Looking forward to 2017 with optimism

A New Year is always a good time to regroup, reflect and look forward.

As well as several project successes, last year we celebrated staff changes and milestones: James Almond joined our new Leeds office to lead our Project Management team, staff achieved new BIM and CIAT accreditations and Graeme Pratt and Mark Heron highlighted the success of the Practice's training and mentoring programme, gaining their RIBA Part II and III qualifications respectively.

Looking ahead we are resolved to take an optimistic view and believe that despite the undoubted economic uncertainty, there is much to look forward to.

Continuing to strengthen the business we will be announcing a new presence in Newcastle this year. Derek Shepherd will head up the new office and has already started building his team with Sharon Cook (another talented young architect who trained with P+HS) joining us.

We're also looking forward to working even more collaboratively, strengthening long-standing healthcare partnerships with P22 contractors, growing relationships with our residential and commercial clients and forging new alliances.

We've had a great start to the year: confirmation of our appointment on a major high rise residential scheme at Salford Quays, the opening of St Andrew's Healthcare's fantastic mental health and education facility for young people and, on Friday the news that our Cancer Care scheme for Macmillan and South Tees Hospitals at the Friarage Hospital, will be funded by Sir Robert Ogden.

Roll on New Year and best wishes to all our partners, colleagues and clients.

Joe Biggs