City Devolution and Communities

Date/Time: 
Thursday, 12 March, 2015 - 09:00 to 13:30
Location: 
The Bristol Pavilion, Gloucestershire Cricket Bristol County Ground, Nevil Road, Bristol, BS7 9EJ
Cost: 
No cost
Organised/hosted by: 
Voscur

Local democracy and city devolution is a very hot topic at the moment. But what opportunities and challenges might this new approach offer the community and voluntary sector?

Voscur in association with Bristol Festival of Ideas, and with support from West of England Rural Network and Voluntary Action, North Somerset are delighted to host a morning of presentations, debate and a networking buffet lunch to discuss these important issues at the Bristol Pavilion. 

Get involved in the debate, have your say, and ensure your opinions are heard by the political  leaders.

Let's talk neighbourhood and community democracy...

How can communities play a greater role in local decision making?

There is now an unprecedented window of opportunity for the West of England (WoE) area, along with the other city regions of England, to claim significant new powers and devolved resources from central government. This follows developments in policy from the Government, Opposition and the Scottish referendum on devolution.

The Government have recently announced a series of  deals with city regions on devolution of powers and agreements in principle to working towards combined authorities. As well as Greater Manchester, which has the first devolution agreement with Government, deals are being agreed for Sheffield, Leeds, Birmingham, East Midlands, Newcastle and Liverpool.
 
The Government have indicated that they would welcome a commitment from the leaders of the WoE to form a combined authority to secure new devolved powers for  strategic functions including transport, planning, housing, skills, economic development and health and social care.  Government have indicated that an offer similar to that agreed with Manchester is possible.
 
In addition Bristol, Cardiff and Newport have agreed to  collaborate on a ground-breaking, cross-border project to create a “powerhouse super-city region”,  known as  Great Western Cities.
 
The Great Western Cities scheme is designed to compete against the Manchester devolution proposal  known as the Northern Powerhouse.
 
The key issue for the Community and voluntary sector is how does this affect our communities? Will this new model (s) also allow new approaches to neighbourhood and community democracy?  Join us to discuss these challenges and help shape the future!
 

KEY NOTE SPEAKER: The Mayor of Bristol GEORGE FERGUSON

Chaired by: Alex Marsh, Bristol University

Hear from a range of community activists from across the West of England including:

  • Marti Burgess, Social Entrepreneur
  • Mark Graham, The For All Healthy Living Company, Weston-Super-Mare
  • Matthew Symonds, Greater Bedminster Community Partnership
  • Joanna Holmes, Barton Hill Settlement
  • Sandy Hore-Ruthven, Creative Youth Network, Bristol & S Gloucestershire
  • Chris Head, West of England Rural Network

Live broadcast from Ujima Radio and BCFM.

Join the debate on twitter #futurecity15

This event is part of the build up programme for Festival of the Future City. Festival of the Future City takes place 18-20 November 2015 as part of Bristol 2015 European Green Capital. The festival is supported by Arts Council England, Bristol City Council, Future Cities Catapult, University of the West of England, and Business West. The festival is also part of Bristol Festival of Ideas, run in partnership with the Observer and University of Bristol.

How to book: 

Click here to book your place

Enquiries:
Contact name: 
Paul Hassan
Email: 
paul@voscur.org
Number: 
0117 909 9949