Creating strong places: leadership from the ground up

Place Directors have been instrumental in shaping our post-covid world, pursuing strategies to lower carbon emissions, improve resilience and support growth. The recent cost of living crisis with all time high inflation and energy costs, have added yet another layer of challenge to our ability to deliver on climate change adaptation, economic prosperity through levelling up and vibrant thriving places.

Ongoing political uncertainty following 2023’s local elections, which saw change of control in a number of councils and the election of many new councillors, and the prospect of a general election next year create both challenges and opportunities. Place Directors have a real opportunity to get on the front foot, making the case for local government and shaping our agenda to ensure we are driving the right outcomes over the longer term. We must ensure that local government is valued by central government, other agencies and the public, and to win the argument that council spending is an effective, value for money way to deliver national ambitions for clean growth, net zero and nature recovery. But short-term funding and ad hoc competitive funding streams mean we are delivering against an unclear back drop and lack of funding certainty. We must work with other levels of government to make the devolution journey a reality, to build on the existing deals and secure the consistent long-term funding needed.

All this comes at a time of increasing public and government expectations for Place, with experience showing we cannot be complacent about the power of perception: we must take our partners with us, whether politicians, business or our local communities. The post-covid, cash strapped, carbon reduction world requires new approaches and new skills for those delivering our place services.

Place Directors know their patch and are driven to deliver low carbon, value for money, resilient services that add up to quality of life for our residents. The ADEPT Autumn Conference will provide an opportunity to explore what we need to do, how we need to influence, and the skills we need to build to ensure we are providing leadership from the ground up, taking people with us and creating strong places through public pride. The conference will explore the following themes:

Taking our places forward

Be it lack of funding, meeting the climate agenda or dealing with a global pandemic, the challenges keep coming at us. Fortunately, what the place sector has in buckets is real skill in adapting and simply getting on and delivering. The conference gives us an opportunity to take stock of what we are doing across the sector in getting the basics right, whether it’s ensuring climate resilient highways services, taking on new duties such as Local Nature Recovery Strategies or delivering environment and waste regulatory changes. We will also consider how we find the headspace and resource to take on and de-risk new innovation across our place services, so we don’t end up investing in short-lived technologies.

Taking government with us

We must work with government at all levels, and with the advisory bodies, delivery agencies and regulators that are key partners across all sectors. The government sets the policy for the place sector to deliver on. However, national policy does not always align with local politics or have public support, leaving Place Directors walking a tightrope. We will explore the areas we want to see addressed by national government to unlock opportunities for place to go further and do more for our communities. These include alternative funding mechanisms to better support the green agenda and initiatives to drive action and behaviours essential to meet net zero commitments.

Taking our people with us

The challenge of taking people and communities with us has never been so great or mattered so much. From local active travel or school street initiatives to waste site booking systems and opposition to new homes, we all have experience of public backlash regardless of our conviction of the right course of action. If we don’t communicate effectively and take our residents and businesses with us, we won’t get political support and we will fail to deliver essential outcomes. The skills we need to address this type of challenge are evolving, particularly understanding how to induce the necessary changes in behaviours. We will examine how we can help ourselves, as well as harness the energy and voice of others in delivering the place agenda.

