Chris Grigg

Chief Executive
British Land

Chris Grigg is chief executive of British Land, a constituent of the FTSE100. Since taking the role in 2009, he has put placemaking, wellbeing and design excellence at the heart of British Land’s approach to real estate. This is summed up in the company’s strategic focus on creating “Places People Prefer”. Aligned to the corporate strategy, British Land’s sustainability activity addresses major social trends and benefits over 35,000 people every year. British Land’s portfolio, which covers approximately 25 million sq ft, includes three office-led campuses in central London and retail-led assets across the UK.

Prior to joining British Land, Chris was Chief Executive of Barclays Commercial Bank and a partner at Goldman Sachs. He is a Non-Executive Director of BAE Systems plc and is on the Executive Board of the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA).

Samantha McClary

Editor
EG

Samantha McClary is editor of EG. Sam has almost 20 years of experience in real estate and business journalism, covering a wide range of topics. Alongside making sure EG delivers the best, most helpful, most accurate and, of course, most interesting content to EG’s readership across all platforms – print, online and audio – Sam also plays a leading role in enabling and delivering a more diverse environment for the real estate community. A keen chair and regular wearer of too bright trousers, Sam seeks to help keep panel discussions and events lively with audience participation and insightful questioning.

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.

Phil Mayall

Regional Director, North West
Muse Developments

Phil joined Muse Developments in 2006 to assist with the delivery of the company’s mixed use regeneration portfolio and was promoted to the role of Development Director in 2011. He assumed the role of Regional Director in 2018 and is now responsible for a wide range of projects throughout the North West. Phil heads up the team of development directors and surveyors in the Manchester office.

Since joining Muse he has delivered, or currently has on site, over 700,000 sq ft of offices, 550 residential homes, a 143 bedroom hotel and 2 large space multi storey car parks. He has also successfully led two CPOs and gained consent for the largest ever planning application submitted to Salford City Council. Phil also secured the forward funding of 3 PRS residential developments at New Bailey in Salford. The Slate Yard, is one of the first institutionally funded PRS developments in the city. The first 2 phases are now complete, the third phase which consists of 199 new homes over 21 storeys commenced early Sept 2018.

Phil is a member of the Investment Property Forum and the British Council for Offices, where he was formerly Chair of the Northern Region Next Gen committee. He is also a member of the Chester Growth Partnership Board and is chair of the project board overseeing improvements to Islington Mill, Salford.

Graeme Scott

Executive Director - Development
Trafford Housing Trust

The primary focus of Graeme’s role is the delivery of our development programme, which will see £450m invested over the next 4 years to build 2000 new homes across the North West. This puts him at the helm of end-to-end development, from finding land opportunities to ultimately selling homes. During his 13 years working with the Trust, Graeme has played a pivotal role in our evolution and managed everything from ensuring compliancy with the Decent Homes Standard to establishing our development function.
His biggest challenge to date has been successfully steering the Old Trafford Masterplan initiative. This required demolition of four out-of-date tower blocks and construction of over 300 new homes, including Limelight, our flagship Extra Care health and community hub. As somebody who’s passionate about delivering high quality homes, Graeme is particularly proud of our partnership with L&Q which aims to create affordable housing.

Louise Wyman

Strategic Director of Growth & Development
Manchester City Council

Louise took up the Strategic Director of Growth & Development role at Manchester City Council in June 2020. She oversees investment and development across Manchester and has responsibility for; planning, housing strategy, work and skills, and inclusive growth.

Previously, Louise led the Design & Inclusive Growth agenda at West Midlands Combined Authority and as Director of Strategy & Engagement at Homes England, was part of the team that established the Government’s housing agency.

She has led urban renewal projects in the USA and Central Europe and was a member of the Planning Committee for London Legacy Development Corporation with responsibility for developing London’s 2012 Olympic Park.

Louise is a member of the National Infrastructure Commission Design Group and she’s an Ambassador for Harvard University where she undertook her graduate studies.

Lisa Tye

Partner
Shoosmiths

Lisa is a partner and joint-head of Shoosmiths’ planning and CPO team, driving the team’s growth forward across the UK. An experienced planning lawyer, she acts on a broad range of matters relating to planning, highways and CPO, negotiating complex Section 106 agreements, judicial review and village green issues. She acts for a mix of public and private clients, including Ainscough Strategic Land, Vastint, Bolton Council and London Borough of Kingston.

