Alex's Blog Archive

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30/09/2011 - Farewell from Horizons

The time has come today to say farewell to Cambridgeshire Horizons, and this will be our last blog.

Since it was established in 2004, Cambridgeshire Horizons has brought in over £100 million worth of funding for the development of sustainable new communities and infrastructure. It has created countywide strategies that are shaping how our new communities are built and function and has worked with partners to overcome barriers to development.  We leave investments and loans worth over £20 million that will return in future to support sustainable development in Cambridgeshire.

Our legacy is one that every single member of the Horizons team, and the partners we have worked so closely with, should be proud of.

We should also be heartened by the fact that, despite Horizons closure, sustainable growth remains a priority across the county for the local authorities and other stakeholders we have worked so effectively with.

Now to the team - as you will have read in our blog over the last 12 months or so, many have already moved on to pastures new, so I did not want to miss this opportunity to say goodbye and good luck to those who are turning off the lights with me today.

Sue Beecroft will be carrying on in her role as sub-regional housing coordinator, being hosted by Cambridge City Council whilst working on behalf of all the Cambridgeshire district and county councils, as well as Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council in Suffolk.

Sheryl French has moved across to Cambridgeshire County Council on a short-term contract to complete the excellent work she is doing on the Cambridgeshire Renewables Infrastructure Framework (CRIF), which will be completed early next year.

Geoff Bruce is taking a short break before starting work for his new consultancy company.

Anna Keyes is returning to the University of Cambridge to undertake a research MPhil. We wish her all the very best of luck with her studies; I am sure that the practical experience she has obtained whilst at Horizons will be valuable in her return to academia.

Gill Barker finished work on Wednesday and is now busy packing boxes as she takes this opportunity to move down to the West Country.

Ivan Matthews, being a seasoned explorer, is embarking on an unusual new adventure having set up a travel company organising guided trips to Africa, as well as continuing with some accountancy work.

Laura Halstead has set up her own PR, marketing and social media business, and it is in this capacity that she will be working with the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership, as well as others.

And finally, I will have also set up my own consultancy, which includes working part time for the Planning Inspectorate.

I sincerely wish all of the Horizons team, past and present, the very best of luck in all of their new endeavours. It has been a pleasure working with you all.

Now all that is left to say is good luck to all of our partners - we are sure the legacy that Horizons has left will help the delivery of high quality, sustainable new developments for many years to come.

Goodbye,
John

John Williamson
Director for Development and Acting Chief Executive

13/09/2011 - My last Board meeting...

Monday 12th September was a momentous occasion as it marked Cambridgeshire Horizons last Board meeting as an operational, staffed company. Current Board members met for the last time as we head towards closure at the end of this month.

The Board dealt with a range of issues, mainly concerning the company's operational wind-down, including closure of funding programmes, transition of on-going work and apportionment of remaining money to growth-related projects.  But we also reflected on the fantastic achievements of the Cambridgeshire growth partnership since Horizons inception in 2004.

Horizons has secured through bidding nearly £100 million of growth funding from government over its lifetime - the largest amount of any similar UK growth area. The company has used this funding innovatively to unlock major development sites on the Cambridge southern fringe and to help secure infrastructure such as the Addenbrookes Access Road. As a result of these investments, we leave a legacy of rolling funds and investments worth over £20 million that will return in due course to be invested in the sustainable growth of Cambridgeshire.

Horizons has funded wholly or partly a wide range of sustainable development projects across the county that have contributed significantly to the quality of life of Cambridgeshire residents.  To name a few:

- The Milton Park & Ride scheme
- The Cambridge Riverside Bridge
- Land acquisition for the expansion of Wicken Fen
- East Cambridgeshire settlement masterplans
- Low-carbon affordable homes at Mayfield Road, Huntingdon
- The SmartLife low carbon centre
- Improvements to Wisbech Nene waterfront

We have led in developing a strong evidence base for sustainable growth through the Strategic Housing Market Assessment, the Integrated Development Programme, the Green Infrastructure Strategies, the Water Cycle Strategies and the Cambridgeshire Renewables Infrastructure Framework. And Horizons has established and developed the Quality of Life programme through the Cambridgeshire Quality Charter for Growth, the Learning and Development programme, and the Cambridgeshire Quality Panel.

