Date: Tuesday, 16 March 2010

Time: Refreshments from 2.30pm Debate from 3-5pm

Venue: Toynbee Hall, Commercial Street, London, E1 6LS

Fee: Free Entry

Legislation introduced in April 2009 calls for all local authorities to involve local people in decisions that affect them.
Six months on, has this mandate made a difference to how local authorities engage with communities around physical regeneration? Is it leading to more participative design processes? The event is part of a series of debates held in several locations across the UK, which bring together those who have been affected by the new legislation, as designers, community members and local authorities. With panellists and audience members from both professional and community backgrounds, you’ll be able to explore the topic from a range of perspectives. This is your chance to get involved and join the discussion! For more info download the London Debate flyer   Rachel Newton, Head of Policy and Research, Urban Forum Rachel joined Urban Forum in August 2009 as Head of Policy and Research. Urban Forum is a national charity and a membership organisation that supports communities to have a greater say over decisions that affect them. Rachel coordinates policy development and research activity at Urban Forum. This has included research into the implementation of the Duty to Involve and a third sector perspective on this, and development of a policy report on the Duty (due to be published in January 2009) which will make recommendations on the next steps for the duty, based on the research findings and intelligence from workshops around the country. She also led a study of good practice by public bodies in inclusive involvement for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, is developing a publication on the role of community organisations in making local democracy work, and is leading for Urban Forum on a joint research project with Ipsos Mori and Manchester University on local empowerment performance measures (National Indicator 4 and the Place Survey). Rachel also oversees Urban Forum’s work with members, who are largely drawn from the voluntary and community sector. This involves gaining information and insights from members to inform policy and research development, and developing resources to support voluntary and community sector to be more influential with local policy makers. Rachel has a long history work to tackle social exclusion, poverty and discrimination, both through working to influence public policy, and in the provision of front line advice services. Before moving to Urban Forum Rachel worked for Shelter for over a decade, most recently as English Regions Campaign Manager, and prior to this she worked for eight years at Manchester City Council. Matthew Blumler, Chair, Quaggy River Action Group Campaigner for river restoration, since 1990, as a way of combining natural environment into the urban environment to create a better environment. Founder (1990) and long time chair of the Quaggy Waterways Action Group, which recently won an award from BURA for community inspired regeneration. 1990-2007 Proposed and promoted the first storm water storage approach to Flood Alleviation in an urban area – Sutcliffe Park. Scheme won multiple awards and resulted in a new landscape in a deprived area. 1996-2002 Proposed, promoted and enabled first major river restoration in SE London – Chinbrook Meadows, which has inspired further river restoration in the area. Chinbrook Meadows resulted in rejuvenation and ongoing local involvement. Multi award winning. Many other innovative small scale projects resulting in engagement and involvement between local people and statutory agencies and government, including, in partnership with Thames 21 and Creekside, the current 3RiversCleanup annual event. Beth Kay, Regeneration Officer, Major Projects, London Borough of Brent The London Borough of Brent is the most ethnically diverse borough in the country and contains some of the countries most socially and economically deprived areas. Brents growth areas and regeneration areas include Wembley, one of London’s largest regeneration projects, South Kilburn, North Circular Road, Alperton and Church End. Beth is a Regeneration Officer for the Major Projects Team, part of the Policy and Regeneration Unit. Beth has project managed the development of the Alperton Masterplan which is to be adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document to the Local Development Framework and has been responsible for the launch of “Wembley Live presents…” a series of community events aimed at raising awareness and fostering community ownership of the Wembley Regeneration Project. Beth is an Architect with seven years experience of delivering projects in the private sector. Prior to working at Brent, Beth was an associate at a London based architectural practice and has been responsible for several community and voluntary sector led regeneration projects including Gillett Square, the Dalston Culture House and the Bradbury Street Regeneration project in Hackney. Tom Holbrook, Director, 5th Studio Tom Holbrook is a founding Director of 5th Studio. He qualified as an architect in 1995 having trained at the University of Cambridge and Kingston Polytechnic. Before becoming an architect, Tom has a diverse working life in theatre, film and exhibition installation; he was apprenticed as a stage carpenter. Tom taught architecture for over ten years at the University of Cambridge. His design research has developed an approach to strategic thinking that explores the dynamic between architecture and the scale of infrastructure and landscape. The relationship between high-level teaching and practice has encouraged design innovation and a fresh attitude towards conservation and regeneration projects. Tom has written, exhibited and lectured widely on these issues, and on the work of 5th Studio - most recently at the London School of Economics 'Cities' program, London Metropolitan University and University College Dublin. Recent work at 5th Studio includes leading on the Lea River Park Design Framework (International Urban Landscape Silver Award) and the Creative Exchange building in St Neots (a CABE exemplar and finalist for the Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award). Tom is currently directing work on a number of Olympic Fringe Legacy projects in East London, from masterplanning through to building scale, and the design of spaces for innovation in Cambridge. Tom was one of the winners of the Architects' Journal’s 40 under 40 and is a RIBA Award winner. Tom is a Design Advisor for the London Development Agency and a member of CABE's National Design Review Panel. Based in London, Open House is a unique, independent organisation committed to raising the standard of architecture and the built environment by opening people’s eyes and minds to good design. We have a basis of experience, expertise and research built up over a decade and a half. We encourage dialogue, debate and learning about how architecture affects our daily lives, and enable people to discover and understand how they can really influence change in the built environment. Design advocacy – that is, design awareness programmes for London decision-makers – is a key part of Open House's work. Within these programmes we provide exemplars of both buildings and processes that allow decision-makers of all kinds to see the value in investing resources in the development of a well-designed built environment; develop collaborative networks of interest among built environment decision-makers at local and regional levels; and disseminate research findings, knowledge and best practice to inform the creation of high-quality architecture and public space. Open House