Appointment of former English Partnership chair is due to be announced before the end of the week

The former chair of government regeneration agency English Partnerships will lead the redevelopment of the Olympic park after the 2012 games, Building can reveal.

It is understood that Labour peer Baroness Margaret Ford has been selected to chair the special purpose vehicle being created to drive forward the regeneration plans for 10,000 homes and 10,000 jobs in the area after 2012, as predicted by Building last week.

Sources close to the selection process say Ford was selected late last week following an interview conducted jointly by London mayor Boris Johnson, Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, and communities secretary Hazel Blears.

The appointment is due to be announced before the end of the week once terms and conditions are agreed, but sources say there are unlikely to be any major difficulties.

Ford was unavailable to comment. The communities department and Greater London Authority were unable to immediately confirm or deny the appointment.

The special purpose vehicle will report jointly to the Greater London Authority, led by Johnson, and to the central government - represented by Blears and Jowell.

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