Neil McInroy is a geographer and has been involved in public sector policy and delivery for over 20 years. Whilst having experience in developing partnerships and innovative policy responses to global, regional and local economic, social and environmental challenges, Neil's particular skills are in: local economic and social research, analysis and development; policy practice, research methodologies; facilitation and strategy building. Neil regularly conducts work across the UK and is also developing a growing first-hand experience and knowledge of creative economic and social policy in locations around the world. Neil became Chief Executive of CLES in 2003.


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Lord Mike Storey has been the Head of a large primary school in Knowsley for 25 years. He was appointed to the House of Lords as a Life Peer in 2010. He was a member of Liverpool City Council until 2011, having been a Councillor for 37 years, Leader for eight years and Lord Mayor in 2009-10.
As Council Leader it was Lord Storey's determination that Liverpool should bid for the European Capital of Culture and he was part of the team that delivered a most successful Capital of Culture Year in 2008. He also led the successful application for the city's historic waterfront gaining UNESCO World Heritage status and led the regeneration of Liverpool with the largest retail and leisure development in Europe, Liverpool One, an arena, a cruise liner terminal and a new science park. Under his leadership, Liverpool moved from being one of the worst performing authorities to being the most improved.
In the Lords his interests are in education, children and young people. He is actively involved in culture, media and sport and serves as a member of the Regional Growth Fund Advisory Panel. Lord Storey received an OBE for services to local government and a CBE for services to regeneration.


Presentation: Driving sustainable economic growth across the UK through local regeneration

A year on from the publication of the Coalition Government's Plan for Growth, this keynote address will review the initiative's progress so far, the direction that its implementation will take in the future, and how the Regional Growth Fund will facilitate this.

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Following a career in youth and community work, Sir Richard Leese was elected to Manchester City Council in 1984. He was Deputy Leader from 1990 to 1996, having previously chaired the Education Committee and Finance Committee. He was elected as Leader in 1996.
His political interests include the links between economic development and social policy, developing open democracy, the community leadership role of local authorities, and the role of cities in creating a sustainable future.
Sir Richard has been heavily involved in regeneration activity, including being on the board of the Central Salford Urban Regeneration Company, Chair of Manchester Airport Group Shareholders Committee, Deputy Leader of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Chair of the Regional Leaders' Board (RLB).


Presentation: Facilitating local entrepreneurship and small business enterprise.

Central to the Coalition's drive for growth is the aim to make the UK 'one of the best places to start, finance and grow businesses'. At a national level, legislative changes such as reductions in business tax rates are being implemented to lessen barriers to enterprise, but what can be done at grassroots level to bring these measures to effect?

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Philip Cox is Director for Local Economies, Regeneration and European Programmes in DCLG. His remit covers all aspects of local growth and regeneration, including Local Enterprise Partnerships, the Regional Growth Fund, Enterprise Zones and the European Regional Development Fund. He is also responsible for overseeing the government's interests in the Olympic Park Legacy Company.

Philip's background is as an economist and he has had a varied civil service career including serving as the Principal Private Secretary to the (former) Deputy Prime Minister and working on issues such as the sale of the Millennium Dome, regeneration of the Greenwich Peninsula, and the renegotiation of the contract to build the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

Presentation: Revitalising retail: how high street regeneration can transform local economies.

With the rise of out-of-town shopping centres and e-retail, over 10,000 shops in UK town centres have closed in the past two years and, in some Northern towns, as many as a quarter of all high street stores lie empty. The regeneration of local retail is essential if we are to breathe life back into the hearts and pockets of local communities: a pound spent in a retailer with a localised supply chain that employs local people has far greater domestic economic impact than a pound spent in a supermarket or national chain. How can the recommendations of last year's Portas Review of British retail be practically implemented in the Portas Pilot towns and beyond, and how can the public sector and residents of an area collaborate to bring them to fruition?

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Brian Robson has been professor at Manchester University since 1977, and previously taught at Cambridge. He is founding Director of Manchester's Centre for Urban Policy Studies (CUPS) through which he has undertaken numerous research projects for central government and local authorities on regional development and urban regeneration. He has played an active role in the development of the government's urban policy. For example, his report on the state of the cities was published by the government alongside its Urban White Paper in 2000. He was a working group member of Lord Rogers' Urban Task Force and a member of the government's Urban Sounding Board. He was awarded the Founder's Gold Medal by the Royal Geographical Society for his work on urban policy and the OBE for his work on urban regeneration. He has published eight books and over 100 academic papers.


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Bill Edrich has over 19 years of experience in the energy field, has represented the Local Government Association on energy matters at the EFRA select committee, the CBI Emission Trading Group and Innovation grants panel. Whilst at Kirklees Council, Bill wrote and implemented the domestic energy strategy and was successful in obtaining, managing and delivering around £20m in grant / support funding from a wide range of sources resulting in the Council obtaining a number of international and national awards and the establishment of the Kirklees Warm Zone; the first UK free insulation scheme to all residents in a local authority area. From June 2006 Bill has been the Chief Executive of the Community Interest Company, Yorkshire Energy Services.

Presentation: Stimulating growth through investment in sustainable energies

Historically, Britain's energy market has been hugely influential to our nation's economic growth, both at a local level and within the context of the global marketplace. Now, as we look to the future, sustainability is of paramount importance. This has been captured in the Government's upcoming Green Deal, an ambitious £24bn 'pay as you save scheme' aiming to improve 28 million homes by installing energy efficiency measures and retrofitting new, low carbon technologies. How can local authorities successfully engage with and support growth in the sustainable energy sector, what positive impacts will this have on SMEs and the wider community, and what can we learn from existing sustainable initiatives in other countries?

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Prior to joining New Economy (formerly Manchester Enterprises), Mike Emmerich was Director of the Institute for Political and Economic Governance at the University of Manchester, a multidisciplinary research institute, and Dean of External Relations in the Faculty of Humanities. Before this, he pursued a career in the political and economic strategy sectors at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies, where he served as Principal Consultant and then Deputy Director from 1991 to 1996. After a period as a management consultant at Ernst & Young in 1997, he became a policy adviser with HM Treasury before becoming Senior Policy Adviser in the Prime Minister's Policy Unit.

Presentation: Leading the way in localism: growing Manchester into an economic powerhouse

Greater Manchester's role in the economic recovery of the UK as a whole should not be underestimated. The Manchester Independent Economic Review reported that, moreso than any other region outside London, Manchester has the scale and density to develop into a leading economic area. This ambition is beginning to be realised by New Economy, a commission which is helping to shape the strategic direction of this region by working in close partnership with the AGMA, and public and private sector partners. This new model of governance and regeneration can serve as an important example to other areas seeking growth.

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Alexandra Jones has been Chief Executive of the Centre for Cities since summer 2010. Prior to this, Alexandra led Ideopolis - the Cities team at The Work Foundation. She has over 10 years of experience working with national and local policymakers and with business to develop strategies to respond to a rapidly changing economy.
Alexandra has managed projects with a range of public and private sector clients on issues including the knowledge economy, public service reform, management and human capital.
Previously, Alexandra worked as a private secretary for the Permanent Secretary at the former Department for Education and Skills and as a researcher at the Institute for Public Policy Research.


Presentation: The importance of infrastructure investment on local and national economic dynamics

An important component of the Plan for Growth has been the government's recognition that the UK's 'eight core cities', not just London, are vital to national prosperity. Investment in infrastructure in these key locations and their surrounding networks of towns will have a massive impact on economic dynamics. How can public and private sector partnerships invest efficiently and successfully in local infrastructure systems to deliver consistent economic success throughout the UK?

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