McCarthy Stone, the UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities, has appointed Shane Paull as its new Chief Operating Officer. Shane brings a wealth of experience to the role having worked at the business for the past 23 years. He joined McCarthy Stone in 2000 and progressed quickly, becoming
Carmarthen Hwb, a wellbeing and cultural centre housed in the former Debenhams store in the centre of Carmarthen, has been given the go ahead. A Notice of Commencement was issued on 13th March 2023 and works at the former department store on St Catherine’s Walk will start. Bouygues UK is the
McCarthy Stone, the UK’s leading developer and manager of retirement communities, has appointed Shane Paull as its new Chief Operating Officer. Shane brings a wealth of experience to the role having worked at the business for the past 23 years. He joined McCarthy Stone in 2000 and progressed quickly, becoming land director in its Southern division in 2006 and then Divisional Managing Director (DMD) for Southern in 2012, a position he has held for the last 11 years. Shane has been responsible for the development of more than 100 retirement communities during his time as DMD. Shane will take on his new role from 3 April 2023 and will be responsible for McCarthy Stone’s strategic development functions, including land, planning, build, construction and health & safety, as well as group sales & marketing. He will report to the Group’s Chief Executive, John Tonkiss and will continue as a member of McCarthy Stone’s Executive Committee, supporting the company’s four DMDs. Shane’s replacement in Southern will be confirmed shortly. Commenting on the appointment, John Tonkiss, McCarthy Stone’s Chief Executive, said: “I am delighted that Shane will become our Chief Operating Officer as he knows our business inside out. He is hugely respected across the organisation and the sector, and his experience of developing high-quality retirement communities is second to none. Shane will play a key role in driving growth in the business to move us back to building and completing 2,000 units a year.” Shane added: “I am a passionate believer in the ability of retirement communities to improve the lives of older people, having seen this first hand for the past 23 years. I will use my experience at McCarthy Stone to continue to develop our product and its quality so it can support many more people in the future. My focus will be on helping us to innovate, drive consistency, control build costs, and develop our brand and proposition.” Shane will also be responsible for McCarthy Stone’s multi tenure strategy, following the launch of its rental offering in 2019, as well as delivering its strategy for Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). McCarthy Stone is the only national housebuilder to have committed to building 50% of its future developments in full using MMC. McCarthy Stone is currently selling across c.100 developments in England and Wales. It completed 1,210 new units in FY22. Across the last decade it has been responsible for more than half of all retirement communities opened in the UK, and the company is known for its quality and high levels of customer service – it is the only housebuilder to have received the HBF Five Star award for customer service every year it has been run. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Carmarthen Hwb, a wellbeing and cultural centre housed in the former Debenhams store in the centre of Carmarthen, has been given the go ahead. A Notice of Commencement was issued on 13th March 2023 and works at the former department store on St Catherine’s Walk will start. Bouygues UK is the preferred bidder for the project, which is a collaboration between Carmarthenshire County Council, Hywel Dda University Health Board and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD). Funded by the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund, the Hwb will be a public space which will promote preventative health care and wellbeing. It will house council teams that can help residents with employment support and lifelong learning opportunities, will house a gym, as well as be home to some of the county’s museum collections in a state-of-the-art culture, leisure and exhibition space. The project has been funded by the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund. It will also be a base for Carmarthen town’s tourist information centre, council customer services as well as access to further and higher education for local people, delivered by the UWTSD Group, which includes Coleg Sir Gâr and Hywel Dda University Health Board. “It is great that this next stage of the planning process has been granted and we can start work on this redevelopment, which will bring nearly 8,000 square metres of commercial space in the town centre back to life,” said John Boughton, Managing Director of Wales for Bouygues UK. “Refurbishing rather than rebuilding this former department store ties in with Bouygues UK’s commitment to climate and the environment. We have ambitious plans to decarbonise, reduce water and energy use, as well as decrease waste generated on site by 40% by 2030. This is a unique development that brings together health, education and public services under one roof – serving the local community at an easily accessible base, and will be an amazing resource for all who use it,” John added. Housed in the former Debenhams department store in St Catherine’s Walk, it is expected that once open to the public it will increase footfall for the town centre and drive further economic resilience for local traders and retailers. When the store closed in May 2021 the knock-on effect on trade in the town centre was significant. It is hoped that the new centre, the first of its kind in Carmarthenshire, will encourage more people from the region into Carmarthen town centre to take advantage of all of the public and leisure services that will be available under one roof. Bouygues UK has already been working closely with sub-contractors from the area on its other project at Pentre Awel in Llanelli, and will continue to do so at the Carmarthenshire Hwb project – with a further commitment to upskill all those working in its supply chain on the importance of embedding sustainability into their work. This is excellent news, as the Carmarthen HWB will provide a range of public services under one roof. Working in partnership with Hywel Dda University Health Board and University of Wales Trinity Saint David, we intend to bring this prime commercial space back into use to help boost the local economy and transform the town centre. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
