Affordable Housing Seminar – Wednesday 26th November 2014
Speaker Biographies
Peter Mennell, South Tyneside Council
Peter is Housing Strategy Manager at South Tyneside Council. He has been in the LA sector for 11 years
and has worked on: Commissioning Housing Needs Surveys, Developing Strategies to support the
delivery of new affordable homes and delivery projects including Gateshead BIG, building new Council
homes and helping establish new local Registered Providers in South Tyneside and Gateshead.
Neil Milburn, Barratt Homes
Coming up to 50 years of age, and occasionally acting like he's either 21 or 91, Neil qualified as Town
planner 27 years ago. Working initially in Manchester, then Sheffield as A DEVELOPMENTS Control
officer he joined Derwentside as a local plans officer before moving to the house building sector in 1996
initially as a Planner then as a land manager. Neil joined Barratt in 2001 and for his sins is still there.
Now heading up the land acquisition and planning Dept, he regards himself as the expert in viability,
having been involved in over 3500 individual assessments and having brought forward land for over
9000 new homes. In his spare time he is a keen WW1 anorak and Newcastle fan.
Bill Carr, HCA
Bill’s background includes 40 years in local authority and housing association management and provision
of social housing and a few years working on town centre regeneration whilst working for the Guinness
Trust.
Bill is Head of Area in the Tees Valley area for the Homes and Communities Agency where he has
worked since 2007. He specialises in the affordable homes programme delivery and works closely with
registered providers to maximise delivery of grant funded affordable homes for older persons and
people who are vulnerable or have support needs. In this role Bill has promoted bids to the HCA’s
Homeless Change Programme and the (Department of Health funded)Care and Supported Housing
Fund.
More recently Bill has been involved in looking at how the HCA can address issues highlighted by the
Vulnerable and Older Persons Advisory Group which advises the HCA on these subjects.
Membership of Professional Bodies
Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing since 1982
Member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain
Fiona Coleman, Broadacres
Since leaving Newcastle University 25 years ago with a degree in Town and Country Planning Fiona has
dedicated her career to the provision of affordable housing. Working for housing associations in various
parts of the UK but also with a Rural Community Council she has been involved many different projects
including self builders, gypsies and travellers, supported housing of various kinds, listed buildings, new
build provision, refurbishment of existing properties, master planning, development of local planning
policies, assessments of housing need, rural exceptions sites and inner city renewal to name only a few.
A large part of her role is dispelling the misconceptions of affordable housing and who requires such
housing.
Her passions are centred on incorporating good design in the everyday developments and advocating
the need for community involvement and the inclusion of artists in the design process. She currently
works for a registered provider in North Yorkshire where small developments have a huge impact on
communities. One such scheme was identified as being in the Top 50 affordable housing schemes in the
UK by Inside Housing 2014.
Tracy Hall, Watson Burton
Tracy is the group head for real estate. Tracy specialises in all aspects of real estate, latterly
concentrating on major regeneration projects for the public sector including public and private funding
streams and has contacts across the business communities of the North East and North West. She has
acted for numerous public and private sector clients on some key schemes when based in the Leeds
market.
Tracy has a deep understanding of how the public and private sectors can work together and can bridge
the gap between the two to identify opportunities and synergies. She has been able, in recent times, to
make a significant contribution by assisting local authorities leading on regeneration schemes to
resurrect stalled projects, recognising the changed market and economic conditions and tailoring advice
to reflect the revised circumstances – whilst at the same time achieving the core strategies and working
effectively with all other relevant agencies. Tracy has also undertaken some key investment and
property finance work in the Newcastle market.
Barry Smith, Partner Construction
Barry heads up Partner Construction.
Vastly experienced in development and construction, he has previously held the Divisional MD’s role
with a major PLC.
Barry was once an extremely talented middle distance runner who represented Great Britain in the 1980
Olympics in Moscow. He assures us he can still fit in his vest.
Massive Liverpool FC fan, likes good wines, dislikes milky tea.
Dream travel destination: Maldives.
Favourite past time or sport: Google Earth.
Favourite food: A good italian.
Favourite drink: Red wine.
Unusual talent: After dinner trick with Amaretto biscuit wrappers, has to be seen to be believed!!
Catch phrase or something you regularly find yourself saying: ‘How many beans make five?’
Leigh Cresswell, Partner Construction
Leigh takes on the big projects and is responsible for the continued success and growth of Partner as
Business Development Director.
Leigh has grown up in the Construction industry having previously held positions as Regional
Development Director and Regional Sales Director of a large PLC, he knows his onions.
Leigh’s first ever job was as a Sales administrator, if he wasn’t doing this job he tells us would most likely
be unemployed.(Someone once told him that he was unemployable!)
Likes poker. Dislikes sharing food, with anyone, even his wife.
Dream travel destination: New York.
Favourite past time or sport: Football and Poker.
Favourite food: Indian and everything else that doesn’t contain tomatoes.
Favourite drink: Amaretto.
Biggest/most interesting project you’ve worked on: Rural exception site at Hambleton.
Catch phrase: ‘Its doing my head in’ or ‘apples for apples’