Elixr is pleased to announce the appointment of Richard Ford as a Non-Executive Director, drawing on his extensive experience leading planning and built environment strategies across the UK and internationally.

Richard serves as Partner, Planning, Environment, Digital Delivery, Energy & Infrastructure at Pinsent Masons, where he specialises in full lifecycle development; from strategic planning, land assembly and environmental assessment to microgrids and stewardship solutions, with digital delivery throughout the lifecycle. He leads major, high-profile projects spanning energy, infrastructure, and urban development sectors and specialises in data monetisation and digital delivery strategies, integrating project data stores, digital twins and consumer interfaces with wider area data trusts.

Richard has advised on complex, multi-disciplinary projects and frameworks, working closely with government agencies, developers, and engineering teams to navigate planning policy, environmental regulation, and digital innovation.

As a trusted leader in digitally-enhanced development, planning, environment and compulsory purchase law, Richard brings valuable insight into regulatory complexity, delivery risk, and enabling digital delivery of infrastructure and development, whether from scratch or retrofit.

As a NED, Richard will support Elixr’s growth by enhancing governance and strategic input across digital planning and delivery, environmental compliance, and long-term asset management and stewardship; ensuring that smart, data-driven regeneration delivers both value and delivery of sustainability strategies for partners and communities.

Q&A with Richard Ford

What attracted you to Elixr’s mission in smart regeneration?

I am attracted by Elixr’s strategy to integrate land promotion and development with digital technology solutions, including data share and digital twinning, and wrap in smart sensors, cost efficient energy solutions, tailored insurance products and more. The integrated nature of the business entities is powerful. 

You’ve led planning and digital delivery on major infrastructure projects—what outcome are you most proud of?

Helping transform places and communities is the most rewarding thing. For example, I advised for over 15 years on all the planning of the London Olympic Park (now Queen Elizabeth Park) and its transformation from a significantly contaminated, under-utilised and deprived part of East London to the successful and vibrant place it is today. I enjoy helping regenerate town and city centres, housing estates and delivering new towns and garden communities – the “golden outcome” is place-making and strong stewardship. Digital tools have become an essential ingredient in delivering the full lifecycle of a project successfully to achieve those outcomes and constantly enhance place-making and stewardship as the communities thrive. I am delighted Elixr is at the forefront of this.   

Which project taught you the most about integrating environment and digital tools into delivery?

Two immediately spring to mind, both of which I am working on at the moment. They are both major mixed use developments starting new communities from scratch. They involve a mix of residential, offices, commercial, retail, leisure, concert venues, sports facilities and a microgrid. As well as the “physical” side of the buildings and places, there is the environmental, sustainability, community and consumer integration taking place digitally. The strategy blends together the IT hardware & software, the smart sensors, a “host” digital twin and a data platform capable of ingesting any data set, with data gathered from a range of data partnerships and data share agreements, plus customer interfaces such as apps, social media, websites and QR codes from intelligent street furniture being overlaid on the digital twin. They are both truly smart campuses with the data stewardship and governance regime therefore being critical.   

What’s the biggest regulatory challenge in data-led development today?

I don’t think there is a regulatory challenge stopping smart new communities from coming forward. Obviously some countries have lighter touch regulation than others, but data always needs to be safeguarded, cyber secure and appropriately stewarded with a strong governance and ethics policy underlying the use of data. Global best practice underpins the strategy and regulatory compliance is essential but will always be met anywhere in the world if best practice is followed. 

What advice would you give to Elixr on building long-term stewardship into regeneration projects?

Putting the customer first is key – whether that customer is a resident, business occupier, charity, government organisation or other stakeholder. Successful stewardship of places comes from long term good governance arrangements in the beginning, involving and empowering the community and having a long-term patient approach to place-making and place-keeping. The integrated approach Elixr is championing makes a lot of sense to me. Elixr is seeking to (a) speed up the masterplanning of projects and show what is possible with an under-utilised site much more quickly, using related tools like MetaConnex; (b) assemble land and partner with local authorities and other public sector entities; (c) integrate smart sensors and dashboard reporting via the Senze and ArcLive platforms; (d) integrate competitive energy supply and reduced cost insurance products to customers; and (e) share data via a live data trust. The potential combinations of these services, products and approaches is powerful and I think will lead to cost reductions, efficiencies and enhanced revenues to plough back into stewardship, regeneration and communities.  I look forward to helping Elixr deliver these goals.