Jess Barrow is our Heritage Director, here at Woohoo.
Here, she shares her career journey to date, her passion for growing vegetables, and what she loves about the work she does.
What’s your career experience to date?
I completed my undergraduate studies in Rural Estate and Land Management, before starting out my career as a Geotechnical Surveyor in Shrewsbury. I fell in love with the investigation of historic buildings during this time and returned to higher education to gain a Masters in Conservation of Historic Buildings, from the University of Bath.
I went straight from there to work for Aberdeenshire Council as an Environmental Planner and Project Officer. Here, I worked on lots of projects restoring dilapidated community buildings, such as memorials and historic churchyards on the northeast coast of Aberdeenshire, whilst also providing specialist consultations on development proposals.
I left Aberdeenshire to work in Project Management for Turner and Townsend in Manchester, guiding clients through project development and grant funding applications. From there, I returned to the public sector and worked as a Conservation Officer, consulting on an array of applications from major developments to householder applications.
Now, I’m part of the Woohoo team as Heritage Director!
How do you achieve success in your role?
My passion for the historic built environment comes from my love of place. Success for me is helping people unravel history to understand how their property played a role in the past, so that we can make a new relevant story for its future.
A measure of my success for my clients is gaining listed building consent/planning permission for their proposals, helping clients gain grant funding or just improving building conditions.
What’s your favourite aspect of your role?
I love piecing together different elements of a building’s history, with its present being to determine its future; I love researching and getting up close to buildings!
I also love working with community groups and making a difference to people’s lives. I strongly believe that historic buildings help people connect, give people a sense of place and build stronger communities.
What’s your favourite thing about being part of the Woohoo team?
I enjoy being able to collaborate with clients and other professionals to find solutions for buildings. Here at Woohoo, we always consider things holistically and take the time to get to know our site and its users, to help determine the best intervention.
Finally, tell us a fun or surprising fact about you…
I love gardening and growing veggies!
If you’d like to get in touch with Jess to discuss your next project (or gain some Monty Don-esque gardening advice) be sure to contact us, we’d love to hear from you.