Architect, planner and urban designer, Jonathan Davis has taken the reins as chief executive at CoRE, the national Centre of Refurbishment Excellence.
Mr Davis is a former director of CABE, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, and was director of sustainable urban design consultancy, the Transition Studio, before his appointment at CoRE.

CoRE is designed to provide a one-stop, national centre of excellence, for the construction industry and built environment professions as they work to refurbish the nation's existing building stock to help secure a healthier, low carbon and energy efficient future.

Peter Bounds, chair of the board of CoRE, said: 'This is an appointment which will help to secure CoRE's position as a major influencer on how building refurbishment can help to regenerate our towns and cities.'

Mr Davis said: 'It is an enormous privilege to be coming to CoRE as its first chief executive at this key moment for the UK's built heritage and environment. We face a challenge of historic significance and the opportunities for the refurbishment of homes and business premises to create new prosperity and thousands of new jobs, to enhance well-being by reducing fuel poverty and cutting costs for industry, while at the same time helping the UK face the challenges of living in a changing climate are immense.

'That the men and women working in the construction industry should have the right skills to deliver excellence in refurbishment and take pride in what they do is vital to getting this right; CoRE is here to help them acquire those skills and gain the knowledge they need to understand the global importance of the work they are doing.'

CoRE will showcase the latest sustainable building products and systems and provide its customers with the skills and knowledge needed to embrace the new technologies and techniques necessary to provide retro-fit solutions for the country's homes and commercial buildings.