The Conference ‘Getting It Right- A Community Approach: A National Context’ will be a two day national event held in Manchester with a view to sharing best practice in relation to off-campus activity within the context of the HEI sector. The format follows on from the Reading Conference held in 2013. This conference will bring together colleagues from universities, local councils and students' unions to examine the latest trends in university and community engagement, and will provide an opportunity to share best practice with those working in the field. The conference will build on the discussions held last year to determine how key players are ‘getting it right’ from both a national and international perspective. Sessions will be held to share unique ways to respond to the impacts on housing and neighbourhoods where students have a strong presence. We will discuss how universities, local authorities, residents and other agencies are working together to overcome challenges and ensure that communities benefit from and value their universities.
The event will be held at Chancellors Hotel and Conference Centre - a Grade II listed mansion set in 5 acres of gardens. The hotel is a 3 star AA-rated establishment owned and managed by The University of Manchester.
Conference Price, including accommodation and meals, is £235.00 inc. VAT. We are delighted to have some excellent confirmed speakers from across the UK and The United States.
Guest speakers include:
Sir Howard Bernstein Chief Executive, Manchester City Council
Sir Richard Leese Leader, Manchester City Council
Professor Rod Coombs Deputy Vice Chancellor, The University of Manchester
Will Spinks, Registrar Chief Operating Officer, Secretary, The University of Manchester
Professor Jean -Noel Ezingeard Deputy Vice Chancellor, Manchester Metropolitan University
Mary Heaney Director of Services, Manchester Metropolitan University
Professor Kevin Ward Professor of Human Geography, The University of Manchester
Beth Bagwell Executive Director of the International Town and Gown Association
Susan Stafford Director of Off-Campus Housing & Neighbourhood Relations, The University of Colorado, Boulder . W inner of the Larry Abernathy Award
Carolyn Uphill Chairman of the National Landlords Association
Melanie Futer MBE Off Campus Student Affairs Manager, University of Nottingham
Ann Westgarth Community Relations Manager, University of Reading
Alison Barlow Community Relations Officer, Loughborough University
Professor Darren Smith Social Population Geographer and Associate Dean, Loughborough University
Michelle Slater Service Manager, Snug, Sheffield City Council
Mark Glynn Strategic Area Manager, Manchester City Council
Trevor Seeley Head of Stakeholder Relations, The University of Warwick
Sian Astley Property expert, TV presenter, community campaigner
Amanda Jackson Community Engagement Manager, University of Leeds
Dee Corbett Community Affairs Manager, Queen's University Belfast
Conference Agenda
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
08.45am to 09.45am Coffee and Registration Welcome and Introduction: 09.45am to 10.00am Carolyn Uphill, Chair Opening Statements: Will Spinks, Registrar, Chief Operating Officer, Secretary – University of 10:00am to 10.30am Manchester Sir Howard Bernstein, Chief Executive, Manchester City Council Presentation: 10.30am to 11.00am Professor Kevin Ward, University of Manchester ‘Future Cities’ Presentation: 11.00am to 11.30pm Rod Coombs, Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Manchester, ‘Town and Gown’ Summary of ‘Getting It Right: A Manchester Perspective’: 11.30pm to 12.00pm Carolyn Uphill, Chair 12:00pm to 1.00pm Lunch Breakout sessions: ‘Getting It Right: A National Perspective’: A. Dee Corbett, Communications and External Affairs, QUB B. Carolyn Uphill, Chairman National Landlord Association 1.15pm to 2.30pm C. Trevor Seeley, Head of Stakeholder Relations, The University of Warwick D. Michelle Slater, Service Manager, Snug, Sheffield City Council E. Mark Glynn, Strategic Area Manager, Manchester City Council Summary of the ‘Getting It Right: A National Perspective’: 2.30pm to 2.50pm Carolyn Uphill, Chair 2.50pm to 3.10pm Break Presentation: Beth Bagwell, Executive Director of the International Town and Gown 3.10pm to 4.25pm Association (USA) Susan Stafford, Director, Off-Campus Housing & Neighborhood Relations, University of Colorado Boulder Summary of ‘Getting It Right: An International Perspective’ 4.25pm to 4.45pm Closing statements: Carolyn Uphill, Chair
