National housing and regeneration agency, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), has appointed six industry experts to provide independent strategic policy advice to the HCA on design and sustainability.

The advisory group will have an important role in helping the HCA deliver its statutory objectives around standards of design and embedding sustainability in development.

The members of the group are:

• David Birkbeck, Chief Executive of Design for Homes
• Andrew Drury, Managing Director of HATC Ltd
• Tom Jestico, Architect and founder of Jestico + Whiles, an award-winning architectural practice
• Nick Johnson, Deputy Chief Executive of Urban Splash
• James Pargeter, Partner at Drivers Jonas LLP
• Neil Smith, Group Head of Research and Innovation at NHBC

Dru Vesty MBE, will Chair the Design and Sustainability Advisory Group. Commenting on the appointments, she said: "Good design is crucial to creating great places with communities sustainable over time. This high calibre panel of experts can support and challenge the HCA and its partners as they work to deliver better homes and places to live."


As part of its remit, the group will provide an impartial annual review to the HCA Board of how the HCA performs against its statutory duty and how it can continue to improve its policies and procedures relating to the delivery of design quality and sustainable development.

(CD/JM)