Eve hopes to 'unlock Gainsborough opportunities'

As the strategic lead for economic development it is Eve Fawcett-Moralee's ambition to put Gainsborough on the map.
Eve Fawcett-MoraleeEve Fawcett-Moralee
Eve Fawcett-Moralee

Eve has been in her role at West Lindsey District Council for 10 months. 

Eve has 28 years of experience in regenerating towns and cities.

She said: “I wanted to use this knowledge to put something back into my local area.

Gainsborough has an amazing heritage and pedigree and I can see the real potential of the town.

“I moved back to the area from London, just as Marshall’s Yard was opening and the flats on Bridge Street were completing.

“There were also plans for a marina and Richard Rogers’ master plan for the site at Carr Lane, then the recession hit and everything stalled.

“I applied for the role because I wanted to bring my past experience of repositioning and rebranding areas to achieve major investment in Gainsborough.”

Eve says the biggest challenge in her role is viability.

She said: “Gainsborough has city centre challenges such as brownfield land and social deprivation with a small market town economy.

“Coupled with the lack of real government support, it is definitely a challenge but all the more rewarding when we see positive changes and shifts in perception surrounding Gainsborough.”

This work is something Eve has been for her whole career.

She said: “I previously worked in a similar role for Southward Council some 20 years ago and since then I have worked in the private sector and helped my clients achieve good returns.

“In the late 90’s I worked on some major investment plans that included London’s South Bank, Canada Water and also Elephant and Castle, an area that had significant market stigma.”

Eve says her biggest achievement was having the courage to leave her job in London and move back to the Midlands and raise her two sons in the area she grew up in.

She said: “And also my boys getting a place at Queen Elizabeth’s High School was a proud moment.”

Eve is married and has two boys, aged 12 and 13-years-old.

She grew up in Blyth, Nottinghamshire and went to Bircotes Comprehensive School and North Notts College in Worksop.

She went on to Bradford University where she studied History and Sociology and then moved down to London where she gained a Master’s Degree in Town Planning from the University of Westminster.

Her jobs include working at Wandsworth and Southwark Councils, then as director of regeneration at Enterprise PLC and South Central Regeneration and finally as a partner of the Planning and Development at GVA Grimley Leeds office working for Regional Development agencies before moving to Lincolnshire.   

Eve said: “My professional ambition is to rejuvenate Gainsborough and it put it on the map as a place to live, work and invest.

“I hope to help unlock the opportunities that Gainsborough has to offer and reinvigorate the landscape whilst respecting its heritage and tradition.

“My personal goals are to have a boat moored in Gainsborough and to have happy, healthy children.”

When she is not at work Eve enjoys anything that invlolves her being outside.

She said: “I particularly love gardening and canoeing down the Chesterfield canal, especially when the sun is shining.”

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