With a new year on the horizon, all of us here at Greyfriars Project Management have been reflecting on our experiences and achievements from the last 12 months.
Like it has for many, 2022 has been a busy year for us. New colleagues have joined the team, we’ve been involved in delivering both new and ongoing projects – and we’ve even welcomed a new baby!
As 2023 is approaching, we wanted to share some of the highlights of 2022.
New year, new office!
At the start of 2022, we moved into our new office in the city centre of Norwich, giving us more space in a prime location for our growing team.
With the office firmly up and running, we’ve had the pleasure of hosting countless meetings with our clients and delivery partners throughout the year – with many more to come.
We’d like to say a massive thank you to Mike who worked hard to establish our office and systems, setting us up in good stead for the rest of the year.
Our team is going from strength to strength
2022 was certainly a year of expansion for the Greyfriars Project Management team.
We’ve grown from a team of six to a team of twelve this year, welcoming Carola, Kate, Simon, Tom C, Tom W and Stephen. We also said goodbye to Mike along the way – the call of the French alps was just too strong!
Plus, our Director Jon welcomed a new addition to his family with the safe arrival of his new baby Leon Barnard in September. Jon is already looking forward to training Leon and his brothers in the art of project delivery!
Helping our clients get the best results from their projects
The last twelve months have been full of key moments for a number of the projects we are involved in.
We have carried out lots of public consultations which saw an excellent level of attendance, including those for the Great Yarmouth Market Place and West Winch Housing Access Road.
Skanska achieved their ambition of hitting their consultation dates on the A46 Newark Bypass project which were booked a year in advance. Jon is currently taking DCO strategic lead on this project.
All three Norfolk A47 projects received a positive DCO decision. Jon was part of the application team and we look forward to seeing the roll out of the projects in the new year.
We submitted a number of planning applications on behalf of our clients, managed the progression of lots of ongoing projects and led a selection of projects from inception to completion – as well as winning a number of long-term key contracts.
Delivering projects to benefit the community
We continued to manage and grow our links with local authorities throughout 2022.
Our team worked on lots of projects which deliver public and community benefit, including the completion of a regeneration project for the Middlegate Estate in Great Yarmouth and a renovation of a school in Norwich.
We’re passionate about delivering projects which provide real community value and we’re looking forward to getting involved even more in 2023.
Navigating the world around us
The last twelve months has also contained some uncertainty for everyone.
The rollercoaster of energy and fuel prices, as well as the government’s mini budget, left us all guessing what would happen next.
However, there was still plenty of sunshine. It was the longest and hottest summer many of us can remember and for a short while, Jon caved in to let the team lose their ties and wear shorts!
Achieving certification
We were pleased to receive multiple certifications this year.
In November, we achieved our ISO 9001:2015 certification for our quality systems and management. Receiving this standard demonstrates our commitment to providing exceptional service for our clients.
We also received our Cyber Essentials Certificate of Assurance. With this certification in place, we can help to protect ourselves and our clients from potential cyber-attacks.
Getting involved in the local business community
This year, we continued to establish ourselves in the local business community.
We worked with strategic partners to help our clients deliver and attended networking events to connect with our industry peers – both old and new.
Also, Jon was proud to join the Norfolk Constructing Excellence committee this year. We enjoyed attending some of the events put on by the organisation, including the Annual Summer Garden Party.
Looking to 2023 and beyond
As the year has come to a close, we have won a number of key long-term contracts which we look forward to working with in the future.
We also have a new national partner who we will be working with in 2023 – look out for an announcement soon!
Plus, we’re looking forward to hosting one or two ‘cultural’ events next year, but there is more on this to come.
Overall, 2022 was a very successful year for Greyfriars Project Management and 2023 looks set to be just as exciting!