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New Homes England chair appointed by government
Peter Freeman has been appointed chair of Homes England after receiving the endorsement of MPs on the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) today announced the appointment of Mr Freeman, who is co-founder of property developer Argent, as chair of the government’s housing delivery agency.
The three-year appointment comes after MPs on the select committee endorsed Mr Freeman subject to his resignation from firms that could represent a conflict of interest including Argent and Mayfield Market Towns, a joint venture with Clarion Housing Group.
MHCLG said that Mr Freeman will continue to lead the transformation of Homes England into a “commercially focused organisation that works with the public, private and voluntary sector to deliver much-needed homes and infrastructure across the country”.
It highlighted his work enabling the regeneration of local areas such as Kings Cross in London, as well as major developments in Manchester and Birmingham.
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Housing secretary Robert Jenrick said: “As the visionary behind the revival of Kings Cross, Peter has a track record of world-class regeneration and it is this along with his drive to create places [where] people want to live that makes him the best person to support our ambitious housing agenda.
“We will work closely on our shared goal to deliver more homes, of high-quality design and environmental standards, with green spaces and new parks close at hand and tree-lined streets are the norm – all as part of creating communities that people want to be a part of.”
Mr Freeman will be tasked with helping Homes England to create a development pipeline to support economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure housing and employment opportunities are spread across England.
He will also work to fulfil Mr Jenrick’s commitment to increase the use of modern methods of construction.
Mr Freeman takes over from interim chair Simon Dudley, who has been in place since Sir Edward Lister resigned as chair to become Boris Johnson’s chief strategic advisor.
Mr Freeman said: “Based on my own experience, I strongly believe that we can deliver the necessary quantity, quality and variety of housing that is needed, while creating homes where people can enjoy a real sense of belonging to vibrant communities.”
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