Kersten England CBE, Chief Executive of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, muses on working with Hamish Ogston over the past decade. Read her thoughts below.
I worked closely with Hamish during my tenure, from 2009-2015, as Chief Executive of the City of York. Hamish was the chair of CPP a major company and employer based in the City. Throughout that time Hamish was a champion for the city and ambitious for its growth and development.
He became involved in important programmes of renewal such as the restoration of York Minster with his passion for church choral music and artisan crafts such as stone masonry.
A particularly key challenge for the city of York in my time was to determine the future of a large area of land in the city centre described as ‘York Central’ an area equivalent in size to the New Town of Edinburgh. At the time it was also the largest brownfield site next to a mainline railway station in Western Europe.
York Central presented a huge development opportunity but complex and challenging - in multiple ownership, in parts highly contaminated and subject to conflicting vested interests. Ambitions for the site had stalled for many years as a result. Hamish’s business - CPP - was located at a corner of the site. He was acutely aware of the site and keen to see progress made: He played a critical part in breaking through years of inertia and failed attempts to find a development path for the site.
At Hamish’s own expense work was commissioned to establish land ownership, to present options for land assembly, routes to development and to re-establish an effective partnership to take York Central forward. As a result, the City of York took the decision, during the break up of regional development agencies, to acquire a key parcel of land within the site and to rekindle discussions with both Network Rail and the National Railways Museum. Subsequently Homes England re-engaged with the City, seconding personnel to drive further work and positioning York Central as pivotal project for the nation. Without Hamish’s intervention and investment this would not have happened.
Hamish was not simply a business owner in York. Despite not living in the city, he became an enthusiast and invested in its life and future. He invested time, energy and money in the City. He challenged us all to be ambitious for the City and to enable it to achieve its potential. It was a privilege to work with him.
- Kersten England CBE
To learn more about Hamish Ogston’s heritage initiatives, please visit: Heritage