UKREiiF Breakfast | How to build a new town

Nuala Gallagher has more than two decades of experience in development and placemaking internationally. She is a registered architect and a graduate of Columbia University with a master’s in urban design. Gallagher's previous roles include director of planning, environment & placemaking at Limerick City and County Council, head of regeneration for the London Borough of Newham, director for economy of Place at Bristol City Council and director of city centre development at Belfast City Council. Gallagher has also spent time working in New York, leading on sustainable urban development and teaching at Columbia University. In 2023, Gallagher joined Liverpool City Council.

Cllr Katrina Kerr was elected Labour ward councillor for Chester City and Garden Quarter in 2023. Prior to that she was chair of the Chester Business District for three years and chief executive officer of Marketing Cheshire for five years. A marketing professional, she has worked for several global communications companies including Ogilvy, Publicis and J Walter Thompson and has won 5 IPA awards for advertising effectiveness. She studied Modern Languages at the University of Bristol and has an MBA from INSEAD.

Olaide Oboh is a strategic thinker and adept problem-solver with over 20 years of successful initiatives in both public and private sectors. She holds a degree in Sociology, a field that fuels her fascination with interpersonal interactions, physical environments, and societal dynamics. This curiosity informs and drives her professional efforts. In her role, Oboh spearheads external relations, diligently building and nurturing essential partnerships with local communities, businesses, investors, and stakeholders. She is also instrumental in expanding the company's reach, actively developing its pipeline across new and existing markets nationwide. Oboh is a seasoned public speaker, frequently invited to share her insights and participate in discussions on topics such as public-private partnerships, social impact, arts and culture, community engagement, and emerging trends. In 2022, her influence was formally acknowledged when Estates Gazette named her one of the industry's 50 most influential figures. Following this, in 2023, Planner Magazine recognised her as a Woman of Influence, further cementing her status as a key player in her field.

Mark Latham is regeneration director at Urban Splash, a role that brings together strategic vision, design, placemaking, use curation, partnerships and people to deliver complex multi-phase mixed-use urban renewal projects across the country. In a 19-year career at Splash, he has led a huge range of projects from major housing masterplans and strategic public-private city-wide regeneration partnerships to the ongoing transformation of Europe’s largest listed building, the twice-Stirling Prize-nominated brutalist Park Hill housing estate in Sheffield. Among his latest projects is the reinvention of the iconic former John Lewis Department store (Cole Brothers), a Grade 2-listed modernist landmark in the centre of Sheffield. Prior to Urban Splash, Latham spent 5 years at the UK Government’s Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and before that worked on pivotal London regeneration projects including the Stirling Prize-winning Laban centre for dance. Mark has an MSc in Urban Regeneration from the Bartlett School of Planning, UCL, an MA in Classics from Cambridge, and an MA from the Courtauld Institute in the History of Roman Art and Architecture. In 2018, Latham co-curated and co-wrote ‘It Will Never Work’, an exhibition and book celebrating 25 years of Urban Splash, in collaboration with RIBA North. He has lectured internationally on architecture, regeneration and cities, is a regular conference speaker and judge on design awards juries and panellist on Design Quality Review panels.