All of Horizons successes have, of course, been achieved through partnership working, particularly with the local authorities, but also a range of other partners.

The Board Chairman, Councillor Jill Tuck, thanked all Board members for their contribution to the company's success.  The Board thanked all Horizons staff, past and present, for their hard work, dedication and professionalism; particularly through the past year following the announcement of Horizons' closure.  I would echo those thanks to everyone who has made Horizons such a success and wish them all well in their future careers.

We can all be rightly proud of Horizons strong and enduring legacy of achievements.

Written by John Williamson, Director for Development at Cambridgeshire Horizons

08/08/2011 - Cambridgeshire Guided Busway opens

Today I took my first trip on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, a welcome change from my usual commute along the A14. Living in St Ives and working in Histon I've watched the construction of the Busway over the past few years and have looked forward to it opening.

It's a shame that just as the route opens and improves my daily commute, Cambridgeshire Horizons is coming to an end, but I'll be making the best of my last few weeks working in Histon and will be on the busway every day.

Written by Paul Mumford, Programme Manager

Editors note: Last year the Horizons team recorded a short video for our Annual Conference, explaining why we all believe in the work we do... Paul's vision (very near to the end of the video below) has now been achieved!

07/08/2011 - Why working at Horizons is about more than just a job...

We recorded this video for last year's Cambridgeshire Horizons Annual Conference, but it is (almost) as relevant today as it ever has been...

01/08/2011 - Further jobs success

With only two months left to run as an operational company, it was good to hear that another one of the Cambridgeshire Horizons team has secured a new position.

Paul Mumford, Programme Manager at Cambridgeshire Horizons, has been offered a job working for Huntingdonshire District Council as a Special Projects Officer (Alconbury), working on the proposed development of Alconbury Airfield.

Paul will remain at Horizons until the end of August before taking up his new post at the start of September.

Congratulations Paul!

By Laura Halstead, Communications Manager

22/07/2011 - Horizons fond farewell

Whilst Cambridgeshire Horizons is not yet ready to close our doors (this will happen at the end of September) with the summer holiday season upon us we decided to hold a low key event to say goodbye to the stakeholders and partners that have worked with us over the years.

So this Friday we decorated the Orchard Park Community Centre with bunting made out of old documents destined for the recycling bin (which is where they've now been sent) and offered tea and cakes baked by the Horizons team to our partners.

Over 50 people attended the event from a range of different organisations, including Cambridgeshire County Council, the Environment Agency, National Trust, Huntingdonshire District Council and old Horizons' staff members. It was good to talk about how the good work of Horizons can be carried on in the future, and what a difference it has made to date.

Thank you to everyone who attended, and to those who couldn't make it, but have made a big difference to the growth agenda in Cambridgeshire over the years.

Written by Laura Halstead, Communications Manager, Cambridgeshire Horizons

15/07/2011 - SmartLIFE topping out

On a dull and rainy day last week I headed to the SmartLIFE Low Carbon Centre, located on the northern edge of Cambridge, for the official topping out ceremony for this important new building.

Cambridge MP Julian Huppert officially topped out the centre (with aluminium sheeting, rather than the traditional bricks and mortar!), supported by Cambridgeshire County Council Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Mathew Shuter, and the Principal of Cambridge Regional College, Anne Constantine.

The £3.1million centre is part of the wider Hive complex, that will include a Future Business Centre, a social enterprise venture for new businesses and, in due course, some low carbon demonstration homes. Cambridgeshire Horizons has provided over £2 million of Housing Growth Funding towards the build costs for the SmartLife centre, which will help speed up growth of the low carbon economy in our local area.

The Centre will provide training to improve local workforce skills for those new to construction, or those already working within the industry, in six technology areas: installation of photo-voltaic panels for electricity generation, solar thermal heating for hot water, ground and air source heat pumps for heating, rain water harvesting, advanced gas heating systems, and solid wall insulation.

The Centre itself will be completed in October, and I look forward to seeing it officially opened then.

John Williamson
Acting Director for Development

06/07/2011 - Sue's blog from Harrogate

Our Housing Expert, Sue Beecroft, has taken over Alex's Blog today to give us an insight into the world of housing.

