In recent years opportunities have increased for new organisations to enter the development sector. This includes Local Authorities, where there has been a resurgence of council house building, and members of the G320 who have recognised the desperate need for new homes in their local area and have invested in developing housing with strong support from their Local Authority partners and the GLA.
Creating and building a new team to deliver a programme is not easy and can take a variety of forms. Using Beacon Partnership’s depth of experience and extensive knowledge, we have provided clients with a range of options to equip them with the knowledge and resources to take the route into building new homes.
Please see the ‘Interim Consultancy Service’ for examples of Beacon Partnership’s recent consultancy placements and how we have helped to support various development teams. We can offer support for a full range of development functions at both a strategic and operational level.
Case Study – Haringey’s Development Team
Dave Markham, one of the Beacon Partners has fulfilled the role of Strategic Lead of New Homes Delivery for Haringey Council for the last 12 months. This has involved putting in place a new team to deliver the Council’s ambitious new build programme.
A key achievement in this role has been growing the team from two operatives to a team of 15. This includes three internal recruits, who currently do not have any development experience but do have excellent transferrable skills. A training programme framework has been created by Visakha Sri Chandrasekera, one of the Beacon Partners. This can be used by managers to build and manage the development of their staff and is intended to assist trainees to reach their goal of becoming project managers.
In addition to training and recruitment, setting up the team has included putting in place the processes and procedures to ensure the successful delivery of the programme. This has included new Employers Requirements, a gateway approval process, a monitoring board, the introduction of financial monitoring and a team to monitor performance. To help facilitate this delivery and enable a ‘One Team’ outlook to be achieved, the team is supported by seconded staff from Planning and Procurement, with key leads identified in Legal, Finance and Housing Management.
Services Provided: Strategic Development Support, Interim Development Resources, Policy Design and Training