RTPI Conferences

Regeneration

Retail and Town Centres Conference

Date	6 October 2010
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	35610
Also held on	There are no other dates for this event confirmed yet. Please call us on 0845 120 9602 for more information.

• Why you should attend this conference
• Benefits of attending
• Who should attend?
• Conference programme
• Conference chair
• Conference speakers
• Quotes from previous participants...
• In-house training

Why you should attend this conference

Over the last 2 years the economic recession has had a dramatic impact on the vitality and viability of our city and town centres. Falling retail sales, reduced consumer spending, increased business failures and rising vacancies have resulted in ‘fragile’ business, consumer and investor confidence. All centres and businesses – large and small – have felt the full force of the economic storm. Even some of the modern new shopping schemes that have opened recently are struggling to attract operators. At the same time a number of high profile schemes planned for centres across the country have either been shelved or frozen. This conference will provide an update of the current economic and retail development ‘climate’ and comment on the challenges for attracting new investment and development to our town centres.

The conference will also assess the early impact of PPS4 and the new coalition Government on retail planning and town centre development, including the potential impact of the proposed scrapping of the regional planning regime. More emphasis is now being placed on Local Planning Authorities to prepare sound spatial visions and strategies for the management and growth of centres through robust evidence-based studies. The emphasis is on flexible and deliverable policies that are able to respond to changing economic circumstances by making full and effective use of the available planning tools to achieve their vision and strategy, working in partnership with the private sector and key stakeholders. This is meant to provide developers with greater certainty to bring forward development proposals once the economic climate improves. But are planners, operators and developers “up for the challenge” and what lessons can be learnt from the past?

Benefits of attending

This conference will address the following:

1. What are the implications for regional planning bodies and local planning authorities of PPS4 guidance on plan-making and the assessment of planning applications for retail and town centre uses?
2. For developers, occupiers and investors, does PPS4 potentially “open the door” for new edge and out-of-centre development now that the needs test is being scrapped?
3. What are the main trends affecting retailing at present and what does the future hold for town centres and the high street?
4. Have we experienced the passing of a “Golden Age” for retail-led regeneration with little prospect for major new development in the near future, or are we at the “dawn” of a new era of town centre development and investment?
5. What practical policy and financial initiatives can the public sector undertake now to keep momentum going on existing regeneration projects and/or instigate new projects?
6. What practical policy and financial initiatives can the public sector undertake now to keep momentum going on existing regeneration projects and/or instigate new projects?

Who should attend?

This conference is for:

• Local authority planners
• Retailers, leisure operators, investors and developers
• Planning consultants and surveyors
• Urban designers and architects
• Town centre managers

Conference programme

9.00 Coffee and registration

9.30 Welcome and introduction by the chair

Steve Norris, Partner, Strategic Partnerships LLP

9.40 Retail-led Development: The end of an era, or a new dawn?

• An overview of the impact/benefits of retail-led regeneration over the last 15-20 years
• An update on the impact of the economic downturn on developer, investor and retailer activity
• The future for urban regeneration initiatives and our town centres?

Steve Norris

10.20 The economic recovery – what does it mean for consumers and retailing?

• What type of recovery is in store for the UK economy and how is this impacting on consumers and the retail sector?
• What does the impending fiscal tightening mean for consumers and retailers?
• Key risks to the retail sector

Sunita Bali, Senior UK Economist, Experian

11.00 Coffee and networking

11.20 Update on Government’s future policies

• The potential impact on town centres and retail planning
• Reinstatement of the ‘needs’ test
• The effect of the ‘Decentralisation and Localism Bill’

12.00 The impact of PPS4

• Has it produced greater clarity in decision-making
• Has there been no real change?

Sasha White, Barrister, Landmark Chambers

12.40 Panel discussion

1.00 Lunch

2.00 Economic vision for recovery

• Place making and shaping for town centre improvement

Keith Thomas, Senior Director, AECOM

2.40 Making town centres happen – the local authority perspective

• The Newbury 2025 vision and parkway retail development opening in 2011

Nick Carter, Chief Executive, West Berkshire Council

3.20 Making town centres happen – the development perspective

4.00 Panel discussion

4.20 Close of conference

Conference chair

Steve Norris set up Strategic Perspectives LLP in March 2008. Strategic Perspectives LLP forms part of the wider ‘Perspectives Group’, comprising Planning Perspectives LLP (established in 1996) and Environmental Perspectives LLP (established in 2006). Providing national coverage, Strategic Perspectives LLP has unparalleled experience of working in partnership with both public and private sector clients to help deliver creative, robust and sustainable strategies to help unlock the investment and development potential of the UK’s cities, towns, smaller centres and complex sites.

Conference speakers

Steve Norris: Steve Norris heads up Strategic Perspectives LLP, which is a new business providing national consultancy advice in the specialist fields of retail and leisure planning; town centre consultancy & development; and economic development and regeneration. Steve was previously a Director in GVA Grimley's Planning Development and Regeneration (PDR) business unit and before that he led the Town Centre Futures and Retail Planning team at DTZ. He has over 16 years experience in providing leading-edge research and consultancy advice. Steve and his team provide creative and best value advice for the public and private sectors based on a deep understanding of the dynamics of the retail leisure and property markets, and the key drivers of investment and development. Custom House in the East End of London.

Sunita Bali: Sunita Bali is responsible for producing Experian’s macroeconomic and sectoral forecasts for the UK economy. She joined Experian from Rabobank, where she was a UK economist and currency/money markets analyst. She also worked as a country and industry economist at Global Insight and as an energy economist at WEFA.

Nick Carter

Keith Thomas

Sasha White: Sasha White has consistently been recognised as one of the leading junior members of the planning bar for many years. He has specialised in all aspects of Planning and Environmental Law for nearly 20 years. In that time he has advised over 500 clients and appeared in over 200 planning inquiries. After reading Law at Trinity College Cambridge, he was called to the Bar in October 1991. He completed pupillage with Neil King QC, Alun Alesbury and then William Hicks QC before commencing practice in April 1993 at 1 Serjeants Inn whose Head of Chambers were Sir Frank Layfield and then Lionel Read QC. He remained a member when the set merged to form Landmark Chambers in 2002.

Quotes from previous participants...

q "Well organised course with a wide range of relevant topics"

q "Excellent range of speakers on interesting subjects"

In-house training

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

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

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