CIH Conference - Harrogate

With so many changes in the world of affordable housing of late, the Chartered Institute of Housing (better known as the CIH) conference in Harrogate was bound to be a lively and interesting event.

After settling into my hotel room in Harrogate, I headed out to a drinks reception. After catching up with colleagues and contacts from across the country and moving on to The Majestic Hotel, I had the opportunity to speak directly to Grant Shapps, Housing Minister, about the proposed introduction of "affordable rent" products and their potential impact on Cambridge and beyond. It was a great opportunity to ask questions directly to the Minister responsible for these changes, but I was still left pondering the future.

Bright and early on Thursday, Gill Leng, our CIH lead; Niki Hollingworth from St Edmundsbury Borough Council and I ran the "tenancy strategy" workshop. Tenancy strategies are a new product which may be required by the Localism Bill which is currently passing through the House of Lords. Although the requirement is not in place yet our workshop focused on how local authorities can help respond to the draft requirements, and use the strategies to make best use of the new affordable rents and associated "flexibilities" to meet housing need and help balance local housing markets.

We had loads of great questions from the audience, which helped to develop all of our thinking around this area. It was also interesting to compare different housing markets and approaches across the country. So I left with lots of food for thought.

After lunch, I had the opportunity to listen to a fabulous speech by Sarah Webb, followed by questions and answers with Grant Shapps for the closing session.

All in all, the CIH Conference was a fantastic event, where housing people could share thoughts and concerns, and learn together. 

01/07/2011 - Farewell

Today is my last day at Cambridgeshire Horizons after three and a half years at the helm as Chief Executive.

It's been a great time, and I want to pay tribute to all my colleagues at Horizons for their hard work and good humour over the years, especially for putting up with my frequently unreasonable requests with such equanimity.

Thanks too to all Horizons Board Members present and past who have provided support and challenge, and to countless partners within our local authorities, the developer community, utilities, Government departments and agencies. All of these people have helped to move forward the plans for delivering the new and affordable homes and related infrastructure that are so desperately needed in our county.

The financial crisis that began in 2008 has meant that the pace of delivery has been slower than I would have liked, and there are developments that I wish we could have moved on sooner than we have (Northstowe perhaps being the most significant but where I am confident we will see progress soon).

However, I am proud to be able to reflect on some real successes over my time at Horizons - all of them the result of collaborative working across a range of bodies - but where I hope we have been able to play an important role.

Taking a simple financial approach, Horizons has succeeded in drawing down over £100m of growth funding from Government over the past six years, money that may not have come our way otherwise.

And we have also managed to use this money in novel ways, by deploying it in the form of loans or equity, rather than grant funding, which means that well over £20m of funds will return for future use towards housing and infrastructure priorities within Cambridgeshire.

In particular, the developments around the Cambridge Southern Fringe (Trumpington Meadows and Clay Farm) are really moving forward apace now, made possible in part through innovative uses of loan and equity funding, pioneered by Horizons.

The loans and equity deals allowed progress on these sites even in the teeth of the recession. The delivery of the Addenbrookes Access Road, also facilitated by Horizons' use of the Rolling Fund concept, is another critical part of the southern fringe vision already in place and benefitting those using the hospital and the broader local communities.

I am looking forward to seeing the realisation of what I hope will be a high quality new community around Trumpington, with thousands of new homes, new jobs, new transport links and new community facilities emerging over the coming months and years.

And its not just in and around Cambridge where progress has been made, throughout the county there are major growth-related projects that are in place or reaching maturity and where Horizons has been able to facilitate delivery.

We have also, I hope, managed to ensure a rounded view of what successful growth looks like by pushing forward an impressive range of evidence and reports, and more importantly trying to change the way that people from across the spectrum think about growth in Cambridgeshire.

The Quality Charter for Growth has had national recognition, and remains the touchstone for how we try to ensure that all the ingredients needed for successful places are put into the mix as developments move forward. It is great news that our Quality Panel, under Robin Nicholson's Chairmanship, will be continuing after Horizons closes. Many people have been instrumental in this work, but I would like in particular to thank Peter Studdert, Nicholas Falk, Cllr Sian Reid and Cllr Dr David Bard for the huge contributions they have made to the Charter and to the implementation of its principles.