She is currently working on:

- A 2,500 dwelling scheme in Swindon as part of the New Eastern Villages allocation;

- A major mixed use scheme in Cardiff;

- The regeneration of a large housing estate in London to provide over 2000 new dwellings.

Lisa joined Shoosmiths in 2013, having previously worked at Eversheds, DWF and Semple Fraser. She spent the early part of her career working in-house for local authorities including Birmingham City Council and the London Borough of Hounslow, a mix of public and private experience that clients find invaluable, as it provides empathy, insights and scope for innovation for projects at the public/private interface. She is identified as a Leading Individual for Planning legal work in the latest editions of Legal 500 and Chambers UK, the latter stating interviewees laud her as “a really hard-working and clever lawyer who finds her way around complex
problems”.

Claire Pearce

Director of Planning and Economic Development
This is Gravity

• Led the governmental planning negotiations for Hinkley Point, Western Europe’s largest infrastructure project
• Director of Planning and Economic Development for Salamanca Group and This is Gravity Ltd
• Exceptional track record as Chief Planner in the development sector, with a reputation for way-finding and delivery - leading negotiations and bespoke development solutions for national and local infrastructure projects.

• Skilled in strategy, place leadership and management, creating conditions for investment and growth.
• Turnaround agent, leading the top performing local authority team in the country, realising investment on the ground, integrated with social and environmental transformation.
• Passionate about creating genuine responses to climate change and generating a momentum to stimulate green economic renewal, enabling accelerated responses towards a net zero carbon economic landscape.
• Leadership of local labour and employment initiatives to inspire, create opportunities, transform skills and enhance individual life chances.
• Personally committed to creating social and environmental value: mentor at Reading University on Real Estate, Governor of BTC College leading on sustainability and champion of the Avalon Super Nature Reserve.

Jason Schofield

Development Director
Generator Group

Jason Schofield is the Development Director for Generator South West and is responsible for managing and growing development opportunities in the region. Jason has extensive knowledge of the area having lived in and around Bristol and the South West since leaving university. He has over 30 years’ experience leading diverse quoted, private and asset-backed companies in the real estate, infrastructure, consumer, food wholesale and marine sectors where cultural change is at the centre of a company’s transformation. Prior to taking on the exciting role at Generator South West, Jason was the CEO of a public limited company listed on the London Stock Exchange successfully attracting significant international investment leading to a partial takeover of the company.

Jason has been at the heart of some of the South West’s largest regeneration projects including Harbourside in Bristol - a 500-home, one million sq ft, mixed-use city centre redevelopment project; the restoration and new build mixed use elements of the historic Gloucester Docks in Gloucester City Centre; the transformation of Sutton Harbour into a major south west tourist and business destination; and, devising the masterplan for the regeneration of the former 113-acre Plymouth City Airport site.

Today, Jason is not only responsible for expanding Generator South West’s business and presence in the region, but also overseeing the company’s existing projects including the impressive transformation of the now complete Huller and Cheese warehouse in Bristol City Centre, and, the much-anticipated regeneration of the Elizabeth Shaw Chocolate Factory in Greenbank where construction work is well underway to provide 140 new homes and commercial accommodation primarily aimed at serving the local community. Jason is also working on other new exciting opportunities in the region, not least the regeneration of Redcliffe Wharf bringing forward a sensitive and highly attractive mixed-use development as a welcome addition to Bristol’s historic waterfront.

Abigail Stratford

Head of Regeneration
Bristol City Council

Newly appointed as the Head of Regeneration, Abigail will lead a team promoting and enabling inclusive and sustainable growth across the City. Previously Abigail was Head of Housing Delivery responsible for delivering the Mayor’s ambitious target of building 2000 homes – 800 affordable a year, alongside the City’s largest housing led regeneration project – Hengrove Park – which will deliver 1,400 new homes.

Before joining Bristol, Abigail successfully led the regeneration of South Kilburn for the London Borough of Brent.

