Alastair Smart, head of development and project management for six years, has left one of UK’s biggest clients

The head of development for one of the UK’s largest clients, the Crown Estate, has left the organisation.

A spokesperson for the Crown Estate said that Alastair Smart, head of development and project management for the last six years, had resigned from the organisation.

Smart had been overseeing work on eight developments, including the £450m redevelopment of the St James Market area of central London. The Crown Estate manages land owned by the Crown on behalf of the government. Last year Smart appointed Balfour Beatty and Bouygues to significant portions of the St James Market scheme.

The Crown Estate has overseen the £1bn regeneration of Regent Street over the past decade, and has a portfolio of land valued at £9.9bn including rural estates and shopping parks. Smart joined the Crown Estate from Lend Lease in 2009, where he was director of retail development.

A spokesperson said in a statement that Smart had resigned in order to “pursue fresh challenges.” The spokesperson said: “We want to thank Alastair for his commitment and hard work and we wish him every success in the future.”