Speakers

Councillor Hazel Simmons

David Marlow

Hilary Chipping

Councillor Martin Tett

Councillor Hazel Simmons, Leader of Luton Council, Luton Borough Council

Councillor Hazel Simmons is the Leader of Luton Council, Luton Borough Council. Hazel moved to Luton in 1984 and became a Councillor for Lewsey Ward, Luton in 1991. She carried out a numerous roles within the Council including Chair of Leisure, Equalities, Standards Board and Area Board. She was also an Executive Member and Deputy Leader before becoming Leader in 2007.

Hazel has over 35 years Trade Union and political experience as well as Voluntary and Community Sector involvement. This includes the setting up of a Youth Café in Lewsey for young people at risk of offending.

As well as a very busy political role Hazel works for Central Bedfordshire Council as a Community Development Officer which involves her working across the conurbation of Luton, Houghton Regis and Dunstable.

Hazel is passionate about the involvement of local people in the democratic process and is determined to provide excellent quality and accessible services for the people of Luton.

Hazel has been Chair of Luton Forum; Luton’s Local Strategic Partnership, since becoming Leader and is proud of the partnership working that has resulted in Luton’s Sustainable Communities Strategy that includes the Local Area Agreement.

Hazel has always been keen of provision of Sports and Arts and is currently leading on the provision of a new 50 metre ‘Olympic’ pool for Luton.

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David Marlow, Chairman of Luton Gateway

David Marlow David is currently Managing Director of "Third Life Economics Limited" - an economic and organisation development consultancy established in 2008 to pursue his interests in providing research and technical assistance to organisations attempting to stimulate sustainable growth and regeneration within their field of operations. Immediately prior to this, David was Chief Executive of EEDA for five years, where his responsibilities included supporting Luton and South Bedfordshire in their efforts to grow their economy, and where he was a key role player in the genesis of the Integrated Development Programme (IDP) which lays out the priorities for investment in the LSBDV Growth Area.

David has also been Chief Executive of a large metropolitan council in Doncaster, and a Director of local authorities in Southampton and Lincolnshire. He was an Institutional Development Advisor in Southern Africa under the UKAID programme immediately following the election of the Mandela government, and has also spent periods living and working overseas in Central America and the Caribbean.

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Hilary Chipping, mksm Director

Hilary Chipping

Hilary Chipping was appointed Director mksm, January 2008, to raise the profile of Milton Keynes South Midlands (the largest growth area in the UK) and enable local authority and regional partners to deliver high quality growth in a sustainable way with appropriate funding for infrastructure and support services.

Previously, Director of Network Strategy at the Highways Agency from 2001 to 2007. Member of the Board of the Highways Agency. Responsible for developing an investment strategy for the motorway and trunk road network, establishing effective liaison with local and regional stakeholders, influencing policy development and land use planning to enable sustainable development.

Until 2000, Head of Roads Policy Division at the Department for Transport responsible for local and trunk roads – major schemes, maintenance and PFI projects.

Until October 2000, Head of Local Authority Housing Division at the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. Responsible for allocation of housing resources of around £4bn, both capital and revenue to local authorities.

Graduated from University of Manchester in 1977 with an MA in economics and joined the Department of the Environment as an economist. Worked initially on housing and then moved to local government finance in 1984.

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Councillor Martin Tett, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Environment, Buckinghamshire County Council

Martin Tett

Martin's responsibilities include planning, waste, countryside and economic development. He is also a Board member of Aylesbury Vale Advantage(AVA); Milton Keynes Partnership(MKP) and Bucks Economic and Learning Partnership (BELP). He has recently been re-elected as Chairman of the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Leadership Group- a body bringing together all the senior politicians and Chief Executives within the sub-Region. As Chair of the Leaders' Group, Martin also Chairs the mksm Executive. Within Bucks Martin is also Chair of the Joint Waste Committee of all Bucks Authorities.
Before joining the County Council Martin worked in business for twenty eight years and still remains a non Executive Director of an NHS Foundation Hospital Trust and a Governor of a school in one of Buckinghamshire's most deprived areas.