Jo Davis

National Head of Planning Development & Regeneration
Avison Young

Jo Davis is National Head of Planning Development & Regeneration in the Bristol office of property adviser, GVA. Heading up the Planning, Development and Regeneration team across the South West and Wales, her twenty years’ experience in the industry has seen her involved in the planning of many of the region’s most prominent regeneration projects, residential housing developments, and complex brownfield site developments, working alongside companies and organisations such as HCA, St Modwen, Change Real Estate, Skanska, Goodmans, Royal London, Linden Homes, and Barratt Homes.

Jo is a firm believer in taking the holistic view to achieving commercially deliverable and sustainable development. Aware of both the opportunities and obstacles to effective delivery, she has an extensive understanding of what is achievable in this emerging market.

Kulveer Ranger

Senior Vice President Strategy & Communications
Atos UK

Kulveer Ranger is Global Head, Strategy & Communications for Financial Service & Insurance, and SVP Strategy & Communications for UK&I at Atos, a global leader in digital transformation with 110000 employees in 73 countries.

He has been a leading figure in the development and communication of innovate, technology led services and has a unique track record of working in politics, the public and private sectors over the last twenty years. This includes having worked on the delivery of the London Oystercard, and four years working for the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, leading the transport and environment briefs and establishing the Digital London Office. His time at City Hall included preparing London for the 2012 Olympics, making the case for Crossrail, leading on ground breaking initiatives such as the cycle hire scheme and Tech City. He has sat on various boards including Transport for London, Bristol 2015 European Green Capital City and is currently on the board of techUK.

Kulveer is an international public speaker, a regular broadcaster for TV and radio and a passionate Tottenham Hotspur FC fan.

Fiona Brenner

Commissioner
Mayors Green Spaces and Groundwork London

Fiona has worked at the intersection of public, private and community place-based delivery for 15 years. She is currently Strategic Development Manager for charity Groundwork London. Within this role, she partners with London boroughs and green space providers to develop practical programmes and improvements. Fiona sat on the recently concluded London Green Space Commission set up by the Mayor to look at funding and sustainability of the sector, with a particular focus on skills and the future workforce. In a previous role, she led the community and economic development strategies for the planning stages of NW Bicester, the UK’s first Eco Town. Fiona holds an MBA from The Judge Business School, Cambridge University and is a Fellow of the RSA.

Mike Saunders

CEO
Commonplace

Mike is a digital entrepreneur who has developed businesses in media, government and commercial sectors. He founded Commonplace to deliver a vision of deep and comprehensive public engagement about places, using digital tools as they have done with #ParkPower.

Commonplace customers include cities London, Newcastle and Bristol; and developers Grosvenor, Grainger and U+I.

Ailish Christian-West

Director of Real Estate
Get Living

Ailish is Director of Real Estate for Get Living. Best known for East Village, the former London 2012 Athletes’ Village in Stratford, Get Living is changing the way the UK lives and rents within its vibrant big city neighbourhoods.

Ailish is responsible for managing Get Living’s existing £2 billion build-to-rent portfolio of 3,000 homes, alongside retail, public realm and expansive green spaces.

Ailish also oversees Get Living’s 5,000 home UK-wide development pipeline and leads Get Living’s commitment to sustainability and social value creation.

Ailish has more than 20 years’ experience in UK real estate. Prior to Get Living, Ailish was Head of Property at Landsec, following 10 years in fund management including roles at La Salle Investment Management and Invista.

Ailish is the current President of Revo, a placemaking and retail property organisation, which represents all stakeholders in the £360 billion retail property sector, including property owners, retailers and local authorities.

Max Farrell

Founder & CEO
LDN Collective

Max is the Founder and CEO of the London Collective, a virtual network of built environment experts and creatives fighting hard to improve people’s lives and the planet’s prospects. Their members are experts in social impact, zero carbon and modern methods of construction as well as architecture, engineering, graphic design and film making. As a diverse and eclectic group, they are bound by a set of values and a cost-effective business model. Whether it’s a thought leadership campaign or the design and construction of a piece of city, they are a ‘one stop shop’ for projects anywhere in the world. As self-employed entrepreneurs they can tailor-make teams without the overheads, convening and disbanding for place-based projects like a film’s cast and crew.

