Breakout Sessions

Breakout sessions will be taking place on Thursday 8 November 2007. You will have the opportunity to attend one breakout session which must be pre-booked. Please indicate your preferred breakout sessions on your registration form. Session themes are as follows:

City Development Companies - Successor to URCs or a new delivery model?

(Sponsored by Eversheds)



This workshop will explore the role and remit of City Development Companies and the challenges they face. It will provide the opportunity to test whether City Development Companies are the appropriate vehicle to locate responsibility in order to deliver the Treasury’s policy outlined in its Review of Sub National Economic Development and Regeneration.

Stuart Andrews, Partner, Eversheds
Ian Bromley, Chief Executive, Creative Sheffield City Development Company
Jan Anderson, Executive Director of Environment, Yorkshire Forward
Jim Gill, Chief Executive, Liverpool vision
Prof Mark Kleinman, Director of Regional, Urban and Economic Policy, CLG
Delivering skills for 21st century cities: Inclusion and Competitiveness

(Sponsored by: New College Nottingham and Castle College)
New College Nottingham          Castle College Nottingham

Following the publication of Leitch and Freud, the skills and employment landscape is changing rapidly. This workshop looks at how cities can respond to retain their competitive edge and ensure all their citizens are able to benefit from economic success.

Angie Robinson, Chief Executive, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce
Geoff Hall, Principal and Chief executive, New College Nottingham
Carol Taylor, Director of the Basic Skills Agency, NIACE

Multi Area Agreement’s, Governance & Leadership

The workshop will explore issues concerning governance and leadership at the city-region level, and in particular consider the role of Multi Area Agreements as a vehicle for strengthening co-operation within city-regions and between them and other partners.

Dr Simon Murphy, Project Director, Birmingham & Black Country City Region
Cathy Francis, Cross Boundary Partnerships, CLG
Julie Robson, Regional Director of Skills, West Midlands LSC
Neil Darwin, Manager, Regional Cities East

Cities in a Global Economy:  Creating the Conditions for Business Success

(Sponsored by: ARUP)


We are fast approaching the point where the majority of economic activity and employment in many of the most advanced economies will be generated within the knowledge economy. This workshop will look at how UK cities can respond to the challenge of globalisation by creating the kind of environment that will improve the UK’s economic and productivity performance.

Chair: Barry Horne, Corporate Director, Environment & Regeneration, Nottingham City Council

Colin Hilton, Chief Executive, Liverpool City Council
Nick Ebbs, Chief Executive, Blueprint
Cathy Garner, Chief Executive, Manchester: Knowledge Capital to the Cities
Tom Bridges, Associate Director, Arup
To PTE or not to PTE? Existing Models of Transport Governance in Light of the Draft Local Transport Bill

(Sponsored by Scott Wilson)



The panel will provide a much-needed opportunity to explore various models of transport governance in light of the Draft Local Transport Bill, and how these models can ensure that transport planning, delivery and funding are managed in a way that will foster the Bill’s aspirations to empower and make more effective local delivery of transport needs.

In particular, we aim to further develop our understanding of how these models can be used to better integrate transport as a basis for the more effective integration of transport policy with broader economic development and spatial planning policies, especially housing and land use planning.

Roy Wicks, Chair Passenger Transport Executive Group (PTEG)
Michael Frater, Chief Executive, Nottingham City Council
Jean Dent, Director of Development, Leeds City Council
Dr Andy Southern, Managing Director, Transport Planning
Adrian Coy, Technical Director-Local Authorities,Scott Wilson
Charlotte Dixon, Divisional Manager, Regional and Local Transport Strategy and Funding
Julian Ware, Principal – Corporate Finance, Transport for London.
You will be allocated your first choice wherever possible. As there are limitations on capacity within breakout rooms, all preferences will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Should your first choice of breakout session not be available you will automatically be allocated one of your alternative choices.