Championing progress: Strengthening cultural and economic council links
Back in May in the brilliant city of Leeds, Fay Cannings and Jonathan Martin spoke on the UKREiiF panel titled Championing progress: Strengthening cultural and economic council links, hosted by Waltham Forest and Estate Gazette, with partners with Haringey and Enfield Council too.
We heard more about the panel session from Jenny Offord, Head of Meridian Water Regeneration at Enfield Council:
“It was inspiring to unite to discuss the three boroughs’ approach to providing new homes, community impact and a creative approach to regeneration. Given our unique positioning in the Upper Lea Valley we want to make the most of the urban and industrial character with its fantastic connections, green and blue resources, and growing creative and artisanal sectors.”
Very much the resounding theme of our session ‘championing progress: Strengthening cultural and economic council links’ hosted by Waltham Forest with Estates Gazette at UKREiiF 2024 in the impressive Royal Armouries Museum at the centre of the conference. A fitting opportunity to showcase Waltham Forest and partner boroughs Haringey and Enfield’s approach to urban revitalisation, commitment to progressive quality housing targets, social, economic and cultural value. The panel celebrated the burgeoning creativity in the borough, setting the precedent after being London’s first Borough of Culture along with the continued evolution of the Blackhorse Lane area and Creative Enterprise Zone. We also heard from Haringey and Enfield about their culture led approach to regeneration along with specific flagship projects. It was also an ideal opportunity to unveil plans for our new partnership for a shared Inward Investment service for the Upper Lea Valley, with Waltham Forest at heart of this.
Representatives from Waltham Forest Council’s Inward Investment team and place directorate in attendance were Jonathan Martin, Director of Inward Investment and Strategic Partnerships and Fay Cannings, Senior Inward Investment Manager, who were joined by colleagues from Haringey, Enfield, The FOUNDRY and L&G, David Joyce, Jenny Offord, Anna Blandford, Adam Walker.
Looking to the future, both during the session and wider of activities we discussed Waltham Forest’s strategic plans to ensure ongoing development and improvements in the borough, with creativity at the heart of this. Not only did we showcase the collaborative work that goes on behind the scenes across our public and private sector partnerships to attract investment into the local area we strengthened connections, forged new contacts and enjoyed taking part in a range of sessions honing in on central themes at the conference around community lead regeneration, smart cities, higher education partnerships and public private projects.
As we move forward with plans to attract and unlock more investment and potential into our growth areas with both new homes and business opportunities, we look forward to bringing you further updates.