President update 1st April - latest news from ADEPT
Hello everyone,
Before we head into the Easter break, I wanted to share a few updates.
I enjoyed attending Interchange 2026 in Manchester and being a member of National Highways’ panel discussion about what the future holds for England’s strategic road network. The Live Labs 2 session was excellent; it was good to hear about the lessons and successes of the various projects. I also attended the Arcadis session, 'Breaking the Gridlock: Gen Z's Role in Energising Sustainable, Digital Transport Futures'.
I chaired the ADEPT / Natural England webinar to launch EXPLORE - a practical, applied and evidence-based framework for integrated planning and decision-making across health, wellbeing, nature and sustainability. Over 150 people attended – to find out more, see here. I squeezed in the Midlands and East of England board meetings and had productive catch-ups with DfT. Perhaps the most difficult thing I’ve had to do in my whole presidency, however, was judging the ADEPT awards. So difficult to decide from a slew of inspiring entries!
At our most recent Leadership Team meeting it was great to hear progress across a number of areas. We had a useful discussion on the emerging and increasing challenges of recruiting senior leaders to deliver devolution and Local Government Reorganisation - something I know many of you are feeling on the ground. We also had a progress update on Live Labs 2 delivery plans for year four, which is shaping up to be a busy and productive one.
In March, ADEPT submitted its formal response to the government's consultation on Proposed Reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), welcoming the ambition to modernise the planning system, while calling for locally led planning to be maintained. A big thank you to everyone across our boards and working groups who fed into this - you can read the full response here.
Finally, with the ADEPT Spring Conference and President’s Awards now just weeks away, I'd encourage anyone yet to book their place to do so soon (deadline 27th April). This year's theme is Leading Local Places Through Change. We’re delighted that Local Transport Minister Simon Lightwood MP is our conference keynote speaker and David Porter, ICE President is our awards guest speaker - see the full programme and book here.
In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful Easter break.
For more updates on ADEPT's latest news, publications, and the work of our boards and groups, visit our website: www.adeptnet.org.uk.