PROGRAMME

Day 1	Thursday 16 November
09:00	Welcome & Introduction Anthony Payne – ADEPT President / Plymouth City Council
09:15	Plenary 1: The public mood, the political dynamic, and the agenda for place Chair: Rupert Clubb, Chair, ADEPT Past President / East Sussex County Council Rachel Brisley, Research Director, IPSOS Mori Jason Pavey, Managing Director O&M UK & Europe, AtkinsRealis Councillor Marianne Overton MBE, Leader of the LGA Independent Group and Vice Chair of the LGA
10:30	Coffee & Networking Break
11:00	Plenary 2: The future of transport – driving change over the next 10 years Chair: Ann Carruthers, 1st Vice President & Chair, ADEPT Transport & Connectivity Board / Leicestershire County Council Professor Greg Marsden, Professor of Transport Governance, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds Jessica Matthew, Co-Director, Local Transport, Department for Transport Danny Williams, Chief Executive Officer, Active Travel England
12:15	Ministerial Address Chair: Anthony Payne, ADEPT President Trudy Harrison MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Natural Environment and Land Use), Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
12:45	Lunch
13:30	Plenary 3: What did we learn from the Covid-19 pandemic? Chair: Chris Henning, Co-Chair, ADEPT Sustainable Growth Board / Derbyshire County Council Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities Professor Ivan Browne, Director of Public Health, Leicester City Council
14:45	Coffee & Networking Break
15:15-16:15	WORKSHOP SESSIONS Workshop 1: Delivering local nature recovery: A coordinated, practical approach to tackling the biodiversity and climate crises Facilitator: Stuart Freeman, Jacobs With: Penelope Borton – Jacobs,  Andrew Clark – Merseyside Environmental Advisory Service, Steph Hepworth – Nature North This workshop will consider how Local Nature Recovery Strategies can be delivered through mechanisms beyond biodiversity net gain and the public authority biodiversity duty, whilst creating multiple, shared benefits. There will be a focus on practical action, reflective of wider financial pressures, whilst highlighting opportunities for value creation.
15:15-16:15	Workshop 2: Decarbonising local roads, how we accelerate change for the benefit of all LAs across the four nations Facilitator: Phil Skegg, Ringway With Giles Perkins – LL2 Programme Director, Neil Gibson – LL2 Commissioning Board Chair, Karl Rourke – East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Tracy Cowley – Transport for West Midlands, Jake Harrison – North Lanarkshire, Beth Lewis – Devon County Council, Pamela McGuiness – Liverpool City Council, Mike O’Dowd-Jones -Somerset Council, Matt Davey – West Sussex, Nigel Riglar – South Gloucestershire Live Labs 2 is a 3-year, UK-wide £30m programme funded by DfT that aims to decarbonise the local highway network. The programme focuses on how to support the transition to net zero carbon local roads, assets and infrastructure. Join this interactive workshop to hear more about the seven projects, grouped by four interconnected themes, that being led by local highways authorities working alongside commercial and academic partners.
15:15-16:15	Workshop 3: The Future is AI? Lose the fear through experiential learning Facilitator:  David Ogden and Jo Oliver, Colas Ltd With: Josh Wood – FYLD, Stuart Fawcett – UBY, Rupert Lorraine – University of Plymouth, Thomas Rollin – Colas SA AI is a hot topic globally as well as in the ‘Place’ sector. There are widely dispersed views and maturities of understanding of AI and its value. Some local authorities have banned the use of ChatGPT for example, yet others are exploring specific use cases. This workshop is an opportunity to explore a range of AI technology and its practical applications to identify opportunities that could – Improve job satisfaction by looking at tasks which could use AI – Improve productivity through the use of AI – Investigate where AI could help deliver effective transformational change in the sector  This is your opportunity to explore some of the AI technology applications available and give your thoughts to help support and develop AI in the Place sector.
16:15-17:15	Workshop 4: Greening our urban places Facilitator: Ian Richardson, Costain With: Ellie Robinson & Claire Graves – National Trust, Clare Warburton – Natural England, Drew Bennellick – National Lottery Heritage Fund, Philip Robinson – Plymouth City Council What’s working when it comes to greening our urban places? What do we need from leaders? The benefits that access to green space and nature provide for those most in need, where they live, are cross-cutting. Which means that designs for and delivery of great green and blue infrastructure need to be cross-directorate and built in partnership with communities and stakeholders. And the business case for investing in it needs to stack up against other contenders. Hear from some of those who know some of the answers to these questions, find out what you could do in your place. This is just the start of the conversation…
16:15-17:15	Workshop 5: Fit for the future: Shaping mobility systems by focusing on the needs of people, communities, and places Facilitator: Melina Matyas, WSP With: Giles Perkins & Peter Ramsey, WSP Though a collaborative workshop session we will explore the opportunities and challenges of delivering transport and mobility systems that place the needs of people, communities, and places at their heart. By questioning the status-quo and navigating the changing landscape, workshop participants will debate approaches to achieve customer focused outcomes informed by systems thinking that could facilitate the shift to a decarbonised, digitalised, and sustainable mobility system. The session will consider the differing socio-demographic needs of communities and the fact that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is inappropriate for the future.
16:15-17:15	Workshop 6: Thought leadership in the place space Facilitator: Neil Gibson, PACE Programme lead With: Katie Stewart – Surrey County Council, Andrew Cook – Suffolk County Council, Sophie Broadfield – Bath & North East Somerset Council, Andy Denman – Amey Juggling priorities and with significant targets to achieve, we often don’t have the time or space to pause and find strategic solutions to the wicked issues facing the sector. With increasing pressure from the public on local and central Government, visibility of behavioural change techniques has grown – both to help manage public expectations and to influence wider policy aims. Long-term strategic decision-making can be difficult when we’re pressurised by the short-term external environment we deliver services in. Harnessing more voices across the public and private sectors generates new radical ways of thinking and encourages leadership to commit even when a decision is unpopular. Designed exclusively for place directors and senior leadership, hear from leaders on the first PACE programme on the use of behavioural change techniques to drive change.
17:30-18:15	General Meeting
19:00	Drinks Reception & Conference Dinner
Day 2	Friday 17 November
09:00	Plenary 4: Protecting the physical and digitally engineered world Chair: Andrew Cook, Chair, ADEPT East of England Board / Suffolk County Council
10:15	Coffee & Networking Break
10:45	Plenary 5: Delivering our environmental ambitions – opportunities & challenges Chair: Carolyn McKenzie, Chair, ADEPT Environment Board / Surrey County Council Kate Kennally, Chief Executive, Cornwall Council Jo Wall, Senior Strategy Director – Climate, Local Partnerships Pedro Wrobel, Executive Director of Innovation and Change, Westminster City Council
12:00	Closing Remarks Anthony Payne – ADEPT President 2023/24
12:15	Close of the Conference & Lunch

Venue

Crowne Plaza, Nottingham – Wollaton Street, Nottingham, NG1 5RH

Car parking is complimentary to guests staying at the Crowne Plaza overnight. Other delegates will need to adhere to the parking charges. Please click here for more information.

Pricing

Member Pricing (excluding VAT)

Package	Price	1 Night Accom.	Total
Two Day Conference including Dinner	£320	£125	£445
One Day Conference not including Dinner	£205	£125	£330

Non-Member Pricing (excluding VAT)

Package	Price	1 Night Accom.	Total
Two Day Conference including Dinner	£474	£125	£599
One Day Conference not including Dinner	£370	£125	£495

ROOM RATE SUBJECT TO CHANGE SO EARLY BOOKING IS RECOMMENDED

Individual conference dinner ticket: £65 + VAT

Single occupancy room rate: £125 + VAT / Double occupancy room rate: £138 + VAT