New chair appointed to Ebbsfleet Development Corporation

The government has appointed Oxford University’s Dr David Prout as new chair of the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC), which is delivering “the first garden city in a hundred years” in Kent.

Prout will oversee Ebbsfleet Garden City in Kent which, when complete, will include up to 15,000 new homes, new schools, parks, health facilities and a new civic and commercial centre.

He assumes his role on September 22, with Simon Blanchflower, former ceo of the East West Railway Company, interim chair until Blanchflower begins his post.

Prout became pro-vice chancellor (planning and resources) at Oxford University in September 2017 – a post he will leave on September 17. He has been in charge of the university’s financial and strategic planning, the estates and capital plan and the sustainability strategy among other areas.

He was previously director general and senior responsible owner (SRO) for High Speed 2 at the Department for Transport from January 2013 to June 2017.

Valerie Owen, alongside Blanchflower, has been reappointed to the EDC board. Owen is a chartered architect, town planner, development surveyor and environmentalist. She is an expert in sustainable development and regeneration and former architect director at international consultancy Jones Lang …