Royal George Village developer Cityheart announces senior appointment

Cityheart, the regeneration specialist delivering the Royal George Village development on the former Stockport College campus, has appointed Darren Jones as project director for a scheme in Wigan.

Darren (pictured) joins the business from Nikal and will lead the delivery of the redevelopment of the former Wigan Galleries shopping centre. He spent the first seventeen years of his career at Orbit Developments and ran his own development business as well as working at Oldham and Stoke Councils.

Commenting on his appointment, Darren said:

“I am delighted to be joining Cityheart at an incredibly exciting time for the business. Wigan’s town center regeneration project is now leading to the construction of the first phases, after completing an incredibly complex demolition program earlier this year. I look forward to working with the team and Wigan Council to deliver the vision for the town centre.”

In March this year, Galliford Try was announced as Cityheart’s preferred construction partner on the scheme, which is one of Greater Manchester’s most ambitious regeneration projects and will deliver new homes, leisure and retail facilities, as well as a modern market, a food hall and a hotel. Since the completion of the demolition phase, specialist contractor PP O’Connor has prepared the site for the delivery of the construction phase, which will include the new market and food court, a 144-bedroom Hampton by Hilton hotel, together with the basement and associated infrastructure. . This summer, Galliford Try will hold a series of ‘Meet the Buyer’ events as it procures local trade and specialist subcontractors for the next phase of the works.

Cityheart COO, Warren Taylor will work with Darren and the wider team as Wigan’s scheme progresses. He added:

“Darren brings with him a wealth of development and regeneration experience and we are incredibly pleased that he has chosen to join us to help take the Wigan scheme forward. He has over 30 years of experience in strategic leadership, working in both the public and private sectors, and is a perfect fit for Cityheart and our local authority partners.”

He continued:

“Our mission is to create sustainable developments through regeneration that provide economic resilience, create opportunities and better places for people to live, work and study, and Darren’s knowledge and leadership will be invaluable in doing just that initially for this key scheme in Greater Manchester.”

As well as joining Cityheart, Darren has also taken a non-executive role on the board of Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, where he chairs their Development Committee.