Steven Bee is being made redundant after seven years at EH after role is merged

The director of planning and development at English Heritage is to be made redundant, under plans to restructure the heritage quango.

Steven Bee will depart the organisation, having made it much more development-friendly since his arrival in 2003. His role is to be merged with that of Edward Impey, who will become group director for heritage protection and planning.

The move has raised fears that English Heritage (EH) is about to reverse its policy of recent years of greater engagement with developers.

EH had its budget cut by 32% in the Comprehensive Spending Review and is set to lose 200 posts overall.

Paul Chadwick, head of heritage at planning consultant CGMS, said: “Steven has been a breath of fresh air. It’s sad to see him go.”