Former civil service head and Chair of the UKREiiF Advisory Group is to run a £3bn plan to develop council land in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

Lord Bob Kerslake has been appointed chair of a local-authority owned regeneration company that is aiming to create £3bn worth of development in the area.

The former head of the civil service this week took over as chair of FuturePlaces, which is owned by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council.

It’s an arm’s length council owned company, that is working on 19 projects relating to development locations and themes which have been identified by the local authority.

The objective of FuturePlaces, launched last year, is to accelerate regeneration on council-owned sites.

The report to cabinet members said: “The chair, in particular, will be expected to use his professional contacts to further the network of the company, to supervise delivery of strategic objectives, and to test the appropriateness of governance structures’.

Before joining the Civil Service, Lord Kerslake received a knighthood for his services to local government, spending eight years serving the London Borough of Hounslow and then a further 11 years leading Sheffield Council.

He is also Chair of the UKREiiF Advisory Group, the phenomenally successful annual conference (held in Leeds 2022/23) with the specific aim of driving economic growth and inclusive investment across the UK. The conference saw record numbers of attendees this year.