Quality of Life Foundation beefs up board

The former deputy chief executive of regeneration developer Igloo and the boss of land use policy at Defra are among eight new trustees appointed to the Quality of Life Foundation set up by Stirling Prize-winning architect Sadie Morgan.

The Foundation was created in 2019 to carry out academic research and create practical guidance designed to ensure health and wellbeing in new homes and communities in the UK. The eight new trustees include four built environment specialists, who will join Jonny Anstead, founder of developer Town, Cambridge University architecture professor Flora Samuel, Legal & General sustainability head John Alker and RTPI fellow Michael Chang on the board.

The appointees include Rachel Fisher, currently deputy director for land use policy at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who previously ran the cities and local growth unit at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, before which she undertook policy roles for the National Housing Federation, RICS and Cabe, among others.

The Foundation has also appointed David Roberts as a trustee. Roberts was formerly a director and deputy chief exec at Igloo, the regeneration developer recently bought out by Place for People, before retiring from the firm last year and taking a role as advisor to Wirral Council’s Birkenhead 2040 regeneration. In 2021 he co-founded Common Good, a design and development non-profit.

The Foundation also announced the appointment of Yemí Aládérun, senior development manager of the 10,000-home Meridian Water mega-project at Enfield Council, and of Debbie Whitfield, director of impact at regeneration investor and developer Fabrix.

The body also named four other trustees, including some from outside of the built environment: Christine de Ferrars Green, solicitor; Cat Langdon, head of strategic operations, ODI; Dr Kelly Watson, director, Hatch Urban Solutions; Jo Lancaster, public servant.

Sadie Morgan said she was “thrilled” to be expanding the Foundation’s board with members from a range of different sectors outside the built environment. “When it comes to shaping and improving peoples’ quality of life, it is vital that we have a diverse array of perspectives feeding into these conversations so we remain focused on improving all life everywhere,” she said.

“Growing our board and having members from research, housing, international development and architecture backgrounds will ensure that the foundation can deliver its full potential of creating homes and communities that prioritise people’s physical, social and psychological wellbeing over the long term.”