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The City of London has appointed a new head of design in a bid to bolster the design credentials of its planning team following the exit of planning chief Peter Rees鈥� departure

The City of London Corporation said this week it had appointed Gwyn Richards as head of design.

The role was created to strengthen the design team after City planning chief Peter Rees left in March to become a professor at the renowned architecture school The Bartlett.

Design was the area in which Rees was particularly involved and Richards鈥� responsibility will centre on development design.

He is one of three assistant directors reporting to Annie Hampson, who took over Rees鈥� job as the authority鈥檚 chief planning officer and development director.

Richards, who has worked at the corporation for seven years, previously as a principal planning officer, has 20 years鈥� experience at senior officer level in urban design at Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea councils.

In his new role he will lead a team of design officers within the development management division of the City of London planning team.

鈥淭his will involve negotiating the highest architectural and urban design quality both in innovative buildings as well as refined contextual developments and historic buildings,鈥� he said.

鈥淲e will continue to challenge mediocre designs and enhance our understanding of how the City will evolve in the future so we can proactively plan for these changes.鈥