West Midlands Region

West Midlands Region

Annual Report for 2013

Chairman’s Report

I am sure a number of Chairs for the region face the year with some trepidation and I was certainly no exception to that. We are very fortunate in the West Midlands to have had excellent past Chairs but I felt very supported in the role by so many people and it was great to have not only a Vice Chair but also a Junior Vice Chair too, Dan Roberts and Mike Vout respectively, so a big thank you to everyone for all of their support.

Members’ event

Representing members is not an easy task, particularly when you have no idea what the views of the majority of members are, so we held an evening event in March to consider what the RTPI does at both the national and regional level and for the Regional Activities Committee to understand what members in the West Midlands would like to see more of. We were fortunate to have the RTPI’s Chief Executive, Trudi Elliot, at the event to set out the RTPI’s national perspective. I was keen to learn about what we could do to improve, however, it was good to step back and realise what we do actually have in the West Midlands with members saying that we did the following things well:

·  CPD

·  Young Planners

·  Active Region

·  Tripwire, and

·  An enthusiastic RAC

Season Ticket

It was good to know that the Season Ticket had been welcomed and having chaired the first two events of the year I was pleased to see the great support that members were giving to it in its second year with more season tickets being purchased which is a fantastic reflection of the hard work that all of the event leads had done. In particular thanks go to Ray Colbourne for working with Sue Griffith-Jones, our Regional Co-ordinator, in overseeing the season ticket events and all the event leads.

Young Planners

The young planners and the support that they give one another is another great asset which must not be taken for granted. As I discovered in other areas, the young planners are not as actively involved in their professional institute as they are in the West Midlands.

Tripwire

Tripwire was seen by members as a good thing but we all know this would not be possible without a willing and fantastic editor who consistently ensures that we have a regular magazine to keep us all up to date with what is happening in the region. So a big thanks to John Acres. More importantly it was fantastic that John was recognised by the RTPI nationally with John being awarded the Outstanding Service Award, which was thoroughly deserved.

Areas for improvement

There are, however, areas for improvement with members suggesting the following:

·  Wider involvement and greater promotion of the RAC

·  Encourage more sub-regional events

·  Hold more events outside Birmingham

·  Arrange more social events

·  Better regional engagement with other built environment institutes

·  Celebrate things that are done in the region and promote the planning profession more

One of the areas that I found illuminating at the event was how the people who serve on the RAC actually got involved. It transpired that most people got involved because they knew someone else, came along to a meeting, realised that it wasn’t really boring meeting, and that it was a good arena to catch up with fellow professionals, keep up to date with what’s going on and talk to motivated people in the planning profession from different organisations. I am pleased to say that the RAC this year has seen new people joining which hopefully signals the fact that we are obviously doing something right.

Social events

With the focus on more social events, the Young Planners Group stepped in and held a number of new events; a quiz and canal boat trip to name but two. The Urban Design Forum held an open top tour of Birmingham. Unfortunately I couldn’t attend that event, however I received excellent feedback on how good it was. In addition it was mentioned that we should hold some events outside of Birmingham. Recognising that not everyone likes the formality of a Ball, which has become a firm fixture in the West Midlands Region’s calendar, it was decided to bring back the Autumn Reception. This was held at the Black Country Museum with a talk by officers at Dudley MBC, my old stomping ground, with a tour and fish and chips at the Black Country Museum. The event was attended by approximately 70 people, which clearly demonstrated the need for such an event. Given the level of support for the Autumn Reception I am pleased that this has been taken forward into the Centenary year.

Summer Ball

I mentioned the Ball above and what a fantastic night that was. The evening was a great success, and we were so lucky to have such great weather. A big thank you to all on the Ball committee and a particular thanks to Laura Smith for all of her hard work in making sure everything came together on the night.

For my Chairs Award I chose Planning Aid, who celebrated 40 years in 2013, in recognition of all of the hard work that the hundreds of volunteers have and continue to do in the region

President’s Visit

When the President of the RTPI, Peter Geraghty, visited the West Midlands I took him to Dudley MBC, to meet planners in the workplace and to show him the regeneration at Dudley town centre. We then had a tour of the new Birmingham Library, followed by a drinks reception hosted by the Young Planners Group. The following day John Acres, escorted Peter to see some of the RTPI National Award winning schemes in Birmingham and met with planners from the Turley’s Birmingham office. Peter’s theme for his Presidential year was “Proud to be a Planner” and I can say it was great for Peter to meet so many enthusiastic and committed planners in the region.

Budget

Building on the excellent work which was done in 2012, and with the continuing success of the Season Ticket, I am happy to report that the Budget surplus has increased and that we have a very healthy bank balance taken forward into 2014. We had another good year for securing sponsorship for our events which is in part I feel due to the good relationships that we have developed over the years and the quality of the events that we continue to put on.

Other issues

It was not all plain sailing, however, with a considerable amount of time having to be spent preparing and submitting a business case for increasing the hours for the West Midlands Regional Co-ordinator in order for the region to operate in a way in which we want it to be administered. I am very pleased that this was resolved to everyone’s satisfaction before my year ended as I wanted everything to be “ship shape” for when Dan took over. In addition it was good that the work the Regional Co-ordinator does for the region was acknowledged by Head Office. As we all know, Chair’s come and go, however this post is the back bone of the region, so I would like to take the opportunity to thank Sue Griffith-Jones for all of her hard work over the past 12 months.