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Ian Austin, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Dudley North MP Ian Austin was appointed by the Prime Minister as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Housing in June 2009.

Previously an assistant Whip, he has also been a member of the Government's Regional Economic Council.

Ian Austin was brought up in Dudley and has lived in the Borough most of his life. He served as a member of Dudley Council between 1991 and 1995. He has a degree in Government and Politics from Essex University.

Ian entered the House of Commons in 2005. He takes a great interest in industrial, economic, employment, training and housing issues. Before his election he worked in Government as political adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown. He also served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Gordon Brown from 2007-08.

Ian is the Regional Minister for the West Midlands.

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Eammon Boylan,Corporate Director, New Ventures and Partnerships and Deputy Chief Executive, The Homes and Communities Agency

Eammon Boylan Eamonn Boylan is responsible for the delivery of the Homes and Communities Agency programmes in respect of land, private finance, growth and new initiatives. Eamonn is also responsible for the strategic direction of the Thames Gateway. He supports the Chief Executive and has responsibility for corporate support to the Regional Directors’ Network.

He was previously Deputy Chief Executive of Manchester City Council (2002-2009), Director of Housing and Community Services (Manchester: 1999-2002) and Director of Housing and Operational Services (Sheffield: 1997-1999).

Eamonn has a long track record in regeneration and economic development. He has played a key role in the development of the Housing Market Renewal Programme, the Northern Way Growth Strategy and, through his work with the Core Cities Group and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, in the emerging policy framework for city regions.

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Anthony Glossop, Non - Executive Chairman of St. Modwen Properties PLC

Anthony Glossop a Cambridge law graduate, qualified as a solicitor in 1967 after a short spell in the Metropolitan Police. He joined specialist engineers Molins Limited as Assistant Company Secretary in 1969 and moved to Redman Heenan International PLC, then a capital goods engineering group, as Company Secretary in 1972.He became its Chief Executive in 1982 in the depths of the engineering recession of that period and steered its transformation into a property group with its reverse takeover in 1986 of Clarke St. Modwen Properties Limited and change of name to St. Modwen Properties PLC.

In the following years, with Sir Stanley Clarke its Executive Chairman, he built St. Modwen to become the UK’s leading regeneration specialist. He became Chairman in 2004 a position he still holds although now strictly in a non-executive capacity.

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David Lidington, MP for Aylesbury

David Lidington

David Lidington worked for BP and RTZ before being appointed in 1987 as a Special Advisor to the then Home Secretary the Rt Hon Douglas Hurd CBE MP). He moved to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1989 when Douglas Hurd became the Foreign Secretary.

He has had the privilege of twice captaining a champion University Challenge team, first in 1978 and then in 2002 when the Sidney Sussex team became the “champion of champions” in University Challenge Reunited.

In the 1987 General Election, David fought Vauxhall. He was adopted as prospective Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Aylesbury in December 1990 and was elected as Member for Parliament for that constituency in 1992. Since his election, David has served as member of the Education Select Committee and as joint-secretary of the Conservative Backbench Home Affairs Committee. He successfully promoted a Private Members Bill, which became the Chiropractors Act 1994.
David Lidington was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the then Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Michael Howard QC MP, from August 1994 to 1997. He was then appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the leader of the Opposition, Rt Hon William Hague MP, in June 1997. During the reshuffle in June 1999, he was appointed Shadow Opposition Spokesman at the Home Office under Ann Widdecombe.

In September 2001, he was appointed Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury under Michael Howard. In May 2002, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Agriculture. In November 2003 he became Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and in July 2007 he was appointed Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.

David was re-elected to Aylesbury in 2005 with a majority of 11, 067, an increase on his majority of 10, 009 in 2001.

