Transport Unlocking Development Conference

HS1 – Pelham Walker, Head of Property and Masterplanning

HS1 Ltd owns the 109km line and adjacent land between London and the Channel known as HS1. They are working with Telford Homes to develop 380 homes alongside retail and office space next to their Stratford International Station. As well as this project they are looking to utilise land along the HS1 route in Stratford, St Pancras and Kings Cross for further mixed use development. Pelham will discuss this project, and how HS1 is enabling much needed development in London and how they are looking for further development partners to work with.

Infrastructure Projects Authority – Jon Loveday, Director of Infrastructure, Enterprise and Growth

The Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA) is the government’s centre of expertise for infrastructure and major projects, as a part of the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury. Back in September 2021, the IPA published their ‘Transforming Infrastructure Performance: Roadmap to 2030’, that outlined a long-term vision to shift Britain’s built environment to become more resilient, adaptive, and sustainable, moving towards leading in high tech construction. The paper was published alongside the National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline, which forecasts £650bn of investment in infrastructure over the coming decade.

Transport for the North – Lucy Jacques, Acting Head of Policy & Strategy

More information to follow.

Aviva Investors – Dr. Darryl Murphy, Managing Director – Head of Infrastructure

Darryl is Managing Director, Head of Infrastructure at Aviva Investors and responsible for origination, structuring, execution and asset management of infrastructure transactions for the infrastructure equity and debt strategies. Darryl is responsible for a portfolio of over £10bn of debt and equity investments across UK and Europe.

Darryl has over 26 years’ experience in infrastructure financing and investment having also worked at Hambros, SG, Newcourt Capital, RBC, HSBC and was a partner at KPMG. He is widely recognised as one of the leading infrastructure financing experts in the UK and has structured, advised and arranged on a wide number of projects globally.

Darryl holds a PhD in Mathematics from Exeter University. He is UK council chair of the International Project Finance Association and Honorary Professor at the Bartlett School at UCL.

Midlands Connect – Karen Heppenstall, Head of Rail

Midlands Connect are one of the organisations leading the charge on creating a sustainable transport and infrastructure in the Midlands with one of their flagship schemes being the £3.5bn Midlands Engine Rail programme. Karen joined Midlands Connect as Head of Rail in April 2021 and has already influenced the shape of the Strategy Refresh published in late in 2021 and is working closely with senior colleagues at Network Rail and DfT to address current challenges in the region and will join the conference to discuss their role in creating tomorrow’s net zero Midlands.

National Highways – Shaun Pidcock, Programme Director – Lower Thames Crossing

The Lower Thames Crossing is set to be the longest road tunnel in the UK. The major infrastructure project will require 50 new bridges and viaducts with a budget of £6.3bn, making the project a part of the biggest investment in the country’s road network for over 30 years. Almost doubling road capacity across the Thames east of London and easing congestion on the Dartford Crossing, the project will improve road journeys for millions of people every year. Shaun joins us to give an update on the scheme.

Innovate UK – Karla Jakeman, Innovation Lead – Connected Transport

Karla is the Innovation Lead for Connected Transport, part of the Land Transport Team in the Manufacturing, Materials and Mobility Sector at Innovate UK. She is seeking solutions which use innovative technologies to leverage a smarter, greener and more sustainable future mobility system of systems for the efficient movement of people and goods around the world. Karla focusses on working with Local Authorities, Customer Experience and Active Travel amongst many other areas. Karla is also the Vice-Chair of ITS(UK), a member of the Highways Sector Council and a lead stakeholder for the Transport Technology Forum. Prior to Innovate UK, she worked for 15 years at a large automotive company as a Design Quality Engineer.

Transport for Greater Manchester – Simon Elliot, Head of Rail Programme

Simon is in charge of the Transport for Greater Manchester’s wider rail infrastructure development strategy. In their Five Year Transport Delivery Plan, published in January 2021, the transport body set out a number of key objectives regarding the improvement of local rail infrastructure including Central Manchester Rail Network enhancements, Stockport area rail infrastructure improvements, a programme of rail improvements on key rail corridors such as the Warrington rail line, development of new stations and much more.

Connected Places Catapult – Erin Walsh, Director of Built Environment

Connected Places Catapult is the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport, and places with the main aim of creating smarter, healthier and more sustainable communities. Erin is the lead of the Built Environment Directorate at Connected Places Catapult focusing on housing innovation, urban infrastructure, and net-zero placemaking and joins us to share her thoughts on the Garden Community movement.

