Delivering quality homes and communities is a priority for new Senior Land and Partnerships Manager at Lovell in the North East Samantha Curtis.
Samantha started her role with the national partnership housing specialist in December and brings experience from a range of planning and development roles in the North East.
Her new position encompasses identifying opportunities and managing the existing pipeline, working with joint venture partners and Registered Providers (RPs) of social housing to deliver partnership projects.
Samantha, from Whitley Bay, said: “I will be exploring new land opportunities and managing the existing pipeline of developments working with our internal technical team and consultants to design quality schemes, manage the planning process and negotiate land deals.”
Samantha has created a strong network within the industry through previous roles and involvement with professional bodies.
“My goal is to continue with the momentum already built by the North East Land and Partnerships Team at Lovell and forge new partnerships through my industry connections,” she said.
Samantha is a member of the Developing Consensus group, which encourages collaboration between the public and private sector, working with the seven local authorities within the North East Combined Authority to build long-term development growth for the region.
She identifies the pace of planning approvals as a challenge for the industry, but said: “There is positivity with the new powers granted to the North East Combined Authority. The big issue with planning is resources, so decisions are being delayed and that has a knock-on effect on delivery.”
Major new projects on the horizon for Lovell include working in partnership with Homes England and Believe Housing on a 261 home scheme at Burtree Garden Village in Darlington.
Samantha said: “I’m interested in social value and ensuring that we are delivering wider benefits to the communities where we bring developments forward.
“It’s also about building high-quality well-designed developments. It’s not just about numbers but it being a successful scheme where people want to live and lead healthy lives. It’s about placemaking, connectivity and building in sustainable locations with green spaces.
“For Lovell I want the quality to shine through so that when people see that a new Lovell development is coming to their area, they know it will be a high-quality scheme.”
