Place on Tour: St Helens

Bringing more young people from diverse backgrounds into the built environment is crucial to building up the workforce of tomorrow. Regeneration Brainery chief executive Michele Steel and Lloyds Bank managing director for real estate and housing Caroline Snowden discussed how they are working together to accomplish this.

Without a doubt, the scale of the need for retrofit in council homes is immense. A roundtable discussion hosted by Onward Homes highlighted ways we can tackle the problem.

Ways to shape the built environment for climate change – that was the focus of an informative roundtable discussion hosted by Hydrock.

You do not have to sacrifice sustainability when delivering affordable housing, as Salford City Council, Identity Consult, and PRP Architects have proven at Irwell Valley.

Thomas Pearson, partner in JMW’s commercial real estate team, said the recent relaxation of rules on converting buildings is being viewed positively by the market but needs to be carefully monitored.

Drees & Sommer UK director James Ryan discussed decarbonising public estates and the UK’s approach to infrastructure at the property expo.

Place North West caught up with property lender Together’s Elliot Vure at MIPIM, where he highlighted how developers and entrepreneurs can make the most of market potential.

What does devolution mean for those looking to do business and invest in Greater Manchester? That was the focus of Place North West’s MIPIM panel session on Thursday at the Manchester stand.

JMW’s head of construction, Neil Armstrong, provided a brief health check of the sector, sounding off on the difficulties facing its future and current trends.

A host of impactful regeneration schemes and increasing investor appetite in Wigan indicate it is a town on the up.

Alliance Investments spoke to Place North West at MIPIM about how investors can get the biggest bang for their buck when it comes to buying property.

Culture packs an economic punch – so how do we leverage that to create better communities? Place North’s MIPIM breakfast event brought together representatives from Manchester, Liverpool, and Belfast for a discussion about this important topic.

With around £185m to deploy, the public sector-owned development debt provider supports projects with strong regeneration and environmental focuses.

Three of the not-for-profit’s young ambassadors are attending the international property expo in Cannes, learning more about the industry, growing their network, and also making the case for diversity.

Wigan Council is laying the groundwork for development in the borough, putting down the infrastructure that will enable the delivery of a series of prime sites, according to director of place Aidan Thatcher and commercial developments service manager Hayley Fielden.

Civic Engineers chief executive Stephen O’Malley discussed at the global property conference how holistically exploring the interaction of different networks can help the cities of tomorrow to stand the test of time.

With the Building Safety Act fully coming into force next month, Project Four managing director Alan Robson spent his time in Cannes making sure the industry was up to speed on the newest regulations.

Citing a prolific pipeline of homes, offices, community spaces, and even a new interchange, Stockport Council’s Caroline Simpson and Paul Richards elaborated on why this year all eyes should be on the borough.

The local authority’s chief executive, Tom Stannard, sat down with Place North West to discuss what the next chapter of the city’s history will look like.