President update 3rd March - latest news from ADEPT
Hello everyone,
I don’t know about you, but February has flown by! This month has been packed with developments across several key areas.
At our leadership team meeting, we received an important update from the LGA, focusing on devolution and local government reorganisation, highlighting the challenges of managing both simultaneously. Sonika Sidhu, Deputy Director for Place at the LGA, will be attending future discussions as they develop their own support offer, which we are keen to complement for ADEPT members.
We also heard from Catriona Riddell, who is chairing a national group to help government shape the future of strategic planning in England. She shared insights on spatial development strategies, as universal coverage is required by the end of the first parliamentary term - the group will be submitting its proposals to Minister Matthew Pennycook in early March.
I'm delighted to announce the launch of our 'Find your Path' campaign, developed in partnership with DfT, Colas, APSE and MHA+. The campaign aims to tackle the critical workforce challenges we're facing in local authorities, particularly in attracting young people to place based roles. The eight week pilot is running across five local authorities – please share with your colleagues and partners more details here. One of our campaign partners, APSE, will be hosting a webinar on 18th March to explore the project in greater detail - book your place here.
I'm also pleased to announce a significant milestone for Live Labs 2, with the publication of our carbon baseline reports, marking a crucial step in understanding emissions across our seven Live Lab projects. Giles Perkins, Programme Director for Live Labs 2, has written a blog, exploring the challenges of carbon measurement, the diverse approaches taken by different projects and the pressing need for industry wide action to drive decarbonisation in the highways sector – find out more. I am really looking forward to the ADEPT Live Labs 2 Expo in Liverpool on 25th March too. Hopefully see you there!
The recent Blueprint Coalition webinar on adaptation and planning reform featured brilliant speakers from Bath & North East Somerset, Cornwall and Leeds Councils, as well as colleagues at TCPA and MHCLG. The discussions were timely, giving us real insight into how planning reforms - especially around the National Planning Policy Framework and Future Homes Standard - can help us tackle both the climate emergency and adaptation challenges we're all facing. If you missed it, the recording is available on our website or you can read about it in this month’s climate change blog.
Bookings are now open for the ADEPT Spring Conference and Annual Awards Dinner on 22nd May, offering a key opportunity to connect, share achievements and explore resilience in place services, people, and organisations. Focusing on 'Resilience in Place', the event will feature sessions covering economic, environmental, and human resilience, plus our Annual Dinner and President's Awards. Book your place now!
For more updates on ADEPT's latest news, publications, and the work of our boards and groups, visit our website: www.adeptnet.org.uk
