North West in 2019 series

Throughout December, Place North West has been publishing a series of articles by guest contributors, exploring a range of issues facing the North West property market in 2019.

Make ‘community’ your watchword

Ciara Keeling, chief executive of Bruntwood Works, explores the future of the office

Risk and reward

Kate Howe of Muse Developments discusses how developers can plan for a post-Brexit world

Mission critical

Sally-Ann Smith of Seddon considers how the construction industry can keep up with demand

Higher standards

Clayre Massey of Sheppard Robson looks at how university campuses should evolve in the future to promote good mental health among students

Streaming success

Annette McDonald of Tatton Group looks at the importance of connectivity and how 5G can help rural Britain keep connected

Don’t stay away

Zoe Hooton of Harrison Pitt Architects predicts a strong year for domestic tourism, and explores how the property sector can benefit

Survive and thrive

Caroline Baker of Cushman & Wakefield considers the changing retail market and using next year’s challenges as an opportunity to reposition town centres

Building a world-class city

Claire Slinger of Liverpool City Council discusses the ongoing transformation of Liverpool and how sustainable economic growth can be maintained

Centres of excellence

Angela Hesketh of Jackson Lees Group looks at the performance of regional city centres

Action!

Melanie Jones of Allied London explores the built environment opportunities linked to the high demand for film and television production in the UK

Sustainable future

Ashley Ashcroft of OBI writes about the rise and rise of sustainability and workplace energy efficiency

The first step

The constraints holding back local authorities from using the value of their housing stock to borrow and build new homes for local residents have been released, writes Aimee Law of Galliford Try Partnerships

Tipping point

Anna Bowes of Falconer Chester Hall takes a tour around Liverpool, taking in the plans and refurbishments in the pipeline

Raising standards

Is changing legislation the key to delivering both sustainable buildings and sustainable inner-city communities, or could rewarding tenants for good habits create a bottom-up approach, asks Kathryn Valentine of OMI Architects

Co-locating is king

Louise Kilbride of Capital & Centric considers whether co-location of businesses and universities could be the answer to tough the competition organisers are experiencing in the search for well-qualified talent

Energy transformation

Jane Gaston of Protos, part of Peel Environmental, predicts changes in the energy sector in 2019 and the impact on property

Make way for the PPP

Next year could be the year Public Private Partnerships take over from their less reputable cousins, Private Finance Initiatives and public sector outsourcing, says Brenda Bates of U+I.

Break the mould

We all expect so much more now, not only from a retail or food and drink perspective, but also from a sustainability point of view, writes Andrea George of Bruntwood.

Plan or pay the penalty

Construction is booming and the hot topic next year for ground-related professionals will be management of earthworks, writes Sarah Hey of Hydrock.

Heritage, naughty or nice?

There’s been a growing interest in the historic environment and how this is affected by new developments, says Katy Lightbody of Turley.

Homes for all

Many commentators are citing the North West as having the fastest growing residential values in the country, with a particular emphasis on the city centres, writes Suzanne Benson of Trowers & Hamlins.

Strategic impact

As a Combined Authority one of our key priorities is to enable businesses to thrive and deliver inclusive growth that benefits everyone, writes Joanne Leek, from Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

University challenge

Creating environments that support collaboration and innovation is vital for our region’s future prosperity, writes Annette Bramley, N8 Research Partnership.

Building momentum

What has piqued my interest this year has been the emergence of town centre masterplans, matched with clear ambitions for places such as Bolton, Rochdale and Stockport, says Lisa Kinch of Farrells.

Pivot point

With daily headlines on the struggle of retailers on the High Street there is a real need for planners to create and apply policies that allow changes of use, writes Donna Barber of Eden Planning.