NEXT WEEK | East Yorkshire Development Update
Bolster your knowledge of the Northern property scene with Place’s East Yorkshire Development Update, where you’ll hear from Hull City Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Homes England, HBD, Muse, and more.
One year on from appointing an elected Mayor, what has really changed? Has local leadership accelerated growth, unlocked opportunity, and reshaped development ambitions across the region? We’ll explore the tangible impact, the political landscape, and what it means for investors, developers, and businesses on the ground.
Meanwhile, Hull’s ambitious City Centre Vision – first previewed at our 2025 event – is moving from concept to reality. What progress has been made? What projects are gaining pace? And what opportunities are emerging as city centre regeneration plans take shape?
Join industry leaders, decision-makers, and key stakeholders for insight, clarity, and forward-looking discussion. If you want to stay ahead of policy, investment, and development in East Yorkshire, this is the room to be in.
East Yorkshire Development Update is sponsored by ABP and will be held from 8am until noon on Thursday 14 May. Breakfast and lunch are included.
Click here to view the full agenda
Expert speakers confirmed to date
Tom Bridges, regional director, Homes England
Tom works closely with strategic authorities, local authorities, developers, and investors to turn shared housing and regeneration ambitions into real delivery. His focus is on building strong partnerships that unlock sites, overcome barriers, and accelerate the development of new homes and regeneration projects. He oversees a multidisciplinary team, working closely with national colleagues, supporting locally-led priorities, ensuring national investment and expertise are aligned with regional needs to deliver high-quality homes, regeneration, economic development, and thriving communities — helping create places people are proud to call home. Tom has extensive experience spanning 29 years in town planning, regeneration, economic development, masterplanning, and transport. He joined Homes England in March 2006 from Arup, where he was a director and UK government business leader. From 2012 to 2017, he was chief officer economy and regeneration at Leeds City Council.
Cllr Anne Handley, Leader of East Riding of Yorkshire and investment lead for HEYCA
Handley came into politics unexpectedly after retiring from a 17-year career working in further and higher education. What began as a favour for a friend turned, five years later, into her current role as Leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council — and she is proud to be the first woman to hold this position. Alongside her council responsibilities, she regularly spends time in Westminster lobbying government on key issues affecting the area. Over the past two years, Handley has worked with both Conservative and Labour governments to help secure a devolution deal for the region. She is delighted that this has now been achieved and that a Mayor is in office. Devolution will bring greater investment in skills, education, infrastructure and transport, helping to secure a stronger future for East Riding.
Richard Beason, head of investment, Humber Freeport
As head of investment at Humber Freeport, Beason has the responsibility for leading on attracting investors to the Humber Freeport tax sites, promoting innovation, decarbonisation, and skills and for promoting the Humber as a great place to invest. Having held positions in both public and private sectors, most recently working in economic development for North Yorkshire Council, Beason is passionate about working in partnership with public and private stakeholders to promote Humber Freeport as a catalyst to power the region’s growth and prosperity.
Raife Gale, senior development manager for Yorkshire and North East, Muse
Muse is leading on Hull’s East Bank regeneration and housing project. Gale joined Muse in 2022 as a senior development manager and has more than a decade of development and repurposing experience working on schemes across the UK. He has experience working with funds, private equity, and public sector partners to deliver meaningful change to places. He was part of the team who helped set up Habiko, a JV between Muse, Homes England and Pension Insurance Corporation. Habiko is aimed at delivering 3,000 affordable and sustainable homes across England. Gale now sits as regional rep for Habiko, helping to implement the vehicles’ strategy across Yorkshire and North East.