The broader Quality of Life strategies have also helped to ensure that the wider context of growth is kept in view, and the many projects that have been delivered during Horizons' lifetime cover all aspects of these strategies. There is not space to name them all, but among those providing benefits for our growing population include:

• Riverside Bridge, Cambridge
• Grafham Water refurbishment and extension
• Exemplar Affordable Housing developments in Huntingdon and March
• Orchard Park Community Centre
• Wisbech Nene Waterfront regeneration
• The Hive, Cambridge
• Ely Country Park
• Wicken Fen Vision

We've also made big strides in infrastructure planning, which helps then to bring together various funding sources to address areas of need. The Integrated Development Programme is perhaps the best example of a wide-ranging infrastructure plan, which is helping to inform the pilots for the new Community Infrastructure Levy in Huntingdonshire and East Cambridgeshire, but we have also completed detailed studies in other areas too. These range from water cycle strategies, Strategic Housing Market Assessment (three cheers for Sue Beecroft!), arts and culture strategies and more.

And we are continuing some critical and potentially groundbreaking work on future energy needs, opportunities from renewable energy solutions and means of funding these which the inestimable Sheryl French will be continuing beyond September.

As ever, its the people within an organisation that make it a good place. I can't mention everyone but I can't write this without acknowledging my gratitude to Sir David Trippier for his guidance and support over the years, to John Onslow and now John Williamson as Directors for Development, and to Laura Halstead for all her support both within Horizons and as we have tried to establish the Local Enterprise Partnership.

The whole team of people at Horizons, past and present, deserve credit for our achievements, and it's been wonderful to see many of you secure new positions already. You have been a wonderful group of people to work with and I shall greatly miss the real sense of camaraderie and shared belief in the rightness of what we have been trying to do that I hope any of you who visited us in our Histon offices got a sense of.

In conversations at a national level I have frequently been told - without fishing for this! -  that Horizons has been the best of its kind as a body coordinating the complex set of actions needed to deliver sustainable and high quality new communities. Whilst the difficulties of the current funding position are well understood, I feel a real sense of loss as Horizons moves toward closure, and I know many will feel the same.

I am absolutely confident that John Williamson, who will now step up to manage the company over its remaining three months, will do so in his usual professional and diligent manner, and help to secure the legacy of a collaborative approach to these critical issues that will survive long after Horizons closes its doors. 

And I will try to be part of that legacy - growth remains a key part of my new role as Executive Director: Environment Services at Cambridgeshire County Council, and for my ongoing role as Strategy Director for the Local Enterprise Partnership.

I start at the County Council on Monday and I know that my experience at Horizons gives me a great platform from which to tackle the new challenges ahead.

Thanks again to all of you who have helped me over my time at Horizons, but as ever the biggest thanks of all go to my lovely wife and daughters who have all too often lost out when my time and attention has been diverted by the requirements of the job but who have remained supportive, sustaining and understanding throughout.

With good wishes to you all.

Alex

28/06/2011 - My last Horizons Board meeting

Yesterday I attended my last Cambridgeshire Horizons Board meeting as Chief Executive of the company.

There will be one more Board meeting in September, but I will no longer be with the company, so it was really pleasing to see a number of key projects and decisions getting signed off by the Board in this meeting.

The revised Cambridgeshire Green Infrastructure Strategy has been approved by the Board, meaning it can now be taken through the individual member processes within the Cambridgeshire local authorities and put into action. Lots of people from across the partnership have put huge amounts of work into this, and it is critical as it will help to ensure a good balance between the built environment and green space, with all the attendant benefits for people, for biodiversity and for the environment.

We also gained agreement on the direction of travel for the Cambridgeshire Renewables Infrastructure Framework (CRIF) and Community Energy Fund (CEF) work over the coming months, and to the appointment of a new member to the Low Carbon Developments Initiative (LCDI) Board as I stand down.

The other key issues on the agenda were around funding - both capital and revenue.

Cambridgeshire Horizons has been able to deploy over £20 million of capital grant in the form of loans and equity investments which should return for the benefit of Cambridgeshire, plus interest or return on equity, in the future. The Board has agreed to retain Horizons as an unstaffed shell company as the best means of dealing with these investments once they mature.