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
07.30am to 9.00am Breakfast and Checkout Opening Statements: 9.30am to 10.00am Carolyn Uphill Presentation: Mary Heaney, Director Services, Manchester Metropolitan University 10.00am to 11.00am Professor Jean-Noel Ezingeard, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Manchester Metropolitan University, ‘The Birley Project’ Presentation: 11.00am to 12.00pm Professor Darren Smith, Loughborough University ‘Destudentification’ 12.00pm to 1.00pm Lunch 1.00pm to 1.45pm Presentation: Sir Richard Leese, Leader, Manchester City Council Breakout sessions: ‘Getting It Right: A National Perspective’: F. Amanda Jackson, Community and Housing Lead, University of Leeds G. Melanie Futer, MBE, Manager of Off Campus Student Affairs, University of Nottingham 1.45pm to 2.45pm H. Alison Barlow, Community Relations Officer, Loughborough University I. Sian Astley, Property Expert, TV Presenter, Community Campaigner J. Ann Westgarth, Community Relations Manager, University of Reading
2.45pm to 3.05pm Break Panel Q & A Session: Panel Members will include: 3.05pm to 4.30pm Beth Bagwell Susan Stafford Professor Darren Smith Melanie Futer MBE Mark Glynn Ann Westgarth Summary of Day 2 ‘Getting It Right’ 4.30pm to 4.45pm Closing statements : Carolyn Uphill, Chair
Sir Howard Bernstein
Chief Execu ve Manchester City Council
Sir Howard Bernstein joined the City Council as a Junior Clerk and became its Chief Executive in 1998. Following the terrorist bombing of the city centre in 1996 he was appointed Chief Executive of Manchester Millennium Ltd., overseeing the rebuilding of the city. He is known for his business acumen; for forging partnerships with the city’s key players; and for successfully attracting millions of pounds into Manchester. He played a key role in the regeneration of Hulme and continues to play a key role in area regeneration initiatives, most recently in East Manchester. Other key major projects include the Bridgewater Hall, the Velodrome, the Arena, Manchester Central/the International Convention Centre, City of Manchester Stadium and Sportcity Complex, and Manchester Art Gallery.
Sir Howard was also instrumental in securing Manchester as Host City for the XVII Commonwealth Games in 2002.
He has been Clerk to Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (now GMITC) since the mid 1980s where he has taken a leading role in introducing Metrolink, the first UK on-street public transport system. He was involved in the establishment of Manchester Airport as a PLC in the mid-1980s and has driven the expansion of the company into the next stage of commercial and physical development.
Sir Howard has been involved in several external appointments and is currently Non-Executive Chair of Manchester Academic Health Science Centre and Deputy Chair of the HS2 Growth Task Force.
Sir Howard was knighted for his services to Manchester in 2003. Sir Richard Leese Leader of Manchester City Council
Sir Richard Leese was born and brought up in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. After graduating from the University of Warwick, he worked as a teacher in Coventry and as an exchange teacher in the USA before moving to Manchester to take up a post as a youth worker. He was employed variously in youth work, community work, and education research between 1979 and 1988, and was elected to Manchester City Council in 1984. He became Leader of the Council in 1996, having previously served as Deputy Leader (1990 – 1996), Chair of the Education Committee (1986 - 1990) and Chair of the Finance Committee (1990 - 1995).
