THE former chief executive of ITV and Capital Radio has been appointed as the new chairman of the Eden Project.

Richard Eyre, who joined the Eden board in 2003, has taken over the role from Ken Hill – Eden's chairman since 1999 – who is to retire.

A spokesman for the Eden Project said that Mr Eyre brought "a wealth of experience to the project".

Mr Eyre paid tribute to Mr Hill's "great contribution" over the past decade. He said: "Ken has been hugely effective as Eden's founding chairman. We thank him for all he has done and wish him well for the future."

Focusing ahead, Mr Eyre said: "Eden is a truly remarkable place. Our challenge is not just to safeguard it but to make it also a way of life."

Eden has also appointed Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire producer David Puttnam as one of three new members to the Eden Trust.

Lord Puttnam is chancellor of the Open University and chaired the Joint Parliamentary Committee which produced the 2007 Climate Change Bill.

His is joined on the Eden Trust board by Professor Sir Ghillean Prance, Eden's scientific director and a major contributor to the development of the project. He is a former director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, at Kew, and a world authority on the flora and fauna of the rainforests.

Entrepreneur Emma Harrison, who founded A4e, now a global company, established to help redundant steel workers to find work in other industries has also joined the Trust's board.

Anthony Salz, chairman of trustees, said: "I am delighted by the four new appointments. They will enable us to build on the amazing things that have been achieved by the Eden team in the past 10 years."