December 10th 2020
The Changing Investment Agenda - West Midlands
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As we all know, the global property market has experienced huge disruption which everyone is working hard to respond to. The West Midlands is not alone in facing this challenge. How these impacts are being felt, and how the region’s investment market responds and reboots will be at the heart of our next panel session.
We will explore the prospects for the region, the opportunities for investment and the challenges of getting projects off the ground. The big issue for investors is BALANCING COMMERCIALITY WITH SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY & SUSTAINABILITY.
The panel will look at how investment decisions are now being made. Topics such as Environmental Social Governance (ESG), Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) and how does MMC now feature, are all topics/questions that will be covered. Risk now requires more intricate data (the role of technology) and ROI is now viewed in terms of both ethical / social and financial rewards. Have we reached a point where ethical investments deliver better returns than broader real estate investments?
The West Midlands still has good reason to remain optimistic and is considered to be the UK’s new growth capital; This topic comes at a very appropriate and important time, to ensure the market ‘reboots’ with the correct balance between commercial and social responsibility. Join us to get up to speed on the latest thinking in this area.
EVENT SPEAKERS
David Lowe
Team Leader, Ecology, Historic Environment and Landscape
Warwickshire County Council
David manages a team 13 Ecological officers, plus 6 hosted Wildlife Trust officers; 4 Historic Environment advisory officers; and 3 Landscape Officers. The Ecology Unit provides Development Management and Strategic Planning advice to both internally and external partner Local Authorities. The Ecology Team won the CIEEM Local Planning Authority of the Year 2019 award for its implementation and advocacy of Biodiversity Net Gain. As such David is considered to be a Biodiversity Net Gain Guru.
So far, the Council has secured over £2.2 million and begun to create/restore over 34.5ha with over 40ha more to be secured by the end of this financial year. The team is also piloting an approach that integrates Great Crested Newt District Licencing into the Defra Metric to grant licences on permission. The County continues to pioneer ‘Connectivity Mapping’ with CEH, Natural England and the Universities of Oxford, York and Liverpool to place Landscape Ecology. Biodiversity Net Gain and Species Conservation at the heart of sub-regional and national Green Infrastructure Strategies.
Our aim is to provide ‘certainty’ at the heart of planning.
Jo Russell
Planning Director
Stoford
Jo joined Stoford in 2018 after more than ten years in planning consultancy, most recently as a Director at Turley, Birmingham.
Jo specialised as a planning consultant in securing planning permission for complex strategic sites for a number of developers and landowners. Jo also has significant experience of land promotion through the Development Plan process.
Having advised Stoford as a client since 2014, Jo joined the Board as Stoford’s in-house Planning Director. Jo continues to manage the planning process for Worcester Six and key projects for the business including Redditch Gateway, whilst managing external project teams towards securing planning permission; and working with Development Directors to identify new opportunities.
Away from the office Jo enjoys skiing, travel, socialising with friends and gin-king!
Robin Dobson
UK Director of Development and Construction
Hammerson
Having trained as a Civil Engineer and then Chartered Surveyor, Robin leads the development team and is responsible for bringing forward future regeneration schemes together with retail/asset extensions. Completed projects include The Oracle, Reading; Bullring, Birmingham; Highcross, Leicester; Cabot Circus, Bristol; Union Square, Aberdeen; Victoria Gate, Leeds and Watermark, Southampton.
He also worked with Hammerson France to deliver Terrasses du Port, a €450m retail led redevelopment of the Marseille docks which opened in 2014.
Robin also has responsibility for bringing forward pipeline Joint Venture development projects in Croydon and Brent Cross in London.
Robin sits on the CR Board and Investment Committee at Hammerson and is a member of the BPF and FRICS.