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Peter Studdert, Director of Joint Planning (Cambridge Growth Areas & Northstowe) and CABE Regional Representative for the East of England

Peter Studdert was appointed Director of Joint Planning for Cambridge’s Growth Areas and Northstowe New Town in 2007. He is responsible equally to the Chief Executives of Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council for leading the negotiations on the major developments proposed for the Cambridge area, and he advises the Joint Planning Committees set up between the three Authorities to determine the planning applications for these sites.

He was previously Director for Sustainable Communities for Cambridgeshire Horizons, and prior to that was Director of Environment and Planning at Cambridge City Council from 1991 to 2004. An architect and town planner by training, Peter has over 30 years experience in town planning in local government, having also worked for a number of Inner London Boroughs from 1976 to 1991. He represents the East of England on the Regional Committee of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and also serves on CABE’s Planning Advisory Committee. He is a member of English Heritage’s Advisory Committee and is a Past Chairman of the English Historic Towns Forum.

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John Walker, Director, JW Consulting (BSc, DipTP, Hon D Arts)

John Walker works in various roles involving the delivery of large scale sustainable growth and regeneration, as an advisor, a consultant and a chairman.

Up to 1999 John spent 25 yrs in the delivery of large scale comprehensive development, including being the Planning Director and finally Deputy Chief Executive of Milton Keynes Development Corporation (1980-92), then the Chief Executive of the Commission for the New Towns (1992-99).

John has recently been involved in the development of suitable institutional arrangements for the delivery of growth in Milton Keynes/South Midlands (MKSM), the largest growth area in the UK. He was instrumental in setting up the Interregional Board (IRB) that oversees growth in MKSM and the delivery organisations in each local area. For four years he chaired the Infrastructure Funding Group of the Board, through which the principles of the Milton Keynes infrastructure ‘tariff’ and business plan were developed, including defining the roles of ‘ringmaster’ and ‘banker’. He was subsequently heavily involved alongside English Partnerships in developing the specific Milton Keynes tariff arrangements. He is still a member of the IRB and now chairs the MKSM Developers Forum.

John also advised The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) on the deliverability of Eco-Town Proposals, setting new standards of environmental and social sustainability during 2008/9.

In 2008 he set up a new community trust for the long-term management of public realm and community facilities in and around new areas of Northamptonshire. He is also a trustee of the Milton Keynes Parks Trust.

From 2002 to December 2007 John chaired the Central Milton Keynes Project Board which co-ordinated delivery of the expansion of Central Milton Keynes. Between 2000 and 2002 he was Chief Executive of the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA). From 1999-2001 he managed the competition to find a successor owner for the Millennium Dome.

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Diana Gilhespy, Executive Director for Regeneration and Development, East Midlands Development Agency (emda)

Diana Gilhespy is Executive Director for Regeneration and Development at the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) where she is responsible for emda’s contributions to the rural and skills arenas, investments in the built environment including development of the former coalfields, and support to a wide range of locally determined regeneration projects through sub-regional partnerships.

Diana has over 20 years experience working in the field of economic development and regeneration. Much of this time she has worked for local authorities, responsible for developing the space to accommodate new and growing businesses, support for those businesses and working with local people and communities so that they can generate their own opportunities for improved economic wellbeing.

With masters degrees in economics and business administration, Diana has had a varied mix of experience working for a national trade union, economic consultancy and a university. Her interests include her role as a chair of a respected regional touring theatre company.

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John Cross, Chief Executive, bpha, & National Housing Federation Chair

John has been Chief Executive of bpha since 1995 and was appointed to the Board in 2004. He is responsible for advising the Board on the formulation of policy and the implementation of Board decisions, and also leads bpha’s staff and the overall management of the Association.

John has twice been a member of the National Housing Federation Board, serving a total of 11 years. He was elected to the position of Chair in October 2006 for a three year term and has also chaired its Housing Finance and Investment and Regeneration Committees.