Sir Richard’s political interests include the links between economic development and social policy, developing open democracy and the place-making and community leadership role of local authorities; and the role of cities in creating a sustainable future. He has a number of additional responsibilities including Director of Manchester Airport Holdings Ltd., Vice Chair of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Chair of the North West Regional Leaders’ Board, and Chair of the Core Cities Cabinet. Professor Rod Coombs
Deputy President and Deputy Vice Chancellor University of Manchester
Rod Coombs has a BSc in Physics, and MSc and PhD degrees in the economics of innovation and technical change. After a short period at the beginning of his career working in laboratory research, he switched to social science. Thereafter he worked for over 25 years on analysing the role of technical change in the economy; the management of R&D and innovation processes in large companies; and the role of government policy in promoting innovation in the economy. During much of this time he was in the School of Management at UMIST, becoming its first Professor of Technology Management in 1993. During that period he initiated and ran several large collaborative research programmes, and also worked as a consultant to a number of large research-intensive companies, as well as advising national and European government agencies. In 2002 he became a Pro-Vice-Chancellor of UMIST, and thereafter was heavily involved in the project to merge UMIST with the former Victoria University of Manchester in order to create a new University of Manchester (which legally came into existence in October 2004). In 2004 he was appointed as one of the Vice-Presidents of The University of Manchester and had responsibility for various aspects of Knowledge Transfer, Research and External Relationships. In August 2010 he became Deputy President and Deputy Vice Chancellor of The University of Manchester. Will Spinks
Registrar, Secretary and Chief Opera ng Officer University of Manchester
Will Spinks is the Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer at The University of Manchester and took up the role in August 2011. In this capacity he is both Head of the Professional Support Services for the University and Secretary to the Board of Governors. Prior to joining Manchester, Will was the first Chief Operating Officer of Loughborough University. In this role he was responsible for all of the service functions and the commercial activities of the University. In addition, he chaired and served on a number of wholly-owned subsidiary companies and the Manufacturing Technology Centre. Will is a member of the National Executive and Northern Convenor of the Association of Heads of University Administration (AHUA), and a UUK nominated member of the USS Pension Fund Joint Negotiating Committee. He is also Chair of the Students' Union Evaluation Initiative panel. Before moving into the Higher Education sector, Will pursued a career in ICI, Zeneca and AstraZeneca, working in a number of businesses and functions in both the UK and USA. This culminated in him establishing a Business Services organisation providing HR, Finance, Purchasing, Communications, SHE, Facilities Management and Site Services to all AstraZeneca's UK sites. From 2001-2007, he also acted as Site General Manager at AstraZeneca's R&D site at Alderley Park, Cheshire. Will's external activities include acting as Chair and Trustee Director of a number of community groups. He is a graduate of the Common Purpose 20:20 Programme. Will is married with three children. He is a lifelong Newcastle United supporter and regularly watches Macclesfield Town. Professor Jean-Noel Ezingeard
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Manchester Metropolitan University
Jean-Noël Ezingeard is responsible for Strategic Planning and Research at Manchester Metropolitan University. An Engineering Science graduate from Ecole Centrale de Lille, he obtained an MSc in Advanced Manufacturing Systems and PhD from Brunel University. Before joining MMU in 2013 he was Executive Dean of Kingston Business School in London where he oversaw a £30m transformation of the School’s buildings, a significant growth in research activity and enhancements to teaching and the curriculum. As Executive Dean he continued to teach on the MBA programme and to supervise doctoral students. His early career was as a lecturer and Course Director at Brunel University. He joined the Faculty at Henley Business School and served as Professor of Processes and Systems Management and Academic Dean. He researches in the area of technology management, applied to Information Systems, Information Assurance and Security, and Logistics Information Management.
Keynote Title: Birley Fields Regeneration
Social, educational, economic & employment
Birley Fields is exemplary in the way it has been developed as a new model of learning district, embedded in the local community to actively reinforce and promote physical, social, educational and employment links between the university and the community of Hulme and Moss Side wards –areas of multiple deprivation in the City. The campus accentuates MMU’s commitment to the growth of the city’s accessible knowledge-based economy. The development is injecting new vitality and activity into the area, supporting local shops and services and improving security. It has radically improved the physical environment and involved investment in sustainable transportation networks. Participation rates in higher education for Hulme and Moss Side are well below average for the wider region. The new campus has the potential to increase the take up of higher education places among local young people as well as re-engage adults in Hulme and Moss Side by: providing positive local role models; giving confidence for progression into higher education; and raising aspirations for higher education among local young people. Mary Heaney
Director of Services Manchester Metropolitan University
Mary Heaney is a member of the Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) Executive team and has responsibility for the strategic direction of infrastructure services. Mary joined MMU in 2006 from the University of Wolverhampton where she was Director of Learning Centres. Her prior career spanned 16 years with BBC Scotland in Post-Production Facilities, followed by 2 years as Director of Administration at St Andrew’s College of Education in Glasgow. A languages graduate born in Dublin, she holds Fellowships of the Royal Society of Arts and the Higher Education Academy. She has worked in the UK since 1978. Mary represents MMU on the Executive of the Corridor Manchester , a knowledge-based partnership with the City Council, The University of Manchester and the Central Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, committed to economic growth, regeneration and innovation in the North West Region.
