We are pleased to announce the appointment of three new non-executive members to the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation Board. Elena Lokteva and Peter Hawthorne joined on 1 May 2026, and Baerbel Schuett will join on 1 September 2026. These appointments have been made by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Peter Hawthorne is a former Chief Executive, and previously Finance Director, of London & Continental Railways Ltd (LCR), the government-owned development company that specialised in transport-enabled development and regeneration. At LCR, he worked with public and private sector partners to deliver regeneration projects through joint ventures at Manchester Mayfield, King’s Cross and Stratford in East London. He is a qualified accountant and a lay member of the Audit & Risk Committee at the University of Hull.
Elena Lokteva is a qualified accountant with over 25 years’ Board experience across the public, private and charitable sectors, with extensive expertise in audit, risk and financial oversight. She currently serves as a Non-Executive Director and Committee Chair across NHS Trusts, an NDPB and an industrial engineering group, overseeing financial sustainability, capital investment and operational performance in complex regulated environments. She has previously held Audit Committee Chair roles supporting governance and risk management resets and improving organisational risk maturity, and brings experience from private equity and international industrial businesses.
Baerbel Schuett is a qualified architect whose career has evolved into residential development, providing an end-to-end perspective on the built environment. She currently holds Non-Executive Director roles at East End Homes and ReSI Homes and sits on both their finance and investment committees. She was previously Development and Board Director at Wates Residential for four and a half years, and prior to that spent 13 years at Londonewcastle shaping and delivering high-quality residential schemes in London. She brings strong experience in joint ventures and strategic partnerships.
David Prout, Chair of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, said: “I am delighted to welcome Elena and Peter to the Board, as well as Baerbel, who will be joining us in September. Together they bring deep expertise spanning governance, financial oversight, regeneration and residential development, which will be invaluable as we continue to deliver major projects across Ebbsfleet.
“We already have a thriving new town, with established communities, high-quality homes and growing economic activity. The Board will play a key role in supporting the continued development of Ebbsfleet as we start to deliver the new town centre around Ebbsfleet International train station.”
For more information on the Board, visit: Ebbsfleet Development Corporation Board – Ebbsfleet Garden City