway in Northamptonshire and Leicestershire as well as existing schemes in Rugby, Nottingham, Coventry and Oldbury.
Sue Green, Deeley Homes managing director, said: "We are delighted to have Lisa back.
"Her track record with the company was excellent and now that we are growing across the region, it is great news to have her on board again to assist in that expansion."
Bennett originally joined Deeley Homes in 2005 from the Birmingham office of King Sturge where she had been based for two years following a move from the Worcester office of Knight Frank.
She said: "It's good to be back and while the surroundings have changed, the principles of the company remain the same."
Derby-based housing provider Derwent Living has appointed Peter McCormack as its new chief executive. McCormack, 51, takes the top job at Derwent Living after being chief executive of Acton Housing Association (London and the South East), part of the Dominion Housing Group, where he was also group operations director. He replaces John Martin who is retiring after 29 years at the helm.
Having had a 30-year experience in a range of sectors including local government, roles within the Housing Corporation and 15 years with housing associations, McCormack moves north to head up Derwent Living and oversee its future development.
McCormack said: "Derwent Living's reputation is one of the main attractions for me to join the organisation. It's a strong regional player - particularly strong in the East and West Midlands, but now expanding significantly further north and into the southern areas such as Milton Keynes.
He added that as government signalled housing associations should be more commercial, it was important for Derwent Living to continue to raise funds from schemes such as outright sale, student accommodation and part-buy part-rent.
"Housing associations need to reap the rewards of commercial ventures including potentially outright sale and office developments to cross subsidise and support our main business," he said. "Social rented housing and associated community development will remain at the centre of what Derwent does."
Nick Ebbs, the chief executive of East Midlands property regeneration partnership Blueprint, has joined the commercial committee of Derwent Living.
A chartered surveyor, Ebbs was one of the founder members of the firm of surveyors Innes England and was a director of Black Horse Commercial (Midlands Division). He has had 25 years' experience working on many of the major urban regeneration and development projects in the Midlands, which include City Challenge, Coalfields renaissance and the Government's Sustainable Communities Plan.
He said of his appointment: "There were several reasons for me wanting to be involved with Derwent Living. Firstly, I felt it was about giving something back. Secondly, now that housing associations like Derwent Living are having to become more commercial, because of my experience, this is an area where I can add real value.
Bernard Ainsworth OBE FCIOB has joined the construction team of the Sellar Property Group, leading the construction of the £2 billlion London Bridge Quarter, that includes the 72-storey Shard.Commenting on his new appointment as project managing director of this regeneration scheme, he said:
"The opportunity to lead the construction of what I believe to be Europe's most exciting development projects was irresistible. Seeing London Bridge Quarter to completion will be one of the most stimulating periods of my entire career."
Ainsworth has had a long and distinguished career in the construction industry. Over the past 40 years he has led delivery teams on a wide range of high profile projects that includes the Millennium Dome, Manchester's 2002 Commonwealth Games as well as Manchester's tram system enhancement programme.
Irvine Sellar, Chairman of Sellar Property Group, said: " We are absolutely delighted to have attracted one of the construction industry's leading builders to lead what we believe to be Britain's most prestigious regeneration project. He has a superlative track record of delivering large and complicated construction projects on time and within budget."
York-based homebuilder Shepherd Homes has appointed a regional sales manager responsible for its 14 developments across Yorkshire and the North East.Tracy Iles has joined the company from Persimmon Homes where she was field sales manager. Prior to working in homebuilding, Iles worked in airline customer service for over 19 years.
At Shepherd Homes, Iles is responsible for managing the homebuilder's sales team across its existing and forthcoming sites throughout the North of England. The role involves ensuring that the customer experience from first visiting a Shepherd Homes' development through to moving in is outstanding. She is also tasked with managing the company's aftercare programme to ensure continued customer satisfaction
Commenting on her appointment, she said:
"I have a great sales team and they all share my desire to further enhance Shepherd Homes' already strong reputation throughout the North. The company has tremendous heritage, and our experience also sets us apart and is something that homebuyers find reassuring."
Shepherd Homes has over 100 years' experience of homebuilding and is part of the family-owned Shepherd Building Group which employs 3,500 people and has an annual turnover exceeding £600m.
David Smith, Shepherd Homes' sales and marketing director, said:
"Tracy's energy and excitement about Shepherd Homes and our products means we have a highly motivated sales team. When potential homebuyers come into contact with the company they immediately receive excellent levels of service and our objective is to keep delivering throughout the sales process and beyond. We are certain that Tracy will enable us to achieve that goal."
Leicestershire Business of the Year, Westleigh Developments Ltd has appointed Steve Orwin as procurement surveyor joining their Procurement and Estimating team.Orwin has over 17 years experience within the construction industry in varying roles from quantity surveying to buying.
Chris Beighton, managing director for Westleigh said, "Steve has an excellent and well rounded knowledge of the construction industry and will be responsible for estimating and ordering all site related materials. His wealth of experience is sure to be a great asset to the firm, allowing him to really excel in his role and I am glad to welcome him to the Westleigh family."
Orwin, 35, commented, "Westleigh is a small and family orientated business, and it was this that initially attracted me to the company. I am looking forward to having the opportunity to become much more involved in various projects across all of the company's private and commercial divisions.
"The housebuilding industry is becoming ever more competitive and most companies are looking to be different from the norm, whilst sourcing materials at the best price and it is very exciting to be involved in this area of the business at this time.
Knight Frank is expanding its residential development division with the appointment of Matthew Lindley, who joins on the graduate training scheme.Lindley, a graduate of The University of the West of England, where he completed a Masters in Planning with Property Development and a BA Hons in Property Development and Planning, joins the residential team as graduate surveyor.
After a minimum of two years of training with Knight Frank, Matthew will undergo his Assessment of Professional Competence (APC), in the Planning and Development Pathway of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) which on completion qualifies him as surveyor and fully accredited member of the RICS.
Tina Taylor, head of Residential Development, said: "Knight Frank recognises the importance of recruiting talented graduates. We believe that they are the future of the company and as a result we are happy to support them and invest in their training. We welcome Matthew on board and we are looking forward to working with him."
Posted by Show House
in Bernard Ainsworth, Carolyn Puddicombe, Chris Beighton, David Cliff, David Francis, Deeley Homes, Derwent Living, Durkan Limited, East Thames Housing Association, Ian Cresswell, Irvine Sellar, Knight Frank, Lisa Bennett, Malcolm Pollard, Matthew Lindley, Movers and Shakers, Nick Ebbs, Persimmon Homes, Peter McCormack, Robert Clark, Rydon Construction, Savills, Sellar Property Group, Shepherd Homes, Steve Orwin, Sue Green, Tracy Iles, Westleigh Developments on Sun 1 Jun 2008