Lowestoft-based Apex Roofing is delighted to be expanding their delivery team with the appointment of Steve Carter.

Steve has joined the team having gained 20 years’ experience working within the new build and refurbishment roofing sector. He joins Apex Roofing at a time of rapid ongoing growth and will cover the Midlands and East of England.

Jackie Biswell of Apex Roofing said: “We are thrilled to have someone as experienced as Steve coming on board to work alongside our existing ontracts management team. He will be able to add to our first class customer service and joins us at a time of significant growth.”

Steve said: “Jackie and the team at Apex Roofing have forged a good working relationship with partner contractors and agencies and I will be looking to maintain this relationship and expand our client base.”

Apex Roofing is the sister company to Apex Scaffolding, and is also based in Lowestoft.

Nicos Charalambous, site manager at Taylor Wimpey’s Concept development in Red Lodge, near Bury St Edmunds, beat off stiff competition from around 15,000 entries to be honoured with an NHBC (National House-Building Council) Pride in the Job Quality Award.

Pride in the Job Quality Awards are presented following a stringent judging process by NHBC inspectors who perform spot checks and continuous assessment of developments throughout the year.

The award recognises Nicos’s dedication to building high-quality homes for new homebuyers and provides purchasers with the assurance that the development provides top-quality homes and excellent customer service.

Nicos said: “I’m delighted to have won a Quality Award again this year – it’s a great honour not just for me but the whole team at Concept. They all work incredibly hard and take great pride in ensuring that the homes we build are completed to the highest possible standards.

“It’s great to have reached this stage of the competition and to be recognised by the industry in this way.”

Bryn Maidman, managing firector for Taylor Wimpey East Anglia, said: “Nicos’s second successive Quality Award is thoroughly deserved and we’ll all be supporting him as he progresses through to the regional heats and hopefully to the grand final in London.”

Colchester and Clacton–based law firm Thompson Smith and Puxon (TSP) has appointed Shelley Cumbers to the family law team. Shelley will be based at the firm’s Colchester office but will advise clients in TSP’s Clacton office too.

Shelley, who was born and brought up in Colchester, attended the Gilberd School and Colchester Sixth Form College before going on to become an award-winning student at the University of Essex where she completed her law degree with first class honours. She achieved a distinction in the legal practice course at the Anglia Ruskin University, before qualifying as a solicitor in 2007. She completed her training at a multi-specialist London law firm with a national reputation and, since her qualification, has practised family and divorce law there. She has extensive experience in all aspects of private family law and during her time in London has advised a wide range of medium to high net worth clients, including those whose cases have had an international aspect.

A member of Resolution since her qualification, Shelley trained as a collaborative lawyer in 2012 and is committed to resolving disputes constructively and sensibly. She is also a keen legal writer, regularly contributing to a number of legal journals. In her spare time she enjoys travelling and spending quality time with her young family and friends and hopes that, now she is no longer commuting, she will have time to learn to bake.

Shelley said: “I have always worked in family law and particularly enjoy helping people move onto the next chapter in their lives so that they can begin to plan for the future. I am a very good listener which I feel is an integral part of the role of a family solicitor as we very often see clients at a time when the circumstances in which they find themselves are upsetting and stressful.

“TSP has a very strong reputation in Colchester and the surrounding area for offering effective advice and putting the needs of its clients first. I am really looking forward to being part of such a long established Colchester firm, particularly as I will now be working in the town in which I grew up and which I know very well.”

Marcus Price, head of the family and divorce law team, said: “On behalf of the directors of TSP I would very much like to welcome Shelley to the firm. Shelley is an experienced addition to TSP’s team of family solicitors and we are looking forward to her transferring her first-rate city law firm skills to TSP’s client base.”

Hilary Durrell has joined the conveyancing team at Gotelee Solicitors, based at the firm’s Ipswich office.

Hilary qualified as a legal executive in 1993 and specialises in residential conveyancing to include sales, purchases, remortgages and transfers of equity.

“I have worked locally in residential conveyancing for some 17 years and have helped many clients through the sometimes stressful process of buying and selling a property,” she said.

“I am very pleased to have joined Gotelee solicitors as a member of the residential property team and look forward to serving the local community, adding my experience to a respected and well established firm.”

Hilary’s arrival has strengthened the growing team to nine.

Catherine Abbott, head residential property, said: “Great delight to welcome Hilary to the property team at our Ipswich office. She has many years of experience in conveyancing, and the local market, and will be a great addition to our busy team. Hilary is well known to the local agents and is looking forward to working with them, and Gotelee’s clients, in the coming months.”

Jan Wright is the new project administrator for the Heritage Coast Market Towns Initiative (HCMTI).

Jan has lived and worked in the Suffolk Coastal Area for more than 20 years, initially working in the Insurance Industry and more recently in the voluntary sector managing a volunteer centre based in Framlingham but covering a large part of the Suffolk Coastal Area.

HCMTI chair Jenny Stockman said: “We have some ambitious projects in the pipeline and very much look forward to taking HCMTI to the next stage with Jan.”

Solicitors John Bradshaw and Nick Palmer have recently been made partners of the Martlesham-based law firm Barker Gotelee bringing the number of partners at the firm to eight.

Nick Palmer, who has been with Barker Gotelee for six years and specialises in trusts and estate planning, is looking forward to the new challenges that the role will bring:

“It’s always good to feel that you are adding value, particularly in a firm that has a reputation for being so friendly and approachable. I’m extremely pleased to be playing a part in the progression of the business as a whole”, he said.

John Bradshaw, who is a recognised expert with over 14 years’ experience in the sector, joined Barker Gotelee as a Director in March 2013 with the remit of building an Insolvency & Business Recovery Team. In challenging market conditions, John has established a solid base from which to build for the future and those efforts have been recognised through his progression to partnership.

Joining John in the Insolvency & Business Recovery Team is Barker Gotelee’s latest recruit. Chartered legal executive, Sarah Mower, has over 10 years’ insolvency and general litigation experience with particular expertise in insolvency litigation and asset recovery work.

John said: “I see the progression to partner as a very positive move for all concerned. The success of the Insolvency & Business Recovery Team has been made possible and is underpinned by the support of clients and the investment that Barker Gotelee has made in this area and also in the Corporate Team within the last 18 months. The progression to partner, when taken together with the appointment of Sarah, sends out a clear signal of Barker Gotelee’s intent to establish itself in this sector and to continue to widen the scope of the services it is able to offer to both existing and new clients

James Skellorn, senior partner, said: “We’re delighted to welcome John and Nick as partners, and Sarah as a new member of the Insolvency & Business Recovery Team. It is their wealth of experience that is serving to grow our business here in Suffolk and further afield.”