Current projects include detailed planning applications for three sites in Surrey and one in Cambridgeshire, all of which are 100% affordable housing; a vision and masterplan for a new town with 6,000 homes and a National Centre of Excellence for MMC in Oxfordshire and they are identifying the best locations and preferred public and private sector partners for the world’s leading developer and operator of wellbeing resorts.

Max was previously a Partner at internationally renowned architects Farrells before leaving to set up the London Collective in 2019. Whilst at Farrells, he led on high profile projects including London’s new business district at Royal Albert Dock and award-winning proposals for low-level bridges in East London. Max was Project Leader for the Farrell Review, commissioned by the UK Government, which made sixty recommendations spanning education, outreach and skills; design quality; cultural heritage; economic benefits and architecture policy. He is an adviser to London National Park City, Urban Design London, the Arts and Place Consortium, the Urban Room Network and the Place Alliance.

Mark Camley

Executive Director of Park and Venues
London Legacy Development Corporation

Mark is passionate about parks and open spaces, having played a leading role in some of the UK’s best loved parks. He joined LLDC in January 2012, and led the delivery of the successful summer events series on the Park, and the opening of the North Park and Copper Box Arena in July 2013. Mark led the design of The South Park to stage D and directed the opening of The South Park, including the Aquatics Centre, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, and new landscape in April 2014. Prior to joining LLDC, he was CEO of The Royal Parks for over six years, where he led the parks to achieving Green Flag, and introduced new events like Winter Wonderland. Other projects include leading procurement of re-design of Gorky Park (Moscow) and Peer Review of Centennial Parkland (Sydney). He is a Director of World Urban Parks, London Stadium 185 and Stratford Waterfront Management Company.

Olivia Harris

Chief Executive
Dolphin Living

Olivia Harris was appointed as Chief Executive of Dolphin Living in April 2017. Previously, Olivia was Finance Director at Dolphin, providing financial and commercial oversight on a wide range of property and related projects, including debt and fund raising. Olivia is a Chartered Accountant and has worked for more than 15 years in the property industry.

Ben Denton

Managing Director
Legal & General Affordable Homes

Ben Denton is Managing Director of L&G Affordable Homes. L&G Affordable Homes’ set up in 2018 with an ambitious business plan to develop 3,000 affordable homes pa by 2022 alongside building a best in class customer services experience. L&G are investing patient, long-term capital in order to grow the capacity of the affordable housing sector and in so doing, deliver societally important outcomes. L&G Affordable Homes sits alongside L&G’s other housing businesses including BTR, Modular, Cala and Inspired Villages Group. Prior to L&G, Ben held a number of positions in the public and private sectors, delivering residential led development and regeneration.

Cllr Clare Coghill

Leader
London Borough of Waltham Forest

Clare Coghill was elected to the London Borough of Waltham Forest in May 2010 to represent the High Street ward in Walthamstow. She became Junior Cabinet Member for Health later in the same year. Subsequently, she held a junior portfolio focused on Town Centres. Clare was appointed as Cabinet Member for Children and Young People in May 2012, leading the Council’s work on Children’s Social Care, Safeguarding and Education.

In 2014, Clare was appointed the Cabinet Member for Economic Growth & High Streets and led a fresh approach to regeneration, planning and development. Waltham Forest has excellent infrastructure, green space and transport links, therefore the priorities lie in developing new, good quality, affordable housing and vibrant town centres. Clare’s policy innovations in this role focussed on pubs, the night-time economy and economic growth.

In January 2017 Clare was elected as Leader of the Labour Group at Waltham Forest Council, and subsequently elected as Leader of the Council at the AGM of Full Council on 25th May 2017. Clare was re-elected Leader of the Council for a 4 year term at the AGM of Full council on 24th May 2018.

Davinia Venton

Partnerships Director
Countryside

Davinia is Partnerships Director at Countryside focusing on regeneration of brownfield land, town centres and estates across London and surrounding towns in partnership with local authorities and housing associations. She has twelve years of regeneration experience and has worked on large projects including 3,000 homes at Acton Gardens in Ealing and 3,500 homes at Beam Park in East London.

Nicola Mathers

Chief Executive Officer
Future of London

Nicola is CEO of Future of London, an independent network supporting housing, planning and regeneration professionals through leadership, research and networks. She leads on strategy, business development and partnerships.