Strategic Land Group – Paul Smith, Managing Director

Strategic Land Group is a specialist land promotion company, that are experts in planning and bringing forward difficult sites for development. They have multiple ongoing and planned projects in the pipeline, including promoting the Clitheroe Local Plan, as well  as working closely with Doncaster Council to promote the 15-acre Auckley greenfield site. The land promoter is also working with North Lincolnshire Council to integrate the 10.4 acre Kirton-in-Lindsey site into their Local Plan.

Urban Growth Company – Sue Barrett, Chief Operating Officer

Supported by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and the West Midlands Combined Authority , the Urban Growth Company is a critical catalyst for growth, ensuring that ambitions for the HS2 Interchange site are fully realised by coordinating investment plans and growth opportunities. Sue will give an update on their key project – The Hub, which will create 8,000 homes, 70,000 new and supported jobs and over 650,000 sq ft of commercial space.

Transport for London – Matthew Yates, Head of Projects, Consents & Urban Design

Transport for London are the integrated transport authority responsible for delivering on the capital’s transport strategy and running the day-to-day operation of the public transport network and London’s main roads. The transport authority have over £12bn worth of regeneration and development in the pipeline, including a £3.1bn Bakerloo line extension, an £800m Old Oak Common Lane Overground Station, and a £327m Barking Riverside railway extension that will also feature a new station.

Buckinghamshire Council – Joan Hancox, Head of Transport Strategy

The South East Aylesbury Link Road is just one of several planned infrastructure projects around Aylesbury linked to its garden town expansion that will feature 16,000 new homes. Buckinghamshire Council were successful with their Housing Infrastructure Funding bid, securing £174m for the garden town scheme as well as four different housing sites situated throughout the authority. Joan joins us to shed light on the council’s wider transport strategy and how further infrastructure work can contribute to levelling up the region.

Transport for West Midlands – Sandeep Shingadia, Director of Development & Delivery

Transport for West Midlands are working to develop a world-class transport system by investing £5bn in just under 200 transport projects between now and 2026. Most notably, the West Midlands Metro will see the delivery of £1.3bn worth of new tram extensions. In the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget statement, it was announced that the West Midlands would see a further £1.05bn for major green transport improvements including bus and Metro schemes. West Midlands Combined Authority, TfWM’s parent body, has also been looking at a potential West Midlands tube-style network that has been valued at £15bn.

London Legacy Development Corporation – Clare Hebbes, Director of Development

Clare Hebbes is Director of Development at the London Legacy Development Corporation, responsible for the delivery of 3000 homes at Chobham Manor, East Wick and Sweetwater, as well as the delivery of the Hackney Wick masterplan. Clare has over 20 years’ experience delivering some of the most significant urban regeneration schemes and the associated infrastructure across London and Europe, including the redevelopment of King’s Cross, Elephant Park and International Quarter London.

Harworth Group – Jonathan Haigh, Chief Investment Officer

Jonathan is a Chartered Surveyor with over 25-years’ experience in property development and transactions in roles as developer, investor, occupier and adviser. He joined Harworth from MAG Property, where as Managing Director he led the development side of the business and was a driving force behind the Airport City Manchester scheme. Jonathan previously led a team at PwC responsible for devising and executing work-out strategies and loan book trading. Prior to that he worked for Ballymore, where he led the investment and development activity for numerous large-scale schemes. At Harworth, he oversees strategic acquisitions and direct development, and will provide additional technical and commercial expertise to the regional team.

Rochdale Borough Council – Mark Robinson, Interim Director Economy

More information to follow.

Built Environment Networking – Amanda Griffiths, Director

Amanda is one of the Co-Founder’s of Built Environment Networking – formed almost 10 years ago.

She’ll be hosting throughout the day, running the days proceedings and managing the interaction between our delegates and the speakers.

BDB Pitmans – Chair: Mark Challis, Partner

Mark heads up a team of over 50 people at BDB Pitmans that provides legal advice on a wide range of infrastructure and other projects. Amongst many other things the team specialises in transport and works act orders,  development consent orders, compulsory purchase orders and consents under the conventional planning process. The team also specialises in parliamentary work, particularly hybrid bills for transport schemes, and now has five “Roll A” parliamentary agents, which is more than any other firm.

Mark began his career in local government, working for the Corporation of London, before moving into private practice in the 1990s. He has advised on numerous large developments including many transport schemes. In recent years he has advised TfL on various projects including the Victoria Station Upgrade, the extension of the London Overground network to Barking Riverside and the proposed Bakerloo Line extension from Elephant & Castle to Lewisham and beyond. He is also working with National Highways on two major junction improvement schemes on the M25 being promoted under the development consent order process.  All of these schemes play a part in unlocking development opportunities, providing congestion relief or both.

Mark is also a former general editor of the loose lease encyclopaedia Planning Law Service published by Lexis Nexis for use by planning professionals