As 2023 draws to a close, here at Greyfriars Project Management, we’ve been looking back on the events of the last 12 months.
From new colleagues and the successful delivery of a number of projects, to new clients and the celebration of a significant milestone – this year has been exceptionally busy for us all!
So, with 2024 on the horizon, we thought we’d take a look back on the highlights of 2023.
Expanding our team
We started 2023 with a team of 12 – and are ending the year as a team of 16!
This year, Aileen Moncur, Richard Loveland, Roland Richer and Ashley Gray all joined our project team, bringing with them a wealth of varied experience to help us deliver our portfolio of development and infrastructure projects.
We also welcomed our Head of Finance, Kate Berritt. Kate’s role involves focusing on our internal finance and financial aspirations – and she has already helped the business grow and diversify.
Our new Business Administrator, Rebecca Laston, joined us too. Rebecca supports our team with administrative duties and ensures the smooth running of our day-to-day operations.
It’s been brilliant introducing new people into the business and we’re looking forward to going into 2024 even stronger!
Developing our skills
2023 was certainly a year of enhancing our skills as we prioritised Continuing Professional Development (CPD) within the team.
Two members of our team completed their NEC4 project management accreditation training, five members of staff completed Prince2 accreditation and we regularly attended evening CPD events, including talks from Norfolk Constructing Excellence which had a fantastic season of guest speakers.
Also, at the end of this year, we achieved our ISO 14001 accreditation, meaning we have an effective environmental management system in place. We can now assure our employees, clients and other stakeholders that our environmental impact is being measured and improved, with a firm commitment to work towards being carbon net zero.
Celebrating 5 years
In September, we hit a big milestone – five years of Greyfriars Project Management!
Our director, Jon, started Greyfriars back in 2018 and we’ve gone from strength-to-strength since, with a growing team and an increasing number of exciting projects delivered in our portfolio.
It was great to look back on all the successes of the past five years – and look ahead to the next five.
Working with clients old and new
We’ve had the privilege of working with a host of wonderful clients this year.
We continued to work with Great Yarmouth Borough Council on a number of exciting projects in the iconic seaside town, as well as World Horse Welfare charity, Norfolk County Council and Skanska/National Highways.
We’ve also started work with some fantastic new clients, including the National Trust and Norwich City Council.
It’s excellent to work with clients, old and new, on some very rewarding projects.
Leading projects to successful delivery
It’s been a brilliant 12 months for the progression of our projects!
The Great Yarmouth 6 day market was successfully completed in September with traders moving into the new stalls.
Our work with Norwich City Council on the regeneration of Hay Hill in Norwich city centre is nearing completion.
The redevelopment of the World Horse Welfare centre in Snetterton is also nearing completion following the demolition of several existing structures and the subsequent construction of four new buildings.
Our work with the National Trust is developing as we lead the delivery and provide strategic support for two projects at their Horsey Windpump and Morston Quay sites.
The development of the Operations and Maintenance Campus in Great Yarmouth – which seeks to capitalise on the well-established east coast offshore renewables sector – is moving closer to completion as major piling works started just last month.
And, the outline of the business case and planning application for the multi-million-pound West Winch Housing Access Road – which we are supporting – are soon to be submitted.
It’s certainly been a busy year!
Participating in the local business community
We were thrilled to engage with the local business community even more this year.
Jon was delighted to be a finalist for the Director of the Year award at the 2023 EDP Business Awards, recognising his excellent leadership of Greyfriars and contribution to the growth of the business.
We were pleased to sponsor an event on Norfolk infrastructure for Norfolk Constructing Excellence. It was great to hear key players in the industry discuss important infrastructure and sustainable transport projects.
Jon entered his second year as a member of the Norfolk Constructing Excellence committee, and we had an excellent time attending the Norfolk Constructing Excellence Awards which celebrated the best projects, people and organisations in the Norfolk construction industry.
Looking ahead to 2024
With the new year approaching, we’re looking forward to continuing to work with our excellent clients on our ongoing projects – and a number of new ones!
Plus, the start of the year will bring us much more space as we move into our new office.
In addition, we’re looking forward to unveiling an exciting development to our urban design services…
2023 was a very successful year for Greyfriars – and 2024 is set to be even better!