PRESS RELEASE : Two Commissioners reappointed to Historic England [September 2023]

Ben Derbyshire

Reappointed for a second term of four years from 01 September 2023.

Ben is non-executive Chair of HTA Design LLP, a leading multidisciplinary design practice specialising in housing and placemaking.  He has a long association with the practice, having first joined as a student in 1973, becoming a partner in 1986.  He led a management buyout in 2013 since when the practice has grown five-fold, now employing 250 people in four studios across the UK.

As a Commissioner of Historic England, Ben serves on the London Advisory Committee, High Streets Heritage Action Zone Board and is chair of the Historic Places Panel.

Ben is President of the London Forum of Amenity and Civic Societies and is a current member of the NHBC Council.

He was President of RIBA from 2017 – 2019 where he oversaw fundamental change in the financing and governance of the institute and the instigation of policies in relation to climate action, professional competence and codes of conduct.

Ben has published widely in research on housing for example relating to the performance rating of homes and in relation to Supurbia, a strategy for suburban intensification through collective action of neighbours. He has summarised his long career as a housing designer, in a book, Home Truths, published by Hatch Editions and available from RIBA Books in January 2023, effectively a primer for anyone with an interest in the planning and design of sustainable places.

Professor Helena Hamerow

Reappointed for a second term of four years from 01 September 2023.

Helena Hamerow is Professor of Early Medieval Archaeology at the University of Oxford. Her research interests include the economy, settlements and farming practices of early medieval Europe. She is a Fellow of St Cross College, where she was Vice-Master from 2005-2008, and an Honorary Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford.

Helena has previously served on the Board of Visitors of the Ashmolean Museum and the Board of Curators of the Bodleian Libraries and was an elected member of the Council of the University of Oxford from 2016 to 2020. She is a former President of the Society for Medieval Archaeology and Vice-President of the Royal Archaeological Institute.  Helena is a Fellow of the British Academy and a member of the Board of Directors of Oxford Archaeology and of the Board of Visitors of the Pitt Rivers Museum. She currently Chairs the Historic England Advisory Committee.

Remuneration and Governance Code

Commissioners of Historic England are remunerated £4,113 per annum. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election.

Ben Derbyshire and Helena Hamerow have declared no political activity.