Our Event
Programme

The West Midlands needs over 200,000 new homes by 2030. As demand exceeds supply in cities, the spillover effect into neighbouring towns risks eroding the strong and distinct identities of our historic towns.

This panel will address the challenges around delivering housing and social infrastructure that enables urban development but retains and builds on those distinct identities.

The newest creative powerhouse of Digbeth is well on its way to becoming the newest regional home of the BBC, and will soon welcome back Birmingham’s most famous sons, the Shelby family, to film the Peaky Blinders movie in the new Digbeth Loc Studios.

Leamington Creative Quarter is a place making regeneration scheme that uses the town’s existing strength as a creative hub to drive economic development. Hear how these two creative clusters are becoming a reality.

Session content begins at 1:00 pm.

Wavensmere Homes is one of the most successful SME developers in the West Midlands. James Dickens, Managing Director of Wavensmere Homes will give an insightful presentation on how heavily constrained derelict sites are finally being transformed into sustainable new communities.

The completed Crocketts Lane development in Smethwick, Belgrave Village, which is under construction in central Birmingham, and the firm’s £150m plans for Wolverhampton Canalside South will be showcased.

Energy Capital

Energy Capital is the regional energy partnership for the West Midlands, bringing public and private sectors together to deliver place-based energy solutions. Hear how they have changed the narrative on the devolution of powers in the energy sector and how they are delivering place-based solutions; establishing community co-designed net-zero neighbourhoods, demonstrating how outcomes can be measured and financed, and how they are working with investors to establish a regional investment fund for net zero projects across the West Midlands, through their new Net Zero Accelerator.

E.ON & Coventry’s Revolutionary Strategic Energy Partnership
Coventry City Council and E.ON formed the UK’s first strategic energy partnership in 2023. Together they will collaborate on revolutionising energy use in the city for the benefit of local communities and the wider economy. Hear how they are working on developing ideas and projects for the benefit of Coventry residents.

Followed by a Q&A, facilitated by Mott MacDonald and chaired by Luke Strickland

Speak directly to Sandwell, Solihull, Nuneaton, & Walsall about their ambitious town centre masterplans. Content for this session will include an announcement regarding the transformational Mell Square development, Solihull Town Centre.

The West Midlands has been hugely successful in securing nearly £600m of Levelling Up funding, and was the first region to announce new Growth Zones.

Bolstered by its large-scale enablement funds for brownfield development, the region retains significant interventionary power, despite an environment of tightening local government finances.

Learn more about the plans and ambitions of our Local Authorities through a lively discussion of how best this money is deployed.

The West Midlands Investment Zone is powered by three specific projects: Coventry-Warwick Gigapark, Birmingham Knowledge Quarter, and Wolverhampton Green Innovation Corridor.

In this session hear from Chief Executives of the Local Authorities about how the investment zone will drive forward growth across the region.

Wolverhampton is a city with ambitious city centre growth plans, a strong vision and a progressive council bringing energy and pace to new developments and change, delivering real results.

Hear from the developers working alongside City of Wolverhampton Council on the exciting multi-billion-pound transformational projects, bringing thousands of new homes, creating new communities, and boosting the local economy.

Session content begins at 1:15 pm.

Birmingham is a city undergoing a dramatic transformation with large-scale built environment projects reshaping the skyline into that of a modern-day powerhouse.

It’s crucial that this new face of Birmingham is shaped around the communities, places and rich history already embedded in the city, and it is the responsibility of all of its stakeholders to deliver change with meaningful and lasting social value at its heart.

In this panel, leading figures from Birmingham’s built environment scene come together to discuss the opportunities for positive social impact amid new development, the steps being taken to deliver on these and the solutions to obstacles along the way.

With ambitions to deliver a new multi-use stadium in the East of Birmingham, alongside high-performance training facilities and other mixed-use real estate development including a range of entertainment options, how can the city capitalise on this unique opportunity to deliver on its plans for inclusive growth?

This session will unpack the reasons why Birmingham is now prime for major sporting investment and what multi-billion pound plans for a new world-class Sports Quarter will mean for the regeneration and global reputation of Birmingham.

Demand for affordable housing is expected to remain strong in 2024, not least in the West Midlands where housing demands is substantial and continues to rise.

With rising debt costs and a focus for many RPs on the safety and maintenance of existing stock, this panel will discuss how the industry, including local authorities, can continue to drive supply.

A global leader in transport & energy innovation, Coventry is a thriving City with a huge future ahead of it.

Join us for exclusive launch of Coventry’s new investment prospectus, outlining the next generation of major projects for the City, from major residential schemes to their Investment Zone GigaPark.

Vibrant communities breed their own success, attracting new development and derisking investment decisions. The nighttime economy is crucial in creating great places to live, and the significant residential developments it drives in turn, bring an even bigger market for hospitality & leisure.

This panel will discuss the current challenges for the nighttime economy, as well as strategies for intervention in areas where a better nighttime offer is needed to attract investment.