Sir Peter Hendy CBE, chairman of Network Rail, and Tom Bloxham MBE, the co-founder and chairman of Urban Splash, have today confirmed that they will be joining the panel at ‘Cities, growth and rebalancing the UK economy‘ on 21st October. They will join our already-confirmed speakers, Professors Ron Martin and Brian Robson OBE, in discussing how investing in skills, infrastructure and the civic realm can deliver the productivity boost proposed by the Government through the ‘Northern Powerhouse’.

Tom Bloxham MBE is the co-founder and chairman of Urban Splash, a regeneration company set up in 1993 to bring back into use the ample stock of empty and wasted buildings in Liverpool and Manchester at that time. Urban Splash has expanded around the UK, undertaking more than 60 regeneration projects and investing over a billion pounds in regeneration, creating over 5,000 new homes, 2 million square feet of work space and thousands of jobs. Tom Bloxham is Chancellor of the University of Manchester, a trustee at the Tate, the Manchester United FC Foundation and Chair of the Manchester International Festival

Sir Peter Hendy CBE began his role as Chairman of Network Rail on 16 July 2015. Previously Sir Peter worked as Commissioner of Transport for London, a post that he held from 2006 until his appointment at Network Rail. Sir Peter led and prepared the successful operation of London’s transport during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Sir Peter began his career as a graduate trainee at London Transport in 1975, following a degree in Economics and Geography.