Through prudent budgeting, the company will also have some revenue funding in reserves beyond the end of September when it ceases to be a staffed entity.

The Board agreed that a sub-group will work together to identify growth related projects in Cambridgeshire which can make use of this money. The projects will be taken forward either within local authorities or the Local Enterprise Partnership as appropriate.

I am now off for a few days leave to recharge my batteries prior to starting my new job at Cambridgeshire County Council on 4th July.

I will blog once more before my departure - but for now, thank you for reading over the years.

20/06/2011 - Alconbury Enterprise Zone Bid

At its last meeting the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership Board reviewed five strong bids for Enterprise Zones that had been put forward by partners in Peterborough, Huntingdonshire, St Edmundsbury, King's Lynn & West Norfolk and Fenland.

The bids had already gone through a process of analysis by local authority officers and an independent expert team from PwC to ensure that our Board had all the information it required to make an informed decision.

One of the most important things about an Enterprise Zone is that, if we were to be awarded through the current competition, the financial benefits in terms of retained business rates income would be available for use across the whole of our LEP area - so it was important for the Board to select the bid that seemed most likely to meet the Government's criteria around delivering truly additional growth, significant numbers of new private sector jobs and showing good value for money.

After hearing presentations from all of the bidders and questioning them on their bids, the Board, advised by PwC, discussed the bids in some detail and finally chose the Alconbury proposal in Huntingdonshire as the preferred candidate - a decision reached jointly between the business and local authority members of the Board.

We are now working hard to strengthen the bid prior to submitting it to Government at the end of June.

Being allocated an Enterprise Zone would have a significant positive impact on our area, and also on the work of the LEP.

I am sure that partners across the LEP area will now get behind the Alconbury bid as we enter the national competition.

07/06/2011 - Even more jobs success

This month will see a number of the Horizons team depart for pastures new, including me, which means the Histon office is starting to get quieter as everyone works hard to finish their projects.

Last week we heard the good news that Judit Gorog, my Executive Assistant, and Dan Clarke, our Lead Project Manager, have both secured new jobs at Cambridgeshire County Council. Congratulations to them both.

As you may well already have read in an earlier blog, I will also be leaving Horizons on 27th June (after our Board meeting). From then on John Williamson will be leading Horizons forward for its final three months, and may even be persuaded to take over my blog for the remaining time too!

26/05/2011 - More job success

As we move towards closure I am delighted to hear that another two members of the Horizons team have managed to secure new challenges for the future.

Anita Tweed, our Administrative Assistant, will be leaving us at the end of this week to take up her new role as an Administrative Assistant at Reddie and Grose LLP in Cambridge.

Whilst our Green Infrastructure Project Manager, David Bethell, will be returning to Cambridgeshire County Council in mid-June to work as a Project Manager on the Better Utilisation of Property Assets (BUPA) and Making Assets Count (MAC) programme.

Congratulations to both Anita and David in securing their new roles, I wish them both the best of luck for the future.

25/05/2011 - First CRIF event

This afternoon I will be attending the first Cambridgeshire Renewables Infrastructure Framework (otherwise known as CRIF) event. The Cambridgeshire Renewables Infrastructure Framework (CRIF) will examine the potential opportunities to generate renewable energy in Cambridgeshire.

Held in Cambridge, we will be welcoming over 80 people from a wide range of backgrounds, including members of the community, local authorities, developers, commercial sector, housing associations and more.

You can keep up-to-speed with what is happening at the event by following @crifcambs on Twitter, or searching for the #crifcambs hashtag. You can also find out more about the ongoing work programme by visiting our blog: http://crif.wordpress.com/

Post script: Following on from the event, we have uploaded a short video explaining what the CRIF is all about here.

24/05/2011 - LEP Board Away Day

Last week the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Board gathered together in St Neots for the second time at a Strategy Away Day to help move plans for the LEP forward.

After a tour of the impressive Sealed Air premises in St Neots (who were kindly hosting us for the afternoon), the Board worked through a number of different tasks to develop their thoughts about the priority areas of focus for our LEP, potential projects within those areas (such as transport projects, sharpening our ability to attract inward investment and EU funding, and finding a way to ensure that we better match the skills provision in our area with employer needs), and the organisational structure of the LEP.

