ESG Herefordshire Limited, the organisation overseeing Hereford's biggest regeneration project in nearly 1000 years, has appointed Ted Willmott CB OBE as its new chairman.

The appointment follows the decision of Clive Richards OBE DL to retire after more than three years at the helm.

Mr Richards gave the ESG company the guidance and corporate structure it needed to negotiate and secure development partners for the regeneration of 100 acres of land immediately to the north of Hereford City's historic centre.

Mr Richards devotes time to a wide range of other ventures, including his charity work. He has been a significant benefactor throughout the county to education, the arts, to local churches and to people with disabilities or struggling with disadvantage. 

"Herefordshire Council will always be immensely grateful to Clive Richards and his invaluable contribution to the county", said leader of the council Roger Phillips. "His support in advancing the innovative regeneration plans for Hereford has been enormously valuable and will contribute to ensuring a strong county economy for the future.

"Without his help many Herefordshire schools would not have been able to secure the specialist status that is so important to them. Thousands of local people are benefiting from his long established interest in, and substantial financial and counselling support for, schools across the county, which has often been behind the scenes".

Mark Pearce, corporate director of economic regeneration for Advantage West Midlands (AWM) added: "Clive Richards has done much to make real the ambitious vision and masterplan to regenerate Hereford and we thank him for his commitment and enthusiasm.

"He helped to forge a strong and effective ESG board which is now looking forward to working with Ted Willmott in ensuring that the city and the county will thrive and prosper beyond the current economic downturn."

Ted Willmott, who succeeds Clive Richards as ESG Chairman, has been a member of the ESG board since 2006. He enjoyed a distinguished career with the British Army, where he rose to Major General and President of the Ordnance Board responsible for advice on the safety and suitability for service of weapon systems for all three of the Armed Services. He was then Director General Weapons and also appointed Colonel Commandant Royal Engineers and President of the Institution of Royal Engineers.

Following his retirement from the army in 1990, Ted was chief executive of the Construction Industry Training Board, leading the organisation through major change whilst continuing to arrange the training of some 14,000 new entrants to the industry each year. Ted became master engineer of the Livery of the City of London in 2004. He was chair of NHS Herefordshire and is now independent special adviser to the Healthcare Purchasing Consortium NHS.

"We are delighted that Ted Willmott has agreed to take on the role of chair," said Chris Bull, chief executive of Herefordshire Council and NHS Herefordshire.  "His skills and experience will help to ensure that momentum for the development of the ESG site is maintained during the current challenging economic climate so that Hereford is in the best possible shape to deliver and maintain sustainable economic growth for the county and provide excellent quality of life for its residents and visitors."

Jonathan Bretherton, chief executive of ESG Herefordshire Ltd added, "I have been privileged to work with Clive as my chairman. His immense energy and business acumen have driven us along and the county is fortunate to have his support in so many ways. Ted equally brings a terrific range of skills and experience which will be invaluable as we move towards building the infrastructure around which Hereford will grow".