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Work experience with Simon Elliot, property development manager, Sunderland Arc
Alexandra Coxon, Regeneration & Renewal, 16 May 2008
Simon Elliot, 41, is property development manager at urban regeneration company Sunderland Arc, where he is responsible for overseeing local regeneration projects from concept to delivery.
What has been your most beneficial career experience to date? Working for the Grainger Town Partnership, the body responsible for regenerating historic Grainger Town in Newcastle. Previously, I was doing pretty standard property management evaluation work, but Grainger Town gave me a taste for large-scale regeneration. It made surveying so much more enjoyable for me.
What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given? In project management, we use something called a Gantt chart: a bar chart that sets out the schedule for a particular project. My favourite piece of advice is that you should think beyond the Gantt chart. In regeneration, you can't control all the variables. If you're not prepared to be flexible, you're setting yourself up to fail.
What's the best training you've had? Last year, I did some in-house management training at regional development agency One North-East. We would try out a management technique before reporting back on it in the next session. It was great trying different methods and discussing how and why they worked or failed.
What book would you recommend? People think compulsory purchase is a magic bullet for regenerating areas, but it's incredibly complicated. I'd recommend people look at the free Compulsory Purchase and Compensation booklets published by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
What do you wish you'd known when you started out? That personal growth isn't about how long you've worked in a certain organisation; it's about the range of experiences you can accumulate along the way. If I'd known that earlier, I wouldn't have stayed in my first job for nearly ten years.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
1989: Becomes a surveyor with Newcastle City Council.
1998: Seconded to the Grainger Town Partnership as senior surveyor.
2003: Works for consultancy Donaldsons as principal surveyor.
2005: Becomes senior property specialist at One North-East.
2008: Moves to Sunderland Arc.
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