Women out in force for annual property dinner
LESLEY Chalmers, the former chief executive of the English Cities Fund, was the speaker at this year’s Women in Property North West annual dinner.
Before leaving the industry last year to become a photographer, Ms Chalmers was chief executive at the company, which is a joint venture between Muse Developments, English Partnerships and Legal & General.
She spoke about her and, guest of honour, David Lunts’ joint work in spearheading the Hulme City Challenge project, branded “Reasons to be Cheerful”, from funding through to taking the plans to the community.
David Lunts is the regional director for London for the Homes & Communities Agency and is responsible for the UK’s largest public housing budget.
Ms Chalmers highlighted the need for careful planning with people central to any development but with a sensible line drawn to ensure delivery progress.
She also emphasised that good design and quality materials are central to any scheme in order to future-proof a project and avoid the unfortunate mistakes of the past.
The event, held at the Midland Hotel on Friday, was compered by Jonathan Schofield, editor at Manchester Confidential.
Just under £4,000 was raised for Forever Manchester, a brand new fundraising initiative from The Community Foundation for Greater Manchester.
Lisa Raynes, North West chairman of Women in Property said: “I am delighted that the Women in Property Annual Dinner has retained its importance in the North West property calendar.
“During my chairmanship of Women in Property I intend to take the association to new levels of support for our members, expand the Liverpool branch and increase membership.”