Nicola is passionate about the role of the built environment to improve lives and address inequality. At Design Council and CABE she led national programmes to support the public and private sectors to plan and deliver well designed buildings and spaces.

Nicola is a member of the Mayor’s London Green Spaces Commission and the TCPA Inclusive Planning Sounding Board.

Mayor Marvin Rees

Mayor of Bristol
Bristol City Council

Marvin Rees was elected mayor in May 2016. On that day Bristol became the first major European city to have elected a mayor of black African heritage. He describes becoming mayor as another expression of a deeper commitment to building a fairer, more inclusive world. He is a Yale World Fellow and graduate of Operation Black Vote who has worked and studied in the UK and the US. He is a former BBC journalist, Public Health Worker, voluntary sector manager, co-founder of the City Leadership Programme and has developed the One City Plan for Bristol.

Melanie Ho

Brainee
Regeneration Brainery

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Neamh Stephenson

Brainee
Regeneration Brainery

Bella Godfrey

Brainee
Regeneration Brainery

Rob Perrins

Chief Executive
The Berkeley Group

Rob is Chief Executive of the Berkeley Group, one of Britain’s most successful, sustainable developers. He joined the company in 1994 having qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young. He was appointed to the Main Board in 2001 and became Chief Executive in 2009.

In 2010, Rob launched a ten year plan for the Berkeley Group called Our Vision. This set out to make the company a modern world class business, blending homes, parks and community facilities to create fantastic places where people love to live. By 2016, under Rob’s management, Berkeley was supporting 30,000 jobs across Britain and contributing £2.6 billion to the UK’s Gross Domestic Product - £32 for every person in the UK.

Rob regularly contributes to public debates about the direction of housing policy and the property market and is a member of the Bank of England’s Residential Property Forum, as well as a council member of Aston University and a Governor of Wellington College.

Simon Gallagher

Director of Planning
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Simon has been Director of Planning at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government since June 2016, responsible for advising ministers on planning policy and practice.

Simon has been a civil servant since 1993 in a range of economic and financial policy roles in a number of departments, most recently as Deputy Director for Welfare Spending and Reform at HM Treasury and as Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Berlin.

Cllr John Fuller OBE

Leader
South Norfolk District Council

Gemma Saffhill

Technical Director Viability
Terence O'Rourke

Gemma has worked in the economic viability and affordable housing delivery sector for over 15 years. Her clients span private and public sector organisations and projects range from small scale greenfield sites to large, multi-phased, multi-use, brownfield regeneration schemes. It is this diverse working environment, along with a term on the PA Housing (Affordable Housing Provider) Board, that give Gemma well balanced, holistic insight into providing progressive development solutions for her clients.

Olaide Oboh

Director of Partnerships
First Base

Olaide has been with First Base since 2011 and leads on establishing and nurturing relationships with public and private sector partners.

A qualified project manager, Olaide’s experience is varied ranging from managing communications at Marks and Spencer to working on large scale regeneration in Hackney and leading the external relations for East Village, the new neighourhood on the Olympic Park.

This varied background makes her role at First Base very broad. Olaide leads on communications and culture for all First Base’s projects, develops strategic relationships to help embed the company into new locations and builds crucial contacts with brands and emerging industries to play a part in developments.

Alex Notay

Placemaking and Investment Director
PfP Capital

Alexandra Notay is Placemaking and Investment Director at PfP Capital, the fund and asset management arm of Places for People Group, overseeing a UK-wide residential strategy. She is an internationally recognised expert on build to rent, placemaking and sustainable urban development, with 16 years’ strategic advisory experience to private sector, government and third sector organisations across four continents. In January 2019 Alex was selected as one of the 48 women shaping the future of UK real estate at the prestigious BISNOW Women Leaders event.

Alex is a published author and editor of over 30 books and reports on real estate including the renowned ULI UK Best Practice Guide on Build to Rent (2014, 2016). Alex is a vice-chair of the ULI UK Residential Council, chair of the BPF sub-committee on residential ESG, serves on the BPF Build to Rent Committee and is an Associate Member of CREFC Europe. She is also a non-executive director of Essensys plc, Sound Diplomacy, SouthWest Board Member for LandAid and trustee of the SunScreenIT Foundation.

With a reputation for being ‘abnormally energetic’, Alex is passionate about enabling tangible social impact through innovation and collaboration as well as mentoring the next generation of diverse talent.

