CABE has continued its drive to remove potential conflicts of interest with the appointment of Les Sparks, former civil servant, as chairman of its design review committee

Judging architectural schemes, arguably CABE’s most important function, has until recently been performed by a committee chaired by Ken Shuttleworth, the former Foster and Partners architect.

However, the commercial activity of Shuttleworth’s fledgling firm Make has made him vulnerable to the same criticism that led to the resignation of CABE’s former chairman, Stanhope director Sir Stuart Lipton.

Shuttleworth will participate on the committee as part of a team of five, each of whom will chair sessions. The others are architects Robin Nicholson and Louisa Hutton, Tate Modern director Sir Nicholas Serota and Paul Finch, CABE’s interim chairman.

Sparks is an architect who was director of planning and architecture at Birmingham council from 1991 to 1999, and has worked for the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Peter Stewart, CABE’s director of design review, said the appointment would strengthen the relationship between CABE and English Heritage. Sparks chairs the joint CABE/EH Urban Panel, which advises on major development issues in historic towns and cities.

The news came as CABE released its annual report for 2004, which contained tough criteria for managing conflicts of interest. All CABE commissioners will be required to update their interests at least once a year, and design review meetings will be suspended until a panellist with a conflict of interest leaves the room.