Former CEO of English Partnerships joins Wynyard Park board

Plans to transform the 700 acre Wynyard Park site into an exciting mixed-use development have been further bolstered by a new appointment.

John Walker, who was Chief Executive of the government’s regeneration agency English Partnerships until November 2008, has joined the board of Wynyard Park Ltd as a non-executive director. He will work with the Wynyard Park shareholders to support the vision of the site’s developers to create a sustainable healthy community and secure a long term future for an area left devastated after Samsung pulled out in 2004. John will also provide strategic advice to the wider Wynyard Park group, including Strategic Sites Ltd and Helios Properties in their UK-wide development activities. Chris Musgrave, Chief Executive of Wynyard Park Ltd, welcomed John Walker’s appointment. “We have already achieved tremendous progress at Wynyard Park and John Walker’s extensive experience of public-private partnerships, particularly on major development projects of national significance, will help us deliver a world class scheme,” he said. John Walker commented: “I have received various approaches to join the boards of a number of major organisations since I retired, and am very careful with the choices I make. “I was especially delighted to be invited to work with Wynyard as I have a long association with the site. I was involved in helping to find a future for it after Samsung left so being able to build on that support really appealed to me” he added. “I firmly believe that Wynyard Park, and its wider group of companies, offer an exciting challenge for me.” John Walker is a highly experienced property professional. Prior to joining English Partnerships in 1994 he specialised in regeneration and property development with Stoy Hayward Consulting and held senior appointments with Teesside Development Corporation, Northumbria Police and various local authorities in the north-east. Throughout his career John has held a wide range of directorships. This has included representation on the boards of Priority Sites Ltd, English Cities Fund, the Land Restoration Trust, Network Space and Blueprint. He was on the board of five urban regeneration companies (URCs) - Tees Valley URC, Sunderland ARC, Hull Citybuild, Sheffield ONE and Leicester Regeneration Company - at various times as the representative of English Partnerships. John was also a member of the Investment Board of the Department for Communities and Local Government. In June 2008 he was appointed as a board member of the English Heritage Audit Committee. In November 2008 John retired as the CEO of English Partnerships to pave the way for the creation of the Homes and Communities Agency led by Sir Bob Kerslake on 1 December 2008. -ends- Back to news