The AGM will follow our normal order of business, with a report on our work last year, a report about our finances, and various elections. If there is a specific question you would like to ask, please email us ahead of time.

Our guest speaker this year will be Sir Stuart Lipton, a leading property developer in central London for more than 40 years.

He is an unapologetic proponent of contemporary architecture and is a strong advocate for high building standards and better housing, as well as the need for public spaces and local amenities in all larger developments. Because of this he always been a strong supporter of the BREEAM sustainable building standards and the UK Green Building Council, was a member of the governmental Royal Fine Art Commission 1988-1999 and became the first chairman of its replacement, the architecture watchdog Cabe (the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment), 1999-2004.

He is also seeking social change and thinks housebuilders are failing. In a long interview in the industry magazine Building in 2018, he said: “Have you seen what housebuilders are building in the suburbs and provinces? They are reincarnating Victorian workhouse houses. Shameful. If people had better homes, if they had better conditions, their aspirations would be greater, their medical bills would be less, their educational standards would be higher and they wouldn’t be going around knifing people.”

As a co-founder in 1983 of Stanhope plc, and since 2015 a partner in Lipton Rogers, he has been involved in numerous large developments in and around London, from Broadgate, Paternoster Square and 22 Bishopsgate in the City, to Stockley Park and Chiswick Park in the outer boroughs of west London. Current projects include the net zero complex 18 Blackfriars Road (which contains two residential buildings) and the redevelopment of the Park Tower Hotel. He has also been involved in redevelopment work or creation of new buildings for the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, the National Theatre, Glyndebourne, the Royal Academy and Tate Modern.

Stuart Lipton was knighted in the 2000 Birthday Honours for services to the property industry and the environment.

There will be drinks in the foyer afterwards to which all are welcome.

This is a free event with no need for booking, but a donation of £10 for each non-member attending will be appreciated and can be paid below.