At the same time, he is pushing forward schemes at Grand Arcade in Cambridge, Liverpool One, Tithebarn in Preston and Crawley, and he also makes time for personal pursuits, such as hiking, listening to eclectic genres of music and spending time with his wife and 16-year-old son.

But despite all this, Bullough appears hugely relaxed as he takes time out of his busy schedule to talk to Shopping Centre.

With a great network of support, Bullough is happily spreading his time between his day job as retail director at Grosvenor and his presidency at BCSC. "I have very supportive colleagues," he says. "Grosvenor has been very supportive right from the outset to me taking on the role at BCSC. I work very hard."

Social engagement and sustainability form the primary focus of Bullough's year of presidency as he strives to ensure retail-led developments remain at the heart of the community.

"As far as the retail industry is concerned, obviously we are right in the middle of the communities and generally have a significant proportion of the floor space within a town or city centre so we must have a significant part to play in addressing these issues," he says.

Bullough is working with external consultants and specialist in-house experts within the BCSC to drive forward a charter for the BCSC on sustainability issues.

The first part of this drive is the community awareness road show, which has been put together by Business in the Community with input from the BCSC, and will be rolled out to 12 locations following a launch in Woking at the end of March.

The exhibition will sit in shopping centres and open town centre locations, and will provide information to members of the public about the simple and gradual things they can do to help the environment.

"We all have millions of people coming through our shopping centres so it's a great shop window for anything like this," he says. "It's great because shopping places can be a real focus for change.

"The exhibition will also provide an opportunity for shopping centre owners and retail managers to use them as a focus for discussion groups or workshops with community groups. It's community engagement so we are getting in touch with the communities we operate within."

In pushing the sustainability issue, Bullough takes the view that every little helps. "I think the idea of the road show is a good one and has legs because it's a concept of making a little difference," he says. "It just needs small, incremental changes."

Having attended a workshop on environmental issues two days earlier at the conference in Edinburgh, Bullough says he was amazed at how many initiatives are running in various centres around the country.

"One of the things I am keen to do this year is codify this, almost. If we could draw together all these initiatives and share the best practice that is coming out of these various centres then the broader membership can latch on to them.

"I think we can be best practice drivers of this and that goes for all BCSC partners and other companies like Grosvenor. We have to be in the forefront of what's happening and demonstrating it."

At Grosvenor, a significant proportion of the budget is set aside to ensure the design of the pipeline projects are as carbon neutral and sustainable as possible. The company already has people whose major focus is in dealing with these issues but Bullough reckons there is going to be a larger dedicated work force purely working on these issues in the future.

Meanwhile, Bullough believes there is more to be done in terms of social engagement. Many shopping places, he points out, are already carrying out various initiatives, such as hosting major social events and providing facilities to community groups, but Bullough wants to push this issue further forward on the agenda.

"The new generation of developments now coming through in places like Bristol, Liverpool and Leeds are all about open places that are open to anyone and should have all the vibrancy that town and city centres have," says Bullough, who points to Marylebone High Street as an example of a diverse, lively place to visit. "In terms of what's happening there and the physical appeal in place, that works extremely well," he adds.

"Shopping places should be real. How real the public realm is and how real the public spaces are - they are the most successful places."

Talking about Grosvenor's Liverpool One scheme, which is due to open in spring 2008, Bullough explains: "Right from the beginning we set out to bring that whole scheme forward right alongside all the local stakeholders and the local community." This has included collaborating with local residents on the design stages; working publicly with the government and local agencies to get access to the widest possible pull of potential employees; and developing the Liverpool Paradise Foundation, which draws together all the people connected with the project, including investors, banks and consultants to pull charitable giving into a central place.

Bullough is keen to not only focus on his 12 months as president, but is also planning ahead with BCSC vice president, chairman of Donaldsons Martyn Chase and junior vice president Jeremy Collins from the John Lewis Partnership, to ensure that all the hard work he and his predecessors have put into the industry doesn't stop when he hands over his title in 2008.

"The focus for Martyn is very much on education within the business primarily - upping the quality and professionalism of what we do - and Jeremy will look at how BCSC can get a better retailer engagement," says Bullough, who believes that by working together now will ensure a consistent plan that will continue to flow from year to year.

Certainly, he is continuing the work started by John Strachan in building the BCSC membership, which has grown by 60 per cent in the past three years. He is particularly keen to see more younger members as well as an increased retailer and public sector representation.

"I think we can do a lot more to engage with the younger membership in the things we do and the structure of the events we hold," points out Bullough. "In terms of the November conference in Newcastle and the dinner, watch this space. Both of those events are being designed to create the widest appeal to the membership.

"There has been a perception, which still exists to some extent, that BCSC is a bit of an old boys club and that's a reputation I am adamant we will dispel. In recent years, it's changed a lot. There have been huge strides forward, but there is more we can do."

Bullough's background

Bullough's career has evolved over the decades. Having started life on the investment side of the property industry, he then moved his focus to the developments themselves before choosing to specialise in retail.

After achieving his qualification in chartered surveying, he joined Pearl Assurance in 1973, where he spent six years, before joining Legal & General, where he worked on a number of projects, including Golden Square shopping centre in Warrington.

"I grew into the development field through that route," he says. "I have been doing retail for about 30 years.

"It's the most rewarding thing you can do and nowadays, it is most rewarding because we are physically changing places.

"Shopping centres are at the heart of the community - they have a lot more than just shopping in them."

In 1989, Bullough joined the Grosvenor group, where he currently holds the position of retail director. But it is the Golden Square development which remains the home to his most satisfying moment.

"The thing I am most proud of is putting in a sculpture of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party at Golden Square and getting Prince Charles and Princess Diana to unveil it," he says, adding that to this day, children use it to climb on.

"Putting art into places is great. It's all about making a difference and giving people something to be proud of," concludes Bullough.

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