Colette O'Shea
Biography
Colette is Development Director for our London portfolio. She is responsible for some of the most high-profile development projects in London, including One New Change| in the City of London, Park House| in the West End and the extensive redevelopment of our holdings in Victoria. Colette joined Land Securities in 2003 and prior to that was Head of Estates at the Mercers Company.
Q & A
How would you describe your day-to-day role?
I head up the Development Team in London. Our job is to take existing buildings that are beyond their natural life and create something new. We might refurbish a building or put a new building in its place. Either way, we work with many different stakeholders, whether it's local authorities, English Heritage or local communities – all of whom have a view on our particular site and proposals. It’s very interesting and challenging. What I like most is that we’re transforming not only individual buildings, but whole areas of London.
What do you enjoy most about working in London?
If you pick out any of the components that make a city great, London has all of them. Over the years, the city has been successful in protecting its heritage while also embracing modernity, so you have this wonderful juxtaposition of old and new. Then there is the amazing sense of diversity – different foods, different architecture, different cultures. For me, that makes it a very important place in the world.
Do you have a favourite place in London?
It has to be London Bridge, with the views of the Thames and the whole of the City right down to Canary Wharf. I think it’s a good place to capture what London is about.
How do you see London changing in the next decade?
What I hope happens is that a lot of the post-war scars are finally healed. In the fifties and sixties, we had a lot of architecture that isn't of the quality we would accept today. I think we lost sight of treating London as a place, rather than a collective of individual buildings. I'd like to see a huge transformation in the public realm, so that the buildings that aren't up to scratch are gradually replaced.
What advice would you give a graduate looking to pursue a similar career?
I would strongly recommend getting a broad base of experience in property, covering everything from leasing to asset management, investment to planning matters. Work out which areas are your strengths and remember that attention to detail is vital. Apart from that, it's just about working hard.
