Liverpool City Council has appointed Nuala Gallagher as its new corporate director of city development.
Gallagher will take over the role from interim director Mark Bourgeois at the end of March. She moves from Limerick City and County Council, where she is currently director of planning, environment and placemaking.
The appointment is part of a reorganisation of the council’s senior team, with the authority also in the process of recruiting a new chief executive, as well as new corporate directors for neighbourhoods and housing, and finance and resources.
Gallagher, who will be responsible for 300 staff and an £86m budget, will focus on driving Liverpool’s economic growth and delivering sustainable development across the city centre and communities. This will include overseeing major schemes such as Anfield Square, Kings Dock, Paddington Village, Festival Gardens and the Littlewoods site.
She will also be responsible for overseeing planning, property and asset management, investment strategy, as well as skills, adult learning and environmental and sustainability policies.
Gallagher has more than two decades of experience in development and placemaking internationally and is on the board of property developer Limerick Twenty Thirty.
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.
She 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 degree in urban design.
She will work closely with mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson, interim chief executive Theresa Grant and the government commissioners to continue the transformation of the city development directorate.
Grant 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.”
Gallagher said: “This job is a huge opportunity to help shape the future of a city which has an incredible amount of untapped potential. 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.”
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