latest news
Alexandra Jones appointed as Chief Executive of Centre for Cities
Alexandra Jones has been appointed as Centre for Cities' new Chief Executive.
Alexandra joins from The Work Foundation, where she has headed up the influential Ideopolis cities programme for five years, working with city leaders across the UK. She replaces Dermot Finch, who led the Centre since its inception in 2005, and she will start in post on the 16 August.
After RDAs... what next for urban economies?
The government has announced that RDAs will be abolished, and has invited groups of local councils and business to form local enterprise partnerships (LEPs). While some challenges lie ahead, we support the introduction of Local Enterprise Partnerships and think they could give cities the powers they need to shape their local economy. Read our 6-step plan for LEPs.
The deadline for LEP proposals is 6 September. Please contact Kieran Larkin if you would like to discuss your emerging plans with us.
Centre for Cities announces its new Chair, Nigel Hugill
The Centre for Cities is today announcing the appointment of Nigel Hugill as Chair of its Board of Trustees. Tom Bloxham, the Centre's founding Chair, on the 1st July.
Nigel is currently Executive Chair of Urban & Civic and has held numerous senior positions within the property and regeneration industry over a career spanning 30 years. He has been involved in key regeneration schemes across the UK, including London’s White City, Paddington Basin and Bankside and Merry Hill in the West Midlands. We look forward to welcoming Nigel to the team, and would like to thank Tom for the crucial role that he has played over the past five years.
Private sector cities: A new geography of opportunity
A new report from Centre for Cities has identified the scale of the "jobs deficit" facing England's lagging city economies. In addition to replacing jobs lost during the recession, 620,000 extra posts would be needed to raise England's cities with low employment rates up to the current national average. Listen to Dermot Finch explain the findings to John Humphries on the Today programme, and read coverage in the FT.
This is the opening paper of the Centre's Agenda for Growth series, which is investigating how cities can generate more private sector jobs. For more information on the series, contact Chris Webber on 020 7803 4314 / c.webber@centreforcities.org
Dermot Finch appointed Head of Public Affairs at Fishburn Hedges
Dermot Finch, Centre for Cities' Chief Executive has been appointed as Head of Public Affairs at Fishburn Hedges, and will be leaving the Centre at the end of July.
Dermot has headed up the Centre for Cities since setting it up in 2005. Before that, he was a policy adviser at HM Treasury for 11 years, advising both Ken Clarke and Gordon Brown's ministerial teams as well as holding the post of First Secretary (Economic Affairs) during a three-year posting to the British Embassy in Washington. Dermot will start in his new position at Fishburn Hedges in August.
For press enquiries, please contact:
Rosamund Taylor, External Affairs Manager
020 7803 4316 / 07876 175 426
r.taylor@centreforcities.org