Keynote Title: Birley Fields Regeneration
Social, educational, economic & employment
Birley Fields is exemplary in the way it has been developed as a new model of learning district, embedded in the local community to actively reinforce and promote physical, social, educational and employment links between the university and the community of Hulme and Moss Side wards – areas of multiple deprivation in the City. The campus accentuates MMU’s commitment to the growth of the city’s accessible knowledge-based economy. The development is injecting new vitality and activity into the area, supporting local shops and services and improving security. It has radically improved the physical environment and involved investment in sustainable transportation networks. Participation rates in higher education for Hulme and Moss Side are well below average for the wider region. The new campus has the potential to increase the take up of higher education places among local young people as well as re-engage adults in Hulme and Moss Side by: providing positive local role models; giving confidence for progression into higher education; and raising aspirations for higher education among local young people. Professor Kevin Ward
Professor of Human Geography
The University of Manchester
Kevin is Professor of Human Geography and is the School of Environment, Education and Development's Director of External Relations and the Director of cities@manchester at The University of Manchester. He is a geographer with current interests in urban politics and policy, exploring from where policies originate, how they travel, where they end up and what these journeys mean for the cities the policies pass through. Theoretically, this involves rethinking what is meant by ‘the urban’ in urban politics, as elements of different places are assembled and reassembled to constitute particular ‘urban’ political realms. Methodologically, this involves doing fieldwork in a range of sites inside and outside of the cities that are the objects of study, literally seeking to reveal the circuits, networks and webs in and through which policies are moved. His co-edited book (with Eugene McCann) Mobile Urbanism: Cities and Policymaking in the Global Age (Minnesota University Press) was published in 2011.
Keynote Title: A Conversation about the Future of Cities Beth Bagwell Execu ve Director ITGA
Beth Bagwell, MPA, is the executive director of the International Town & Gown Association.
She has 15 years of teaching experience and has worked in the non- profit sector for almost a decade. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Non-profit Management from Clemson University.
Ms. Bagwell also has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from Lander University in Greenwood, SC.
Her work in the public sector and post-graduate position at the Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs at Clemson University helped prepare her for her current position with the Association.
Presentation
The Joint City University Advisory Board Model for Town & Gown Relations in the US
Collaborating for Mutual Benefit
This session explores how the Clemson JCUAB developed a model for collaborating on common services, programs and citizen issues at a community level and implemented on a larger scale through the International Town & Gown Association, a non-profit that focuses on quality of life issues in college towns. Attendees will learn about data collected through the ITGA Annual Survey and information shared among colleagues at the 2014 ITGA Conference, including the health and legal implications of marijuana in the US, economic development partnerships and environmental strategies for addressing excessive use of alcohol in college towns. Susan Stafford
Director - Off campus Housing and Neighbourhood Rela ons University of Colorado
Susan Stafford is the Director of Off-Campus Housing & Neighbourhood Relations at the University of Colorado Boulder. She has been with the university for 27 years and holds a Master of Arts degree in counselling and student personal development.
Susan also has Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Central Florida in legal services, political science and elementary education. As the director of Off-Campus Housing & Neighborhood Relations, Susan is responsible for strategic planning and designing and developing programmes to meet the needs of off-campus students.
She works with the city of Boulder’s University Liaison, Municipal Court, Police and Rental Licensing offices as well as property managers and neighbours to help resolve student related neighbourhood issues. Susan is very active with the International Town Gown Association and has served as President as well as an instructor for the town/gown certificate program.
Presentation
Improving Town Gown Relations
Effective Programmes and Partnerships
Cities where university students comprise a significant percent of the population face special issues. Quality of life issues like noise, over-occupancy, parking, excessive littering, and alcohol use may create friction between university and city management, as well as student renters and permanent community members.
This workshop will describe how the City of Boulder and the University of Colorado Boulder have addressed quality of life issues through changes in city ordinances and in judicial process. The workshop will review programs the city and the university have developed to give students a better understanding about the responsibilities of living off campus and becoming community members.
