The Radix Big Tent Housing Commission is delighted that Dame Kate Barker has been appointed as Deputy Chair of the independent New Towns Taskforce set up by the Government. The Taskforce, led by Sir Michael Lyons, will create a long-term vision to deliver new communities of at least 10,000 new homes each and identify appropriate locations within 12 months.
To avoid any potential or perceived conflicts of interest, Dame Kate is now stepping down as chair of the Commission. We thank her for her hard work and dedication in getting the Commission to this point.
We are delighted that our fifteen commissioners – drawn from the public, private and voluntary sectors – are committed to finishing the report together and Alex Notay has agreed to step into Dame Kate’s role as chair for the final months before the report is published in the Autumn.
Alex Notay is an Independent Commissioner on the Government’s Geospatial Commission and an internationally recognised expert on housing, placemaking and ESG. An experienced author and editor and most recently, Placemaking and Investment Director at Thriving Investments, Alex took a leadership role in producing the memorandum of initial recommendations which was welcomed by the new housing minister, Matthew Pennycook MP, a couple of weeks ago.
The Memorandum sets out an initial list of eighteen recommendations, which will form the basis of the Commission’s final report to be published in the Autumn.
