Council and democracy

Emma Peters to head planning and regeneration in Croydon

Currently working with Sir Bob Kerslake on the setting up of the Homes and Communities Agency, Emma's most recent local authority role was as corporate director of development and renewal at Tower Hamlets. She will be joining Croydon at the beginning of December with a brief to bring back together the currently separate strands of regeneration and planning.

A chief officer for more than 15 years, Emma is a town planner by profession with a background in town centre regeneration and housing development.

Before joining Tower Hamlets in March 2004 she spent nine years with Lewisham where, after successive promotions, she rose to be head of planning and development. She has also worked in Waltham Forrest, as a principal planner, and in Newham. For a short spell at the beginning of her career, in 1986, she held a policy position with the Royal Town Planning Institute.

Although by returning south of the Thames she will be forsaking some of east London's 2012 Olympic Games prospects, she believes that through being at the centre of regeneration activity in Croydon she can help propel the town towards its desired status as London's third city.

She said: "Moving to Croydon at this stage in my career is a wonderful opportunity. By any yardstick the town has the characteristics and personality of a city, with challenges and openings. It has already changed a great deal and now Mayor of London Boris Johnson has earmarked Croydon as a location for towering developments. The council's own proposals for a pioneering urban regeneration vehicle are both novel and exciting and means the council will hold an extremely influential role in the way development rolls out. The £3.5 billion of investment in the pipeline speaks for itself. Through my experience to date, I hope to make a significant contribution to Croydon's future."

Said chief executive Jon Rouse: "Emma Peters has already been engaged in quality-of-life enhancing projects such as Canary Wharf business district, Thames Gateway and preparations for the London Olympic Games. In her role at Tower Hamlets she is recognised for creating a department which is a model for the delivery of integrated regeneration functions. We're expecting her to repeat and surpass that achievement in Croydon where our town centre is on the cusp of a significant renewal."

Brought up in Stevenage, Emma has a degree from the London School of Economics and post graduate qualifications from both the University of Manchester and the Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning at University College London.

Emma is a long-term resident of south east London and has a strong personal interest in arts and culture, and in architecture. She is a trustee of the London Festival of Theatre.

Her arrival in Croydon will coincide with the retirement from the council of Phillip Goodwin who earlier this year announced his intention to engage in consultancy activity after a 30-year career in public sector planning. He has been Croydon's director of planning and transportation since 1994.

Under Jon Rouse, Croydon now has just five executive directors. Tom Jeffrey (community services) was recruited from Sutton before the summer and Dave Hill (children's services) has just moved from Merton. They now form a council management team with joint deputy chief executives Hannah Miller (adult services and housing) and Nathan Elvery (resources and customer services).