Greg Lacey, head of property, Associated British Ports
The leading ports group in the UK, Associated British Ports manages a quarter of the country’s seaborne trade and supports more than half of the nation’s offshore wind farms. The company owns and operates 21 ports in Hull, Goole, Grimsby, Plymouth, Barrow, Southampton, Swansea, Cardiff, and more. ABP’s Humber ports complex handles 60m tonnes of goods and is leading on decarbonisation strategies. Lacey leads the property team and drives forward ABP’s property strategy in the Humber unlocking new growth gateways. At ABP, he is spearheading development plans across the Humber, including the 453-acre Humber International Enterprise Park (HIEP), 212 acres of which sits within the Hull East tax assisted zone.
Angela Blake, assistant director – major projects & infrastructure, Hull City Council
Blake has a wealth of experience in economic development and place regeneration gained in over 30 years in the public sector. She recently rejoined Hull from Bradford, where she led on all aspects of housing, including the new Bradford City Village, a 1,000-unit scheme in the centre of Bradford in partnership with ECF. Blake is now working with ECF on a similar 800-unit scheme on the East Bank of the River Hull along with the delivery of a variety of major projects, including schools, city centre regeneration, highways, and heritage buildings.
Cllr Paul Drake-Davis, cabinet member for regeneration and housing at Hull City Council
A member of the Liberal Democrats, Drake-Davis was elected in 2018 as a councillor for the Beverley & Newland ward in Hull, alongside the current Leader, Mike Ross. Before politics, he was working in the IT industry, which started way back with DHL in his native west London. Drake-Davis has a passion for urban regeneration, looking for inspiration and “best in class” examples from around the UK to bring back to Hull.
David Nuttall, director of industrial and logistics, HBD
Nuttall leads key projects including FREEPORT 36, a 300-acre I&L development in Goole, Yorkshire’s Wakefield Hub, and Momentum in East London. A chartered surveyor with more than 20 years’ experience across both agency and development, he brings a well-rounded, commercially focused approach to the delivery of complex industrial schemes. Throughout his career, he has successfully delivered large-scale I&L developments across the North of England. His experience spans single let manufacturing and distribution facilities through to multi-unit business parks, working across both brownfield and greenfield sites. He has a strong track record of guiding projects through the full lifecycle, from planning and delivery to leasing and disposals. Nuttall joined HBD in February 2025, having previously held roles at Tritax Symmetry, Cole Waterhouse, St. Modwen, and Knight Frank, where he built extensive expertise in the industrial and logistics sector.
Bekki Banks, inward investment project manager – Goole, Invest East Yorkshire
Banks is an experienced project manager, supporting major investment projects in the Goole area of East Yorkshire. Part of Invest East Yorkshire’s inward investment team (a department of East Riding of Yorkshire Council), she promotes the region globally, helping businesses of all sizes find suitable sites, develop infrastructure, and access grants and financial assistance. The team offers tailored support which includes liaising closely with other East Riding of Yorkshire Council departments such as planning, highways, and skills. She is passionate about showcasing East Yorkshire’s strengths and securing a prosperous future for the region’s economy. Invest East Yorkshire has attracted major corporations including Siemens Mobility, Croda, Elite Office Furniture, and many others.
Owen Plummer, associate, Purcell
Purcell has played a leading role in the large-scale Hull Maritime regeneration project, working with the council to reconnect the city with its rich maritime heritage through design and conservation. The architecture firm’s work centres on redeveloping and enhancing key historic assets such as the Hull Maritime Museum (originally a 19th-century dock office) and designing and delivering the Passivhaus-certified North End Shipyard visitor centre, one of the most energy-efficient cultural buildings in the UK, which will serve as the permanent home for the historic trawler Arctic Corsair. Additionally, Purcell’s involvement includes work on the Dock Office Chambers and the transformation of Queen’s Gardens to better link Hull’s public realm with its riverside dockland legacy.
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Analysis - Commentary
What Stretford tells us about the future of town centre regeneration
Stretford’s regeneration underscores a pivotal shift in how urban town centres are designed and delivered, guided by a people-first design approach that is actively reconnecting communities and reshaping how the town centre is experienced day to day, writes Cllr Liz Patel of Trafford Council.