Profile - Danielle Cooper: Danielle goes up in the world for her latest property challenge

Many of the calls related to Bridgewater Place – dubbed the Dalek by its detractors – which, thanks to Ms Cooper, has a healthy waiting list for its apartments.

It wasn't always like this. Before she took on the contract to manage residential sales and lettings at the 32-storey Leeds skyscraper in January 2009, there were 52 empty flats.

She puts the revival down to good management and a willingness to deal diplomatically with odd requests.

"Not too long ago, I received a text from a chap who wanted to impress his new girlfriend by showing her the amazing view from the roof of the building. While I'm sure this would have impressed her, it wasn't an option for health and safety reasons," she recalled.

Apart from Bridgewater Place, Ms Cooper is also overseeing the residential sales at another giant Yorkshire scheme, Gateway Plaza in Barnsley.

Gateway Plaza, which is being developed by Quest Property and Landmark Development Projects, already includes a 96,000 sq ft office building, a 548-space car park and an NHS health centre.

The final phase will also see the completion of 188 apartments, which will bring "city living" to a town which is still synonymous with the coal industry.

Although she's only 34, Ms Cooper has spent 17 years in the property sector, including a decade in Leeds.

Born and educated in Newcastle, she enrolled on a Youth Training Scheme with Halifax Property Services and went on to work with a number of estate agencies in the North-East, including Keith Pattinson.

After moving to Leeds in 2000, she worked for Morgans City Living and later LS1, where she carried out sales and lettings for developments such as West Point and Whitehall.

In 2004, she joined KW Linfoot where she became associate director of sales and marketing. Two years later, at the height of the property boom, she branched out on her own to establish Effective Property, a consultancy which provides residential sales and marketing services to developers.

She's survived the property collapse, unlike many of her peers, such as KW Linfoot, which was one of the partners on the stalled Lumiere skyscraper scheme.

It's easy to be a smart alec with the benefit of hindsight. But surely the Leeds property market had been allowed to overheat?

"I wouldn't say that the Leeds property market had necessarily become overheated but there was certainly a lot of the 'same old same old' in terms of stock and an abundance of buyers and developers who wanted to get rich quick but hadn't considered the long-term picture,'' Ms Cooper said.

"Some schemes haven't been the success they promised and the standard of accommodation within many has been poor."

But didn't some people invest recklessly? At the height of the property mania, many investors seemed to take leave of their senses.

"Absolutely, there were a lot of armchair buyers," she said. "At one stage, people were literally walking into letting agents off the street with their cheque books in hand wanting to put down deposits on two or three apartments in one transaction.

"But, unfortunately, it's not a savings account, it's a property that needs managing and agents are only responsible for part of that. You can't just sit back and watch your income and equity every month, you have the responsibility for the property's upkeep, service charge, ground rent and a duty to ensure that the building management team is performing in order to protect your assets.

"It's not as simple as completing a buy-to-let mortgage application and if you are an investor, there's much more to consider."

She's concerned that negative headlines might have discouraged people from buying good value properties.

She added: "The report that was written recently by Leeds University actually indicated that we could witness an under-supply in the future if further development doesn't continue."

So is the property slump really over? Recent economic data has been mixed, to say the least.

Ms Cooper added: "Things are definitely improving within the property industry and we have seen a dramatic increase in enquiries. I believe that people want to start living again and stop worrying as much.

"It's been a tough time and we're not out of the woods yet but 2010 seems to have brought along a new air of confidence and optimism."

Mortgage availability has improved slightly, and hopefully will get better in the coming months, she predicted.

There's no doubt she considers Bridgewater Place to have been one of her most rewarding projects, but she is keen to acknowledge the role played by others.

When Landmark Development Projects and St James Securities bought the remaining 52 apartments from former joint venture partner KW Linfoot – Linfoot had previously sold 147 of the total 200 off-plan – they started to spruce them up.

"The occupiers now have a well run and cared for environment that they and we can be proud of – 12 months ago this was naturally a different story,'' Ms Cooper recalled. "We now have a very small team but it's the right team who have made Bridgewater into the building it should be. We have invested a considerable amount in the communal areas to create a welcoming environment. You have to remember that you are managing someone's home."

But why should the success of Bridgewater Place be of interest to anyone living elsewhere? If prices there had collapsed, the wider market would have taken note.

"It would have had a tremendous effect on the Leeds property market had the decision been made to sell out at any price,'' said Ms Cooper. "With the commercial space accommodating some large blue chip organisations, the negative press would have been disastrous."

She has high praise for Chris Gilman at Landmark Development Projects who resisted the temptation to flood the market with cheap flats by dropping prices.

A single bed flat in Bridgewater Place costs between 110,000 and 135,000, while a two-bed flat has an asking price of around 180,000 to 230,000.

There are also plans to make the vast, cathedral-like entrance to Bridgewater Place more visitor-friendly.

"We are working on a number of ideas to enhance the appeal of the main atrium at Bridgewater Place which will create a fantastic first impression."

After working with Matthew Stephens from Quest Property on the Swansea South Quay residential scheme, she was hired by Quest and Landmark Development Projects to mastermind the residential sales process at Gateway Plaza.

The prospect of Barnsley embracing city living led to some arched eyebrows. But Ms Cooper is convinced the sceptics will be proved wrong.

She recalled: "The scheme enjoyed huge early success when the apartments were marketed, with around 100 of the 188 apartments sold off plan. Now that the final phases of residential are being completed and the show apartment is available for viewings, we are seeing keen interest in the scheme from people within the town and further afield.

"In terms of occupiers, there is a real mix from singles, young professionals to mature couples and families which is a fantastic result for the development and will ensure it meets its goal of creating a vibrant community."

The 110-bed Premier Inn Hotel and Table Table Restaurant, at Gateway Plaza, in Barnsley, is due to open today after hospitality group Whitbread took control of the building.

The unflappable Ms Cooper admitted there was no "flawless formula" to juggling the roles of running a business, and being a mother to a two-year-old daughter.

"It's just a question of planning to your best ability and having a good support network. I genuinely love my job and try to maintain a sense of humour when faced with a challenge. Since becoming a parent, I've learnt that is a key survival skill!"

DANIELLE COOPER

Date of Birth: March 7, 1976

Official title: Director of Effective Property

First job: Youth Training Scheme with Halifax Property Services, Newcastle

Education: Monkseaton Community High School

Favourite song: The Jam – Going Underground

Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption

Last book read: This Little Piggy Went To Prada, Amy Allen

Car driven: VW Tiguan

Favourite holiday destination: Maldives.