Examples include: restorative justice, community living, party registration, move-in orientation, walkabouts, welcome bags, lease disclosure, sofa ordinance and six-day review. Carolyn Uphill
Chairman Na onal Landlords Associa on
Carolyn Uphill has extensive experience operating as a professional landlord with a Manchester based portfolio of Private Residential Family Homes, Student HMOs and Industrial Property. Carolyn joined the Board of the National Landlords Association in July 2011, having worked as a Local Representative in Manchester since 2010. She became Deputy Chairman in December 2012 and took on the role of Chairman in July 2013. The NLA is the UK's leading Independent Trade Association for Landlords in the Private Rented Sector. Working directly with over 52,000 landlords, it is committed to both supporting them and raising standards. Carolyn has been at the helm of several successful business enterprises. Having established her own business in 1978, she successfully developed it from being a hirer and reseller of third party equipment, to become a leading equipment manufacturer with a seven figure turnover. In addition to running her own manufacturing business, Carolyn served as President of the Stockport Chamber of Commerce and on the Boards of several Training, Enterprise and Educational bodies. She now shares her expertise as a Leadership Mentor and Non-executive Director
Breakout Session B
Student Landlords - Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?
Carolyn Uphill, Chairman of the National Landlords Association, will consider how landlords in the Private Rented Sector have traditionally operated and what drivers make them improve their offering.
She will go on to explore how it is possible to engage with them, via appealing to their bottom line, to strive for further improvements in standards while encouraging students to be better neighbours. Melanie Futer MBE
Off-Campus Student Affairs Manager University of No ngham
Melanie Futer has been the Off-Campus Student Affairs Manager for 10 years at the University of Nottingham. Her commitment to the local community has seen the perceived boundaries between the University and its neighbours replaced with an accessible point of contact for a range of important and sometimes contentious issues. Melanie informs and influences the direction of the University Community Engagement Strategy and represents the institution at a vast array of events, meetings, and formal police and local authority groups. Melanie was awarded an MBE in 2013 for services to higher education, transforming the University’s engagement with its local community and educating students on their responsibilities as residents of that wider community.
Breakout Session G
Nottingham 10 Years On
Overview of Nottingham ten years ago and now
Nottingham has seen some significant changes in the last ten years in the community areas surrounding the University of Nottingham. Rudyard Kipling wrote a short poem,
I keep six honest serving men (They taught me all I knew) Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who. So what are those changes, why did they occur, when did the University recognise their part, how did we address the concerns, where did we deliver the actions to address the changes and who is involved? This session will also include some group work looking at a specific project undertaken by the University. The groups will be asked to devised the best way of working, what should be undertaken to get the project off the ground, who to include and why. Ann Westgarth Community Rela ons Manager
University of Reading
Ann has wide experience in community development work and was Community Services Manager for a local authority for 11 years. She is now the Community Relations Manager at the University of Reading where she has worked for seven years developing what was a new role and initiating a number of successful projects. Last year Ann organised a national conference for community engagement practitioners in HEI and is delighted to see this grow into an annual event for the sharing of ideas, information and practice.
Breakout Session J
From Many-Headed-Student-Monster to Welcome Student Neighbour – re-balancing communities with- out playing the numbers game
The stable door was shut and the horse bolted by the time the local authority came to implement an Article 4 Direction in Reading. So I’ve been getting on with the job of promoting integration and co- operation and building community capacity to cope with the impacts created by the specific conditions that exist when large numbers of students reside in your neighbourhood. I’ll focus on some practical initiatives that have changed the way students are perceived, where greater understanding has led to growing acceptance and which, who knows, might eventually lead to celebration. Alison Barlow
Community Rela ons Manager Loughborough University
As Community Relations Manager at Loughborough University I am responsible for all aspects of the University’s community relations activities. I provide strategic community relations advice to the University’s senior leadership team. I was appointed to the newly created post in 2013 and developed the University’s first ever community relations strategy. I am responsible for its ongoing development and implementation. My career background is in public relations and I developed specialist skills in community PR working on major civil engineering projects in the construction industry and supporting planning applications for power station projects in the electricity industry. My first position was in the marketing department of leading conservation charity, The Woodland Trust.
