Liverpool appoints new City Development Chief

LIVERPOOL City Council has appointed the highly experienced Nuala Gallagher as its new Corporate Director of City Development. Nuala, current Director of Planning, Environment and Placemaking at Limerick City and County Council, will take up the reins from interim Director Mark Bourgeois, at the end of March.

The appointment is part of a reorganisation of the Council's senior team, with the authority also in the midst of recruiting a new Chief Executive, as well as seeking to appoint new Corporate Directors for Neighbourhoods and Housing, Finance and Resources and Children and Young People.

The role will focus on driving Liverpool's economic growth and delivering sustainable development across the City Centre and communities, including overseeing major schemes such as Anfield Square, Kings Dock, Paddington Village, Festival Gardens and the Littlewoods site.

Nuala Gallagher will lead a team of 300 staff and will be responsible for a budget of £86 million, helping to create jobs and opportunities that are accessible to all.

She will also be responsible for overseeing planning, property and asset management, an investment strategy, as well as skills, adult learning and environmental and sustainability policies.

An exceptional leader, Nuala has amassed more than 2 decades of experience in development and placemaking internationally and is also currently a board member of Limerick Twenty Thirty, a property development company.

Her previous roles include 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.

Nuala has also spent time working in New York, leading on sustainable urban development and teaching at Columbia University. She is a registered architect and a graduate of Columbia University with a Masters in Urban Design.

She will work closely with the Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson, interim Chief Executive Theresa Grant and the Government Commissioners to continue the transformation of the City Development directorate.

Theresa Grant, Interim Chief Executive of Liverpool City Council, said:- "Nuala is a highly talented and inspiring leader, and will be a brilliant addition to the Council's senior management team at this critical juncture in our improvement journey. I have no doubt she will deliver real transformation in our approach to developing the City and driving economic growth and skills, building on the work interim director Mark Bourgeois has started."

Nuala Gallagher said:- "I'm delighted to be joining Liverpool City Council, this job is a huge opportunity to help shape the future of a City which has an incredible amount of untapped potential. I am very much looking forward to working with the talented team who are working hard to deliver long-term improvements for the City's residents. My focus will be on ensuring Liverpool is a strong investable proposition, and driving forward its development in a way that is sustainable and benefits all our communities."
 

Slow down! Fast fashion is so last season... Why your next fashion bargain should be recycled!

FASHION Week is here, and eagle eyed fashionistas will be closely paying attention to new trends and the styles of tomorrow. But according to 1 waste and recycling company which sits on the cutting edge of fashion, the age of cheap fast fashion in the shops is coming to an end. That's being replaced by a new era of preloved clothing, says Divert.co.uk, with consumers changing their habits away from the high street and online fast fashion retailers. Divert.co.uk spokesperson Mark Hall said:- "Fast fashion means tonnes of lower quality goods going straight from wardrobe to the rubbish tip. It's the most tremendous waste of time, money and resources."

Instead, he says, people are turning to quality goods being sold online on Facebook Marketplace, Ebay and Vinted. Mark Hall said:- "Why throw it out when you can make money on it?"

The end of fast fashion?

Fast fashion specialises in regular changes to clothing lines, often with cheaply made garments and lower price tags, to keep consumers decked out in the latest wears without costing a small fortune. But this all comes at an environmental cost, with the industry producing more CO2 emissions a minute than driving a car around the world 6 times.

And if that hasn't shocked you, here are some more unsustainable facts about the fashion industry:-

It takes over 2,700 litres of water to produce just a single t-shirt.

The textile industry uses around 93 billion cubic metres of water a year; enough to fill 37 million Olympic swimming pools.

Only 12% of clothing materials get recycled.

On average, every person in the UK throws 3.1kg of textiles away each year - making the UK the fourth highest in Europe.

UK waste specialists Divert.co.uk know only too well the side effects of fast fashion, with heaps of clothes ending up in landfill each year and instead of being correctly recycled.

Company spokesman Mark Hall:- "360,000 tonnes of decent clothing a year ends up in the dump here in the UK, mostly because fashion trends move so quickly, and once people are done with something they chuck it."

And fast fashion being what it is, many people think the garments are too low quality to give to a charity shop. But fortunately, a new poll conducted by Divert.co.uk found that over 60% of 1,000 people asked were happy to buy preloved items of clothing, which mirrors other consumer polls saying that the 2nd hand clothing market is looking to overtake the fast fashion movement by the end of the decade.

Would you consider buying 2nd hand clothing?

►   Yes - 62%

►   No - 11%

►   I could be persuaded - 27%

Hall says:- "2nd hand clothing is nothing new, older generations grew up wearing hand-me-downs from friends and family, and current movements such as clothes swapping are gaining popularity on social media. So it's no surprise to see that people are willing to give older garments a second life. And there are plenty of reasons why now more than ever people are making the switch. People are trying to make eco-friendly decisions, so they're turning to charity shops and second-hand sellers to cut down their own impact on the planet and reduce carbon footprints. And right now with the cost of living crisis, buying clothes in charity shops is not just a trend but a necessity for those looking to style new outfits in a pinch. And online gives people the chance of making a few pounds on their old clothes."

But for those garments that have well and truly had it, all Divert asks is for you to look to your local recycling centres and make sure the textiles are correctly disposed of. This way they can be broken back down into their natural fibres and can be remade into new materials. Hall added:- "Instead of constantly creating more and more new things, we need to be making the most of what we already have, right down to the bare bones of it. The more we can do this, the less waste we will make, and the better the environment for us all."

But for the more ethically conscious fans of Fashion Week, make sure you check out the Oxfam show, which will feature a mix of:- "2nd hand designer items, vintage finds and some pre-loved high street clothes."