Liz Brooks, Project Manager at Head Office, worked for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) for 15 years before joining Landmarc earlier in 2018 and manages projects across the Landmarc footprint, providing new and refurbished assets for the training needs of the military.
“I started out my career as a General Practice Residential Surveyor in the private sector and never expected I’d be working on projects of this type. I joined DIO 15 years ago, so moving to Landmarc was a fairly natural transition. I’ve only been with Landmarc for four months and appreciate the inclusive environment, they put their people at the heart of the business and I’m a firm believer of that – people make the business.
“The estate that Landmarc manages is unique in the amount of historic and environmental areas it has, therefore projects tend to be quite complex. Liaising between the client and contractors to ensure we deliver assets that are fit for purpose is therefore essential. I enjoying dealing with contractors and regularly travel to site to ensure that the works are being carried out correctly and comply with all regulations. I have to speak with Historic England and Natural England on a regular basis due to the types of areas we manage. Ensuring we comply with all legislation is certainly a daily challenge but we have a solid projects team who are committed to providing a good service.
Renovating historic assets
“I find the building and renovating of historic assets both very enjoyable and interesting, in fact, developing a project to refurbish a Napoleonic fort in South West region back to its original state remains at the top of my list for the most rewarding point of my job so far. As custodians of this Scheduled Monument, we are able restore this asset so it can be used again. I am excited to be part of this as I consider it important to ensure the history of our military is there for future generations.
“You never quite know what challenges you will face on a project, which is why building relationships with all the necessary stakeholders is essential, such as Natural England. For example, I am running a project in Longmoor on land which is only one of two sites where every type of amphibian and reptile native to the UK is present. We have reprovisioned an environment, translocated the creatures and provided a herptile fence to ensure they don’t return to the area.I found out that the Natterjack Toads and Great Crested Newts aren’t good neighbours to each other and are best kept apart!
“It’s really satisfying to know that I, and the team I work in, are improving assets for the training needs of our Armed Forces.
Many more opportunities for women in defence
“Being a women in defence was interesting in the early days as there were very few women in technical roles and there were various challenges I had to face. This has changed quite dramatically over the period I have been in DIO and now Landmarc. I feel that there is no longer a barrier for women in the construction industry, and that there are many more opportunities for women in defence.”