Breakout Session H
Partnership Working
Sharing partnership working best practice
The workshop will seek to identify and share best practice examples of partnership working to address community relations issues in University towns. It will example how universities can work with key stakeholders including local authorities, the police and residents groups to address issues including noise and anti-social behaviour, waste and recycling and parking issues. Professor Darren Smith Associate Dean Enterprise
Loughborough University, School of Social, Poli cal and Geographical Sciences
Professor Smith is Associate Dean Enterprise at Loughborough University, in the School of Social, Political and Geographical Sciences. He has undertaken research on studentification and town:gown relations in UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and China. He is currently analysing 2011 UK census data to identify the changing geographies of studentification in the UK, and reveal new frontiers of studentification. Other current research projects include an analysis of the deployment of Article 4 Directions to regulate the concentrations of Housing in Multiple Occupation. Professor Smith has recently been awarded a ESRC-ORA project to examine gentrification in UK, France and USA. Michelle Slater
Service Manager Sheffield City Council
Michelle Slater has 20 years’ experience working as a housing professional. Having worked for a number of different Local Authorities and Housing Associations, she has been responsible for a range of work areas including Housing and Tenancy Management, Community Development, Strategy and Corporate services. Professionally accredited with the Chartered Institute of Housing, she gained an honours degree in Housing Studies from Sheffield Hallam University. Key achievements have been leading the Sheffield Option Appraisal process, ALMO bids and carrying out seven partial stock transfers of around 7,000 Sheffield City Council homes to 4 different housing associations. As Head of Business Improvement in North Lincolnshire, she had responsibility for organisational learning, communications and marketing, performance, strategy and policy development and negotiations with the Regulators. Since 2008, Michelle has been instrumental in modernising the culture and improving performance of the Private Sector Housing team in Sheffield. She has carried out two service restructures and has succeeded in improving staff morale, raising performance, lowering public complaints and developing a range of partnerships with landlords, Shelter and Central government. She is delighted and proud of the most recent partnership with Sheffield Hallam University and the Hallam Union.
Breakout Session D
Snug
Approving student homes - the Sheffield way
Take 3 completely different organisations with different cultures, and add a generous sprinkling of private landlords. A recipe for disaster? Sheffield has a population of around 60,000 students at any one time. The quality of student homes is therefore high on the agenda for the Council and the University. A traditional property accreditation scheme had been tried – until Michelle controversially shut it down in 2011. This equal partnership between the Council, Hallam University and the Hallam Union is the first of its kind in the country. Not without its initial teething problems – find out why it’s now working so well… Mark Glynn
Strategic Area Manager Manchester City Council
Mark Glynn has been a Strategic Area Manager for Manchester City Council for almost 3 years, with responsibility for neighbourhood management across 10 wards in the south of the city.
His team work closely with the city's universities to manage the quality of the private housing stock, oversee the street environment and promote good neighbourliness between student and non-student residents. Prior to this, Mark has worked in housing for local authorities for 20 years.
Breakout Session E
Students in the Community
Students in the Community - How the City Council works with the universities to support students living in the community and to minimise the negative impacts on other residents.
He will discuss partnership arrangements in place, innovative measures taken, what works and what doesn't and the views of students, non-students and elected members. Trevor Seeley Head of Stakeholder Rela ons
University of Warwick
After a career involving a variety of communications roles in the public, private and charity sectors, Trevor moved to the University of Warwick in 2003 to become its first ever Community Relations Manager. In that role he developed and managed relationships with local organisations and people, including council officers and members. Amongst other things he helped to secure local authority consent for the university’s campus development plans. Now, as the Head of Stakeholder Relations, he is responsible for coordinating Warwick’s relationships with a wide range of local and regional bodies, including local strategic partnerships and the Local Enterprise Partnership.
Breakout Session C
The Leamington Street Marshals Scheme
How Warwick responded to local residents’ concerns about students’ behaviour after a night out
Working in partnership with the local council, police and our Students’ Union, Warwick set up, piloted and ran an innovative “Street Marshals” scheme in Leamington Spa in 2013-14. The workshop will look at how the scheme was conceived and operated, and what it achieved. Sian Astley Property expert, TV presenter, community
campaigner
Sian is an ex-Manchester University student, local resident & entrepreneur based in Fallowfield. On leaving the University in 1993, she set up her own specialist building company, and has worked as a lady builder since then, renovating hundreds of her own and clients’ properties. In 2001 she started building a rental portfolio and now self-manages 20 properties, with a strong emphasis on interior design and personal contact management. She also runs a design consultancy working with private clients and landlords. Much of her work has featured in the national press, magazines and on television, notably C4’s Property Ladder , ITV’s May The Best House Win , and BBC2’s How To Live With Women ! She was recently the presenter for C5’s Half Built House. Sian also writes a nationally recognised property and interiors blog, is a social media addict and is Treasurer/community campaigner for a local heritage charity Love Withington Baths which is campaigning to save a historic Edwardian pool and revitalise the site for the future.
