Property people: Banks Group and Green Box Thinking

Property and renewable energy firm the Banks Group has strengthened its Yorkshire property team with the recruitment of Lena Hyde to a development manager role.

Hyde, who is from West Yorkshire, holds a degree in Housing Development and has worked in several property-related roles for organisations including Taylor Woodrow, Barratt Homes, Leeds Building Society and Yorkshire Housing.

She is now responsible for managing the progression of the firm’s property projects across the county, from the point where sites are secured, through the planning process and ultimately to their sale to a housebuilder.

Banks Property recently secured planning permission for a new development of up to 390 homes to the south of Barton-upon-Humber.

It is currently progressing plans for an extension to the village of Eggborough, to the south west of Selby, which would entail up to 1,500 properties being built alongside enhanced local transport links, retail facilities and a new school.

Earlier this year, the Banks Group launched a dedicated regional housebuilding company, Banks Homes, which is operating across Yorkshire and North East England.

Hyde said: “The role of the development manager covers a wide range of responsibilities and gives me the chance to get directly involved with many different aspects of a residential development’s evolution.

“Banks’ ‘development with care’ approach and the company’s genuine desire to make a positive difference to the communities in which it works really appealed to me, and I’m enjoying getting to grips with the different projects across my home county that we’re progressing.”

Russ Hall, managing director at Banks Property and Banks Homes, added: “We have been active in Yorkshire for well over three decades and it’s a priority area for us as the business moves forward.

“We’re investing in the high-quality staff that we need to drive our growth across the county and Lena’s experience and expertise make her a great addition to the team.”

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A Leeds-based specialist construction industry carbon management consultancy has appointed an experienced sustainability advisor to the new post of associate director.

Richard Tucker, whose career in environmental management began more than 20 years ago, has joined Green Box Thinking, based in Sovereign Street, from his role as sustainability advisor with Legal & General Modular Homes.

He was based at the organisation’s former headquarters in Sherburn in Elmet, North Yorkshire, for three years.

Tucker will now play a crucial role in developing and delivering the services of Green Box Thinking, founded last year.

The organisation’s experts guide and provide practical help to construction industry professionals – including architects, developers and investors – on all aspects of carbon emission management.

Its specialisms include advising on demanding but achievable targets, at company or site level, and verifying clients’ emission evaluation procedures.

Green Box Thinking also counsels on and actions the purchase of appropriate carbon credits. These can be used to balance and offset any remaining emissions after all possible design measures, such as using environmentally friendly building materials or managing on-site operations astutely, have been implemented.

Tucker said: “I’m pleased to be joining Green Box Thinking for a number of reasons. The most important is decarbonisation, which couldn’t be a more vital or urgent quest for humanity overall.

“But, more than that, the built environment is easily the biggest source of carbon emissions, both in the UK and worldwide.

“The construction industry has therefore, in my view, been crying out for an organisation like Green Box Thinking, which offers a unique combination of experts steeped in the sector’s highly specialist circumstances and top-quality client service.”

Tucker’s working life began with a year-long stint performing noise surveys and workplace air monitoring with Caerphilly-based environmental service company National Britannia.

He later spent two years as a contaminated land consultant with QDS Environmental, a Guildford-based soil and water remediation specialist.

He was then with the Environment Agency for five years, in roles including environment officer and water resources officer.

Tucker was next an environmental sustainability consultant for three years with Blue Sky Environmental, a consultancy, based in north-west England, undertaking assessments of the built environment, through tools such as those developed for the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method.

He was subsequently a senior consultant, delivering sustainability advice, with the UK arm of global property and construction consultancy Gleeds for six-and-a-half years.

He then became a senior sustainability consultant with two Leeds-based employers before joining Legal & General Modular Homes: building physics engineering consultancy Yonder, where he spent almost two years, and construction industry sustainability consultants GWP Project Services, where he worked for 14 months.

Green Box Thinking founder and managing director, Rob Gill, said: “Richard is a vastly experienced and dedicated sustainability professional.

“I have no doubt his substantial expertise and highly customer-friendly approach will prove invaluable, both to our clients and our business in the time ahead.”