Finally, I would like to say a big thank you the Regional Management Board, Committee members and to Paul Harris, the Regional Secretary, who has told me what to do and when and has managed to keep me on the straight and narrow.

I really enjoyed my year and leave the region in the save hands of Dan, who I wish every success in the RTPI’s Centenary year.

Sandra Ford

Regional Management Board

Chairman: Sandra Ford

Senior Vice Chairman: Dan Roberts

Immediate Past Chairman: Andrew Thompson

Secretary: Paul Harris

Treasurer: Ashley Baldwin

Representative on General Assembly: Hector Pearson

Regional Activities Committee

Corporate Members (in addition to the above):

John Acres Mike Beazley Claire Bridges

Ray Colbourne George Goodall Chris Green

Richard Hammersley Ken Harrison Stephen Hill

Sue Manns Dave Marr Julie Morgan

Paresh Shingadia Laura Smith Michael Vout

Mark Walton Alexa Williams

Student/Licentiate Members:

Louis Bird Daniel Comerford Viral Desai

Ben Simm Bal Tiwana Chris White

Technical Members:

None

Observers:

Susan Griffith-Jones (Regional Co-ordinator)

Sarah Holmes (Europe & International Group)

Carl Mellor (National Association of Planning Enforcement)

Craig Wall (Urban Design Forum)

Objectives and Priorities for 2013

At a time of limited resources and increasing expectations, it is essential that the RTPI and its regions make the best use of what they have. The Business Plan for 2013 focused on key services that would help to develop and support regional members and promote the vital role that town and country planning plays in our society. It was closely aligned with the RTPI’s Corporate Strategy, whilst also reflecting the specific circumstances and experiences in this region. This Business Plan sought to focus on key services that help to develop and support regional members and promote the vital role that town and country planning plays in our society.

A range of key objectives were established which underpinned what we sought to achieve and deliver during the year.

Objectives

i.  To provide a wide range of opportunities for professional development in order to improve the skills of planners in the region.

ii.  To support those members who have lost their jobs and to assist them in getting back into planning-related work.

iii.  To raise the profile of the planning profession and to promote it as a career choice for young people.

iv.  To contribute to the development and effective operation of the planning process through debate and engagement with the government, agencies (including the new Local Enterprise Partnerships) and other institutions.

v.  To encourage a wider involvement of members in the activities and services of the RTPI region.To make individuals and organisations in the region more aware of the services we provide.

vi.  To increase the public’s awareness of the contribution that spatial planning makes to meeting the needs of society, with particular emphasis on its role in the Big Society and the localism approach.

vii.  To assist in delivering the RTPI’s ‘Planning to Live with Climate Change’ commitment.

viii.  To ensure the Region operates in an efficient and effective manner in delivering its services.

Although the regional tier of government has been abolished, we believe it is important as a region of the RTPI to continue to function and to engage with sister Institutes and other organisations at this level. We also support the role of the West Midlands Futures Network which is active on this front.

A specific challenge we face at the present time is how to increase the level of sponsorship in order to increase the income available to support various activities.

Secretary’s Report

The RTPI introduced new arrangements for the management of its regions at the start of 2006. There is now a clear distinction between the roles of the Regional Management Board (RMB) and those of the Regional Activities Committee (RAC). In particular the RMB has sole responsibility for conducting and managing the affairs of the Region and is answerable to the trustees of the Institute.

Although there are clear lines of responsibility, we decided in the West Midlands to hold joint meetings of the RMB and RAC. The situation was reassessed at the end of the 2009 and it was felt strongly that the current arrangements worked effectively and should continue. They help to ensure that members of the RAC have an influence over the running of the RTPI Region and that the RMB can appreciate the views of a wider range of colleagues when making decisions.

As scheduled, the RMB/RAC met on six occasions in 2013. All the meetings were held at the Old Joint Stock in Birmingham city centre. This venue provides a convivial atmosphere and it is relatively accessible from all parts of the region. Unlike recent years, it was decided not to hold any of the committee meetings elsewhere in the region as the experience had showed that very few local members and a smaller number of Committee members attended.

However, it is important to stress that Committee meetings are open to all regional members and everyone is welcome to attend.

As well as overseeing the implementation of a wide range of regional activities and services, the Committee considered a number of critical topics during the year, including:

·  how to encourage more members to become actively involved in regional activities;

·  public relations and promoting planning in the media;

·  preparations for celebrating the RTPI’s centenary in 2014;

·  the role of planners and planning in the work of the Local Enterprise Partnerships;

·  promoting the RTPI’s School Ambassadors (Future Planners) Project.

Please contact me on if you would like to know more about the arrangements.

Paul Harris

Regional Representative on the General Assembly

2013 was my fifth and final year as your representative on the RTPI’s General Assembly. For 2014, Sue Manns takes over as your West Midlands representative. As you will know, the General Assembly provides a forum for debate about the development of planning policy and practice, and provides a sounding board for the RTPI’s corporate policy. 2013 was the first year that the roles of President and Chair of the Board of Trustees were split, following a governance review and formal changes in 2012. Andrew Taylor, Assistant Director of Planning and Building Control at Uttlesford DC in Essex is Chair of the Board for 2013-4.