Commercial property appointments: New location leader for EC Harris, double appointment at Savills and more

A round-up of the region’s commercial property appointments.

INTERNATIONAL consultancy EC Harris has appointed Duncan Melville as location leader for the North East of England.

Formerly a director of DTZ, he joins as a partner and will be responsible for spearheading development across Yorkshire and the North East, based in Leeds.

Mr Melville has advised on residential and physical regeneration investment strategies involving more than one million households and investment totalling £1bn.

He will now oversee the planning, management and delivery of projects in the public, property, infrastructure and industrial sectors.

Tim Neal, partner and regional leader at EC Harris, added: “Duncan brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his position and he will be a major asset to our team.”

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SAVILLS has appointed Simon Britton as a director with a key role to strengthen and develop its established rural team across Yorkshire and the north of England.

Prior to joining Savills, Mr Britton was a partner at Andersons where he was responsible for leading its agri-environment and estate management department.

His skills and experience cover a wide range of key services critical to successful rural business practise including enterprise diversification and joint venture feasibility studies; agri-environment schemes; project based RDPE schemes; preparation of business plans and expert witness reports; contract farming and joint ventures; private client work; farm business appraisal and analysis.

He is able to provide in-depth knowledge and advice on a multitude of legislative and compliance issues crucial to the farming industry.

Andrew Black, head of the York office where Simon will be based, said: “This is a senior appointment which has major significance for Yorkshire and for Savills as a whole and we are delighted that Simon is able to join us. He has a wealth of experience across a broad range of skills and will be working closely with the agri business experts in Lincolnshire as well the team in Yorkshire to develop the diversity of rural services that Savills provide to the wider rural community.”

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A FURTHER apppointment has been made in the Savills Leeds office.

Richard Serra has taken over the reins from Peter Dixon as head of planning in Savills Leeds office as the department continues to grow to meet the demand for professional planning services.

He will lead the team of 10 planners based in the Leeds office which has grown rapidly over the past two years.

Recent successes for the team include securing permission for the MEPC’s 300,000 sq m Wellington Place scheme in Leeds City Centre; Tottenham Hotspur FC’s new academy and first team training headquarter in Enfield, London; and Bath Western Riverside for Crest Nicholson Regeneration, comprising 2,500 new homes within a World Heritage Site.

Savills northern region planning and regeneration team has local teams based in Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and York.

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OPERON – the facilities management, construction and design group – has appointed Justine Steele as its group human resources director.

Ms Steele, who is based at the company’s headquarters in Bridgewater Place, Leeds, joins Operon from Bradford car dealer group JCT600, where she was HR director for the last four years.

She will be responsible for the strategic development of HR within the Operon group, including training and development, legal compliance, diversity and the implementation of policies and procedures for the group’s 1,200 employees.

Ms Steele, who has an MA in Human Resource Management and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, started her HR career with Tesco.

Her previous roles include HR director with Rocco Forte Hotels for the UK and Russia, and HR director for Bass Hotels and Resorts, which owned the Posthouse, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Intercontinental brands.

Martin Corbett, group managing director, Operon, said: “I am delighted to welcome Justine to Operon as our group HR director. Her appointment comes at an exciting time for the company as we continue to expand. She brings many years experience to the role and will be a valuable member of the senior management team.”