Regeneration champions of the year

It’s hard to remember how much trouble English Partnerships used to be in. When Margaret Ford was appointed chair a little more than three years ago, the government was visibly losing confidence in the quango that was supposed to be delivering brownfield renewal. Together with chief executive David Higgins, she changed all that. When John Prescott’s Sustainable Communities Plan was introduced in 2003, Ford saw it would provide the strategic framework for an agency that had seemed to many to lack a clear sense of its own purpose. From then on EP acted boldly. It wasn’t afraid to intervene and it wasn’t afraid of controversy – most notably its decision to buy from other public sector land coveted by private sector developers. As ever, the reckoning comes in numbers. In its last results, EP reported a 46% increase in receipts, an 18% rise in the disposal of public land to the private sector, and met or exceeded every target across its £483m investment programme. This is testament to Ford’s expertise, although it will not come as a surprise to anyone familiar with her record as a successful businesswoman whose career has straddled housing, health and economic development. In April of this year she was appointed to another three year term, so we’ll soon see if she can tackle her greatest challenge yet: improving on her own performance.

Sylvia Wilson

Sylvia Wilson is a lifelong resident of the Nelson area of Whitefield, an archetypical Lancashire mill town fallen on hard times. She is also the chairwoman of Reclaim Action, a conservation group, secretary of the Nelson West Regeneration Association and secretary of the Whitefield Conservation Action Group. As you will have gathered, Wilson is an activist with a passion for improving her home town. She is also a campaigner: a voice raised for the right of local people to determine their own fates, and a moving force behind the multimillion-pound regeneration of the area. This has already succeeded in sensitively renewing more than 160 homes and is in the process of creating architect-designed canalside housing. Throughout this process, Wilson’s committee has created a strong community spirit in the area, and has allowed local people to combat a difficult social situation and goad the council into action.

Runners-up

• John Calcutt, Chief Executive, Crest Nicholson n Clive Dutton, Birmingham council
• Elaine Griffiths, Project Director, The Monastery of St Francis and Gorton Trust
• Sonja ScantleburY, Accredited Services
• Tony Winterbottom London Development Agency