New manager for Norwich's Chapelfield shopping centre

Paul Hill, business editorA former senior manager at Heathrow Airport has been appointed as the new operations head at Chapelfield Shopping Centre in NorwichPaul Hill, business editor

A former senior manager at Heathrow Airport has been appointed as the new operations head at Chapelfield Shopping Centre in Norwich

Richard Hurst, 48, has taken responsibility for the day to day running of the centre - with a new mandate to develop Chapelfield's environmental credentials.

Mr Hurst began his career in the hotel industry before moving into the airport business, first at Newcastle, then at Heathrow.

In his new role, Mr Hurst will have more than 70 staff reporting to him at the centre, which has 90 tenants and attracts more than 10 million shoppers each year.

He will oversee the 'hard' services which affect the fabric of the Chapelfield building - such as maintenance, heat and light - and the 'soft' services such as cleaning and customer services.

But Mr Hurst will also develop the sustainability of the centre, which has already won plaudits for its food waste recycling process, which involves the use of a Norfolk wormery to turn tonnes of rubbish into compost rather than sending it to landfill.

"We'll be continuing to look at new ways to minimise our impact on the environment by creating initiatives which are commercially viable and sustainable," he said.

"The challenge is always to implement improvements which have medium and long term gain, rather than being 'green' for the sake of appearance."

Mr Hurst said he and his wife had been looking for an opportunity to relocate to Norfolk for some time.

"The Chapelfield job appealed to me because it was different from anything I'd done before and yet utilised my skills and experience," he added.