Place: The sky’s the limit Peter Freeman, Feargal Sharkey, Emma Squire, Karen Stafeckis and Stephanie Flanders (chair)

After qualifying as a lawyer, Peter Freeman formed the Argent Group of property companies with his brother in 1981. Argent is particularly known for major mixed-use projects like Brindleyplace in Birmingham, and King’s Cross and Brent Cross Town in London. Peter has also been a non-executive director on several other property companies and a trustee of a number of charities connected with education, combating intolerance and public performance art. He was shortlisted for the Wolfson Economic Prize on delivering garden cities in 2014 and was until October 2020 Chair of Mayfield Market Towns Ltd. Peter was the principal author of the 2020 Housing Sprint Report and was Chair of Homes England from 2020 to 2025.

Seán Feargal Sharkey is an Irish singer and a prominent environmental campaigner.  He was the lead vocalist of the punk band The Undertones, later becoming a solo artist. In 2019, he received an OBE for services to music. Feargal is a keen fly fisherman and has appeared in several episodes of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing. He has campaigned against the pollution of British rivers and often speaks on radio and TV programmes on the topic.

Emma Squire CBE became co-CEO of Historic England in a job-share with Claudia Kenyatta in November 2025. Emma joined Historic England in December 2023 as Director of Regions in a job-share with Claudia. Previously, Emma worked for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), where she spent over five years as Director of Arts Heritage and Tourism. Emma oversaw 28 public bodies while at DCMS, including not only Historic England but also the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Churches Conservation Trust, Arts Council England, and the national museums and galleries. Emma is also Chair of the Bridport Museum Trust on the Jurassic Coast in West Dorset and member of the Mayor of London’s Cultural Leadership Board.

Karen Stafeckis is York Central’s Director of Development and is responsible for delivering a highly sustainable place and community. Together with York Central colleagues, Karen is helping to drive the transformation of one of the largest brownfield sites in England, working with Homes England and Network Rail Property, as well as key partners including the City of York Council and the National Railway Museum. Previously she was Head of Development (North) at CEG – formerly Commercial Estates Group – where she was responsible for significant regeneration projects and partnerships across brownfield land in Leeds. She has also been involved in the climate agenda both at CEG and with the Leeds Climate Commission.

Stephanie Flanders is Senior Executive Editor for Economics at Bloomberg and head of Bloomberg Economics. She was Chief Market Strategist for Europe at J P Morgan Asset Management in London (2013 to 2017) and BBC Economics Editor (2008 to 2013). She has also been Senior Advisor to US Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers (1997 to 2001), editorial writer for the Financial Times and an economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and London Business School.