Homes and Communities Agency appoints new head of design and sustainability

The Homes and Communities Agency has appointed Jane Briginshaw as its new head of design and sustainability.

Jane joins from Partnerships for Schools, where she is currently design director, after a period as head of design for the Department for Children, Schools and Families. She will be responsible for the HCA’s design and sustainability agenda, and in particular, rolling out a set of best practice, harmonised standards. She is due to take up her new post, based in London, on April 19th 2010.

Trevor Beattie, HCA director of strategy, said: “Jane has extensive experience in this field and I am very pleased that the HCA has recruited someone of such high calibre. She will ensure that we continue to lead the way with our environmental, sustainability and design policy for housing and regeneration.”

Ms Briginshaw said: “Both Partnerships for Schools and the Department for Children, Schools and Families have been fantastic places to work and I am grateful for the tremendous support I received from colleagues in my time there. I am relishing the opportunity to further develop my passion for quality design and its contribution to creating sustainable places, in new challenges at the HCA.”

She added: “There are few higher-profile and more critically important roles than pushing forward the sustainability agenda, in delivering new homes and regenerating places, and I am looking forward to being part of a core team that will be at the forefront of this.”

The head of design and sustainability is responsible at the HCA for taking the strategic lead of all design and sustainability projects, and developing an overall strategy to ensure that HCA continues to deliver high quality places with optimum results and value for money.