He is a Board member of both the Oxford and Gloucestershire Care Partnerships and Chair of Cambridgeshire Partnerships Limited.

More locally, John chairs the Bedford Partnership Board (the local strategic partnership) and is an active member of Renaissance Bedford, a partnership of public and private sector organisations supporting the delivery of the Government’s sustainable communities plan in the Bedford area.

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Oona Muirhead CBE, Executive Director Skills and Sustainable Prosperity, SEEDA

Oona Muirhead joined SEEDA on 1st August 2007. Oona's current portfolio includes leading the development of skills strategies for the region to help industry sectors access the skills and talent they need (“skills activism”); providing a proactive service to support companies facing potential redundancies; leading the region in moving to a Green economy including the SE’s ground-breaking ‘Pathway to Zero Waste Region’ initiative and major retrofit programme; and helping grow the environmental technologies sector. Oona is also the focal point on SEEDA’s Executive Board for Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. From November 2009 Oona will become SEEDA’s Group Executive Director Strategy and Support.

Prior to working at SEEDA Oona held senior positions in central and local government, in roles ranging from strategic policy development and running operations; managing and implementing change; media and communications work; and lobbying and influencing key decision-makers. This includes many years in the Ministry of Defence, during which time she was honoured with first an OBE then CBE; and the Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Prior to moving to SEEDA, from 2005 Oona was appointed to Director of Strategy and Communications at the Local Government Association (LGA). During this time she devised and negotiated cross-party agreement to a new vision for local government. Set out in the LGA's publication 'Closer to People and Places', this sees local authorities taking on a new role: the 'leadership of place' - a concept taken up in the Local Government White Paper in 2006.

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Michael Ward, Chief Executive of the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA).

Michael Ward has worked in economic development and regeneration since the 1970s. In the 1970s, he led the establishment of the economic development function in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Subsequently, at the Greater London Council, he established the Greater London Enterprise Board.

From 1987 to 2000, Michael was Director of the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, a national policy, research and consultancy organisation, based in Manchester.

From 2000 to 2004, Michael Ward was Chief Executive of the London Development Agency, the RDA for Greater London, and the only one of the nine RDAs to be part of an integrated city government. Before coming to work at BURA, he went on to lead one of the Thames Gateway Delivery organisations, working in North Kent.

Michael Ward and his family live in South London.

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Tim Williams, Director, Navigant Consulting

Tim Williams

Tim is the Lead Director of the Regeneration and Housing Advisory practice at Navigant Consulting. He is currently acting as a policy advisor to the Deputy Minister for Regeneration of the Welsh Assembly Government, working on a range of projects. He chaired a Task and Finish Group to scope the establishment of a Centre for Regeneration Excellence (CREW) in Wales which is now being taken forward by the Assembly. Whilst at Navigant, Tim has acted as advisor to housing and cabinet ministers Caroline Flint and Yvette Cooper on housing, regeneration and the Thames Gateway.

Tim has also led a research project exploring potential responses to the housing market downturn for CLG and English Partnerships, advised on the inception and start-up of the Homes and Communities Agency (and still continues to advise the Agency), and has provided advice to local authorities across the country on a range of projects. Prior to Navigant, Tim worked as special advisor to David Miliband at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and worked on the Local Government White Paper, and was Chief Executive of the Thames Gateway London Partnership, playing a key role in making the area a national priority.

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Roy Clare, CBE, Chief Executive, Museums, Libraries and Archives Council

Roy Clare has been Chief Executive of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) since September 2007. Previously, as Director of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, he enabled a wide range of creative programmes for diverse audiences, planned, raised funds for and delivered a new planetarium, galleries and a learning centre for the public in the Royal Observatory and instigated a project to open up the museum’s archival and library collections. More recently, he has shaped a substantial transformation of the MLA where he now leads a team of expert staff who are equipped to work nationally and locally with government at all levels, with professional bodies and in concert with a variety of partners. He was awarded the CBE for services to museums in June 2007.

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