Pete Gladwell

Head of Public Sector Partnerships
Legal & General Investment Management

Pete Gladwell joined Legal & General in August 2007, with responsibility for the design and development of new funds and overseeing relationships with pension funds, investment consultants, and insurance clients. He led on the creation of a new generation of property funds particularly focussed on liability matching and Defined Contributions pension funds and L&G’s joint ventures with Dutch pension funds, which now total over £5 billion. In 2013, Pete was appointed Head of Public Sector Partnerships, to lead L&G’s direct investments across property and infrastructure into partnerships with Local and Combined Authorities, Registered Providers, Universities, the NHS, and central government, including One Public Estate and the “RIO Regeneration Investment Collective” with the Department of International Trade. These investments total over £4.35bn.

Pete was formally a Senior Analyst in DTZ Research and enjoyed an erstwhile life as a youth worker for seven years in the Oxfordshire area.

Pete is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and Member of Brasenose College, Oxford University; holding a post-graduate MA, as well as an initial degree in Computation. He also holds the Investment Management Certificate.

Pete is also a Trustee for the Young Foundation, which works to create a more equal and just society through social innovation, and heavily involved in local community initiatives in Harlesden, London.

Maria Connolly

Head of Real Estate
TLT

Maria Connolly heads TLTs 200 strong national real estate Group. She also leads TLT’s energy sector and both her and the team are nationally recognised for the work done in this sector. Maria is currently advising on some of the first electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure projects to be implemented in the UK and has extensive experience in battery storage and other clean energy technologies..

Maria acts for a wide range of major corporates in relation to both strategic and business as usual real estate transaction as well as for lenders, funds and investors.

Maria is independently recognised as an expert in the field of Energy & Natural Resources: Renewables & Alternative Energy (UK-wide) and Real Estate (Bristol & Surrounds) by Chambers UK, and a leading individual in the field of Energy by Legal 500. Maria is a mentor and founding member of the Regen Entrepreneurial Women in Renewable Energy programme and is a regular speaker at industry events.

Wesley Ankrah

Founder Managing Director
SeerBridge

Wesley has 10 years’ experience in the charitable and voluntary sector. As a result he gained experience from a major national charity in community engagement and employability. This enabled Wesley to move into the property development sector. Formerly he was the Managing Director and founding partner of Essential Living Future. This was a Community Interest Company associated with developer, Essential Living. Here, Wesley drove a ‘mind-set changing’ approach which challenged traditional approaches to Community and Social Responsibility.

Thus SeerBridge was founded through this experience. Wesley brings his wealth of experience in creating and delivering community engagement with long-term results. His approach to consultation is to get under the skin of the community objectives of clients and deliver unique benefits to the communities and clients he works with.

Cllr Nesil Caliskan

Leader
London Borough of Enfield

Michael Edwards

Teaching Fellow
Bartlett School of Planning

Education: PPE (mostly economics and statistics) in Oxford 1961-4 and then Town Planning at UCL 1964-6. Employed in Nathaniel Lichfield and Associates and in that capacity worked on the Milton Keynes Master Plan, other new settlements, retail schemes and cost benefit analysis. Joined the UCL staff in 1969. The 2008 date above is misleading: a few weeks after “retirement” I was re-employed.

Faraz Baber

Director
Terence O'Rourke

Faraz is currently a Director at the interdisciplinary planning and design consultancy Terence O’Rourke which has offices in London, Birmingham and Bournemouth. He leads on planning policy, stakeholder engagement and business development for the company.

Prior to joining Terence O’Rourke, Faraz served as Executive Director for Policy at London First. His previous experience also includes senior management policy and public affairs roles at Surrey County Council, British Property Federation (BPF) and the Royal Institution of Chartered surveyors (RICS).

A highly experienced and multi-skilled professional with extensive knowledge within the property sector, Faraz has successfully delivered on a number of high-profile policy led campaigns. He is a dual qualified chartered surveyor (FRICS) and chartered town planner (MRTPI). He was a member of the Department of Communities and Local Government Planning Sounding Board which provided industry advice to Government. Faraz is a Board member of the RICS P&D Professional Group and also serves as Chairman on the RICS Planning Policy Panel.