One year on: A note from Josh Stones

One year on: A note from Josh Stones who celebrated his first year as commercial director at 21 Living

What a year it’s been, it’s actually great to take a step back and to think about everything that has happened at 21 Living in the last 12 months. The people we have met and worked with, the new partnerships and projects we have planned, managed and developed. The small and big wins, as well as the external and internal challenges faced in construction. It’s all part of the journey, the learning and the growing that I signed up to when I came to work with Luke, and I haven’t looked back!

Let’s celebrate the good stuff first.

Completing projects, getting over that finish line and handing over a scheme that you have seen progress from paper to physical homes and commercial space that is being used, lived in and enjoyed. That’s the best bit, and I am fortunate enough to have experienced this in my first year at 21 Living. A major benefit of moving across to a smaller firm was being hands on with every aspect of the business.

In 2024 we completed on site at Altrincham. The Causeway is a high street redevelopment of a period property into four great apartments, designed with urban living in mind. We sold all the apartments off plan, which gave us the confidence to pick up more of these strategic and niche style projects that we could really get stuck into and demonstrate our design skills.

Northenden Road in Sale also completed late Summer, and won ‘Smaller Apartment Scheme of the Year’ for its design and strategic development, bringing forward much-needed residential in the town.

We also wrapped up at Bury, a former period bank building, which we converted into 13 one-bed apartments.

You will start to build a picture of the types of projects we have undertaken, quite deliberately, to essentially show off our capability and what we are about. These projects have been important stepping stones to where we are now, and we didn’t expect to be in such a key stage of our growth so soon, it’s brilliant. And testament to the team’s commitment and passion.

We have built some key relationships with partners and councils at Bury, Trafford and Stockport, and from my side with the contractors. We know we have a strong team that works effectively and can scale up for the larger schemes we have planned in Stockport.

We’ve also spent blood, sweat and tears (mainly on my part) over the last 12 months. Running a business is not for the faint-hearted and it’s frustrating when progress is stalled by factors you can’t always control. Material prices, planning submissions (headache) and plans versus on site reality.

It’s the tough times that make the successes sweeter, though. There’s a real sense of pride at handover because the project has been your baby for months. And it’s that feeling of pride that pushes you on to the next project. For me personally, I will project manage our largest development, Underbank Lofts, in Stockport. I can’t wait to get stuck in with the team to bring forward a prestigious building and revive its character. The site sits in a key location in Stockport, so to play a part in the town’s wider regeneration is so exciting for us.

I look forward to updating you all in year two!

Back to all news