Find an event

Enter the subject you would
like training on in the box below:

Development planning

Economic Development Conference

Date 25 May 2011
Duration 1 Day
Price GBP 489 + VAT
Location London
Venue The Hatton (etc Venues)
Registration 9.00-9.30
Close of Seminar 4.30
Our code 36538
Also held on There are no other dates for this event confirmed yet. Please call us on 0845 120 9602 for more information.

Book now

Why you should attend this conference


Planning for economic development has never been quite so hard; the credit crunch followed by the recession has challenged developers and in turn town planners. Plans and policies are not being implemented as we may have expected. Even in a recovering market we may not be able to assume the industry will return to the pre-recession normal. Added to this we will need to implement new and evolving planning policies, including a new Planning Policy Statement, the requirement to produce Local Economic Assessments, a number of new Regional Planning Strategies and quite possibly a new Government agenda.

This conference offers an opportunity for planners, developers and others involved in economic development to explore the key issues facing us and how we can best respond to the challenges. Several of the speakers presented last year and will focus on what has changed in the last 12 challenging months and how they see the future for both the development industry but also town planning. We also add a new international dimension, recognising that the UK is not alone in chasing a finite pool of jobs and investment.

Benefits of attending


Attending this conference will enable you to:

  1. Assess how your policies may perform in the recession and if they need to change
  2. Peer inside forecasting models
  3. Learn from market practitioners
  4. Understand what the market will deliver and when
  5. Understand how to respond to market signals
  6. Learn how planning can work to support sustainable economic growth

Who should attend?


  • Local authorities – planners and economic development officers
  • Regional planning bodies
  • Regional development agencies
  • Delivery and regeneration agencies
  • Government departments
  • Property developers and investors
  • Planning and property consultants

Conference programme

This programme will be updated for 2011 but may include:

9.00 Registration and coffee

9.30 Welcome and introduction by the chair

9.40 The economy - an update

  • National, regional and local economies
  • Where are we now compared to this time last year?
  • Are we going back to business as normal?
  • How much growth?
  • What sectors, types of job and types of space
  • How to deal with uncertainty?

10.10 The property market - an update

  • What are market now signals saying?
  • What has changed in the last 12 months?
  • What is the development industry thinking?
  • Are we near the bottom, on the way up or ‘double dipping’?
  • Where will be the new hotspots?
  • What should planners do to help?

10.40 Coffee and networking

11.00 The property market – an international and inward investment dimension

  • Inward investment trends and prospects
  • What are inward investors looking for (accessibility, quality of life and education factors) and how is the market responding?
  • Hotspots for investment and development in the UK
  • The role of planning and planners in promoting development and securing investment – planning policy; infrastructure issues; funding; “spatial” dimension
  • The relationship between economic forecasts and the property market (investment, development and occupier trends and temporal relationships)

Planning for prosperity

How we should do it now

11.30 How to plan for sustainable economic development, the new PPS

  • National policy
  • The new PPS
  • Key objectives
  • What has changed since last time?
  • What does the Government want planners to do?
  • What could we do better?
  • Does the recession change anything?

12.00 Local Economic Assessments

  • The benefits of the new duty
  • Its potential contribution to economic development policy making
  • The key principles that should underpin assessments
  • Linkages between the duty and spatial planning

12.30 Panel dicussion

1.00 Lunch

2.00 The lessons of the Manchester Independent Economic Review process

  • A major evidence-based study of a local economy and its prospects
  • Reading the economic runes in changing times
  • The significance of agglomeration
  • Aligning the economic and the social
  • Translating evidence into strategy and practice

2.40 Planning for change economic development planning and a potential new government

At the time of writing the date for the next general election had not yet been announced. But by May 2010 we will either

have a new (re-elected?) Government or the Country will be preparing its self to go to the polls. Either way this last session will explore what may be in store for Planners and economic development policies.

4.20 Chair's closing comments

4.30 Close of conference

CPD requirements

This event is intended to help RTPI members with their CPD requirements.

Want to book this as part of your season ticket ansd save up to 28%

Simply Click here to be directed to the booking form.

In-house training

In-house training can be presented exclusively for your organisation on any subject in the planning and development field, including management skills. Training is individually tailored to meet the specific needs of your organisation .

To discuss your in-house requirements please contact Sarah Miller on 020 7960 5692 or e-mail sarah.miller@rtpiconferences.co.uk

Send this page to a colleague

Book now

Back to top