The Revised Programme
Day One - Weds 1 October
10:30am onwards Registration and Refreshments,
Skipton Town Hall
11:30am Town Meets Country Summit with ruralnet|uk
Skipton Town Hall
11:30am Introduction to Future Choices for Our Market Towns
Catherine Hammant, Chair, Action for Market Towns
11:40am Communities at the Heart of Our Countryside
John Craven, broadcaster and presenter of BBC’s Countryfile programme
12:05pm A speaker TBC
12.:25pm Future Challenges and the Regional Response
Terry Hodgkinson, Chair of Yorkshire Forward
12:45pm ‘Rural Britain - a 2020 Vision’
Simon Berry, Chief Executive ruralnet|uk
1:00pm Lunch, Skipton Castle
- featuring the launch of the new ‘Towns Alive’ programme with John Craven
2:00pm Opening Session, chaired by Catherine Hammant
2:00pm Living and Working in a Thriving Market Town
Welcome by Councillor Carole Manley,
Mayor of Skipton
2:05pm Delivering Services to One of England’s Sparsest Areas
Welcome by Councillor Marcia Turner, Leader of Craven District Council
2:10pm Andy Tordoff, Head of Rural Renaissance and Tourism, Yorkshire Forward
2:30pm Depart for AMT Study Tours OR
ruralnet|uk Live & Local Workshops:
‘Local Food’
At a time of rising food prices, the opportunities and challenges that exist for local food markets is of particular interest and importance. This workshop, facilitated by The Soil Association, will examine the emergence of local food co-operatives, the growing demand for allotments and the opportunities to ‘grow your own’. Includes a look at ‘Community-supported Agriculture’, The Soil Association programme which supports a self-sustaining localised food and farming system. This session features case study examples, including Future Farms. More about workshops HERE.
‘Local Retail’ - this highly topical and stimulating Live & Local feature is being facilitated by Charlotte Foster, Community retail Advisor with the Plunkett Foundation and John Longden, Director of Pub is The Hub. Can community-ownership be the answer to sustainable local retail outlets….read more about this workshop HERE.
4:15pm Return from Study Tours/End of workshops - refreshments available,
Skipton Town Hall
4:15pm Market Towns Awards Showcase,
Skipton Town Hall
5:15pm Action for Market Towns Annual General Meeting,
Skipton Town Hall
7:30pm Gala Dinner, Broughton Hall
- featuring the Announcement of the Winner of the National Market Towns Award 2008.
8:00pm Welcome to England’s Largest Rural County
Councillor Peter Sowry, Chairman, North Yorkshire County Council
8:15pm Presentation of the Winner of the National Market Town Award 2008
8:30pm Dinner (prepared from local produce from the Broughton Estate and surrounding area).
The after dinner speaker is Frazer Hines (Joe Sugden of Emmerdale).
10:30- Coaches depart to Skipton and Official Hotels
11:00pm
Day Two - Thurs 2 October
All sessions at the Rendezvous Hotel, Skipton
9:30am Introduction to the Morning Session
Sally Robinson, Chair, Yorkshire and Humber Market Towns Network
9:40am Market Towns of the Future
Rhona Pringle, Renaissance Market Towns Programmer Manager Yorkshire Forward
10:00am Tackling National Challenges: Delivering Local Economic Development
Sarah Longlands, Director of Policy, Centre for Local Economic Strategy
Market Towns and Low Carbon Development
Tom Bridges, Associate Director, ArupLtd
Empowerment through Community-led Planning
John Findlay, Chief Executive, National association of Local Councils
10:45am The Towns Alive Response
Chris Wade, Chief Executive of Action for Market Towns
11:15am Workshops with refreshments in rooms
See FULL workshop information here
The ‘Local Energy’ workshop is one of the workshop options- this interactive workshop feature is being brought to delegates by Simon Berry and Samantha Adams from ruralnet|uk. Rural communities, climate change and the collective approach…read more about this workshop here.
12:15pm Lunch
1:15pm Workshops with refreshments in rooms
See FULL workshop information here
2:30pm Closing Debate
Chaired by Action for Market Towns’ Vice Chair Phillip Eden
‘In public policy terms, Market Towns are largely irrelevant. They do not face significant threats or provide opportunities - urban settlements do’.
For the motion: Inner City Issues and Solutions
Jenny Pupius, Chief Executive, Action for Business Limited, Bradford
Against the motion: The Hidden Issues & Collective Power of a Nation’s Market Towns
Gordon Morris, Exeter University and Chair of Action for Market Towns’ Policy Working Group
3:20pm Closing Remarks
Catherine Hammant, Chair, Action for Market Towns
