Final construction leadership dinner celebrates collaboration, commitment, communication and value

The final Constructing Excellence South West (CESW) leadership dinner for 2022 was held at the exciting new lifestyle destination for Exeter and the south west, Winslade Manor.

Hosted by the regional CE Devon Club and sponsored by Gallagher, the event was a great success and was attended by key construction decision-makers, leaders and disruptive thinkers in the region.

Tanya Loosemore, Chair of CE Devon Club, comments: “The dinner was organised to bring some of the region’s key players together in one room to discuss issues facing the dynamic construction sector. The event aims to make positive steps to forge a way forward in these unprecedented and challenging times.”

Throughout the evening, the discussions focused on three key topics including building safety, net zero as well as procurement and value.

The conversation flowed freely around culture change and the early involvement of all parties on projects, specifically insurers. It was also discussed that schemes should be more value related rather than cost-driven, with members of the group suggesting incentivising tax breaks and taking people on the journey.

The group agreed that the industry needs to work much more collaboratively and, with a change in building regulations implemented in June 2022, they must also be more aware of the implications these changes will have on construction.

When it came to net zero, the group believed that Devon is leading the way in the south west. With the new Devon Carbon Plan as well as the first Passivhaus Leisure Centre and Extra Care in the UK, and Passivhaus homes schemes across the region.

CE Devon Club also boasts leading climate scientists and forward-thinking clients including Exeter City Council and Exeter University, who were both in attendance on the night, and are putting the climate crisis at the top of their agenda.

The issues around skills and resources remained at the forefront of discussions, including how the construction sector should engage and change the perspective of the industry with the next generation.

“Some of the key themes which came through during the evening were strong leadership, commitment, collaboration, value and viability as well as the importance of communication and sharing risk,” explains Tanya.

“It was a fantastic evening and as the last leadership series dinner for 2022, it was certainly a successful one with many of the industry leaders who attended already making plans to collaborate and work with each other on various plans and programmes in the future.

“We are very much looking forward to hosting next year’s series.”

Cheryl Phillips, Managing Director for Gallagher in Exeter, added: “It was clear from the conversations on the night that there is a real passion in Devon to change how we work and to look for opportunities to collaborate for the benefit of all.

“The construction industry is facing significant pressure from so many angles and events like this are fundamental in facilitating real change.  We’ve been so pleased to be part of this event and support the industry in working together to overcome challenges and drive forward key projects.”

For more information on Constructing Excellence South West and becoming a member of the CE Devon Club, please visit: https://constructingexcellencesw.org.uk/clubs/devon-exeter/