Breakout Session I
Student Landlords - Rising up from Hell to Heaven
Don’t be part of the problem, be part of the solution
As an ex-Manchester University student, current local resident and professional private landlord, Sian has a unique all round perspective on the issues and impacts created by student living/housing. Feeding in views of local residents and her experience of being a landlord living amongst students for 8years, expect straight talking, positive suggestions and an innovative approach for how landlords can work with universities and local residents to right the wrongs and create better local environments and neighbourhoods. Landlords - Do you laugh at the phrase ‘ good design’ ? I haven’t had a void period in 13years, can you say the same? Private landlords need to up their game and their attitude to realise short term profit can mean long term loss, both for them and the areas they operate in, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Let’s do things better. Amanda Jackson
Community and Housing Policy Officer University of Leeds
Amanda Jackson is the Community and Housing Policy Officer at the University of Leeds, and is currently responsible for leading and developing the University’s policy on community relations, Private Rented Sector student housing and local planning, to foster good relations with the local community and ensure that our students are welcomed and active citizens. In the 10 years that Amanda has worked on community relations at the University, she has overseen the development of the agenda to one of more strategic importance whilst maintaining a focus on relationship management and developing trust in the communities of Leeds where the majority of our students live. Key achievements include: overseeing the delivery of the Leeds Universities and Colleges Neighbourhood Helpline, initiatives to support and encourage students’ integration in to local communities, multi-agency partnership work to ensure local services are responsive to the needs of our students and reports on the University’s social, economic and cultural contributions to Leeds through the Local Impact Report. Acting as the main liaison with the local community, Amanda has successfully built a reputation of understanding and trust in her balanced and fair approach. Amanda has worked for the University on a number of projects supporting local communities since 2002. Prior to joining the University, she worked in marketing roles including event management and marketing for Newsquest North East Media Group. She gained a Ma in Marketing and a HND in Business and Marketing from Teesside University.
Breakout Session F
Community Relations: 10 Years On
Where Next for the Higher Education Sector?
Amanda Jackson discusses the transition of the Community Relations agenda at the University of Leeds after more than a decade of engagement, with an insight into the future of community relations within a sustainability framework. She will share her experiences of Community and Housing strategy development, engagement with local communities, student integration and involvement as active citizens, community complaint process and partnerships to deliver local service responsive to student’s requirements. Dee Corbe Community Affairs Manager Queen’s University Belfast
Dee has been the Community Affairs Manager at Queen’s University Belfast for three years having joined the University in 2008 as an Assistant Estates Manager for Security. The purpose of his role is to help the University maintain good relations with its neighbours in the South Belfast area. He liaises on a daily basis with key stakeholders, including local residents, community groups, businesses and statutory agencies, on issues which have a direct impact on the local area. These range from planning and car parking issues to anti-social behaviour and student discipline. Public engagement is evolving into a key part of my role. Dee have over 30 years experience in policing and security in Northern Ireland and have extensive knowledge of liaising with local community groups, working in partnership with statutory agencies and engaging with Police Services. Building trust and developing good relations with all these groups is essential to the role.
Breakout Session A
Restorative Approach
What are you doing at University?
Alcohol usage among young people and how it impacts on student behaviour is a big challenge and during the past year we have introduced an Alcohol Awareness programme for students. The programme is open to students who have received a penalty form the University under the Conduct Regulations. Students can offset the penalty by attendance and successful completion of the course programme.
The programme has three key messages: 1. Health 2. Giving students a greater sense of belonging-Collegiality 3. Inspire them to be more involved in volunteering, clubs and societies and enterprise opportunities. See the time at University not as the end of an academic career but the preparation for their futures.