At the meeting we confirmed the Terms of Reference for the Board, which can be downloaded here, and gained agreement for Neil Darwin (Operations Director) and myself to work with Chairman Neville Reyner to draw together an updated vision and outline business plan in time for the next Board meeting, due to be held in mid-June.

It was a really useful afternoon, which (to me) highlighted the benefits of drawing together business, education, third sector and local authority representatives across a rational geography to try to tackle the barriers to economic growth in our area. Each representative brought their different perspective to the workshop, all of which helps to move forward our understanding of our area, the opportunities and challenges facing us, and a constructive challenge to received wisdom.

19/05/2011 - Funding success!

A rare headline these days...but good news last week as we received confirmation of two successful funding bids for our area.

Firstly the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) was awarded £48,000 from BIS's Capacity Fund.The money will be used to support the following four key areas of LEP work:

• Collecting and aligning key economic data that is currently held by the different local authorities within our area.
• Collecting and assessing information about local economic clusters.
• Identifying existing best practice and also gaps in provision.
• Determining key skills priorities required to facilitate growth.

In addition to this LEP-specific funding, CLG awarded Cambridgeshire just over £160,000 worth of Transition Funding over two years to help our local area move from its current growth arrangements, which includes the work we have previously been carrying out at Cambridgeshire Horizons, to new structures. The Horizons Board will consider this issue at our next meeting. It was also pleasing to see that our colleagues in the Greater Peterborough part of the LEP received a similar award.

Securing this Transition Funding and the Capacity Funding is a fillip for us during a difficult period, and will contribute to the ongoing plans for delivering much-needed new homes and infrastructure in our area to support the continued sustainable growth of our local economy.

18/05/2011 - Meeting with Julian Huppert MP

On Friday I accompanied the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP Chairman, Neville Reyner to a meeting with Cambridge MP Julian Huppert, where we discussed the emerging priorities for our Enterprise Partnership.

We had a fruitful discussion covering a wide range of issues, including sustainable transport, economic development and the Government's new Enterprise Zones policy.

Julian was very supportive of the LEP, and keen to work with his Parliamentary colleagues within our area to help deliver our economic growth objectives. We look forward to working closely with Julian and all our local MPs in the future.

13/05/2011 - Exam success

Here at Cambridgeshire Horizons we have always worked hard to assist our staff develop their skills to help them do an even better job.

So after months of hard work I was delighted to hear that my Executive Assistant has passed her Certificate in Professional PA and Secretarial Skills with a Merit, which is a reflection of Judit's hard work and natural ability. Congratulations Judit!

12/05/2011 - LEP Start-up Fund

It is good to see the announcement from Mark Prisk today that BIS have allocated £5m as a LEP start-up fund. This is something I and many colleagues in LEP-land have been arguing for over many months (see Select Committee Report). As the Select Committee concluded, LEPs are too important, and their potential positive impact on economic growth is too great, to allow them to fail for the want of a relatively small amount of start-up funding. This fund - albeit small and only for one year - should help us and colleagues to gear up and get some dedicated resource in place to support our high-quality Board.

09/05/2011 - Another varied week

The great thing about my job is that no two weeks are the same, and last week was no different. After a relaxing long bank holiday weekend I spent my first two days back at work on the train to London for a variety of meetings, including attending an Enterprise Zones workshop set up by CLG to share information about how Enterprise Zones will be chosen, and how they will work.

The exciting thing about Enterprise Zones (for me) is that they provide a means by which the economic benefits of growth can be retained locally, whereas the current system sees nearly all of this being retained centrally. If our LEP were successful in bidding for an Enterprise Zone, then 25 years worth of business rates increment would be retained for use within the LEP area as a whole, and can be used to address our identified priorities. 

In-between Local Enterprise Partnership related meetings, including a very interesting meeting with colleagues from the Citizens Advice Bureau, I had the opportunity to catch up on work relating to the Cambridgeshire Renewables Infrastructure Framework that Sheryl French is leading on. The team are busy organising a workshop to encourage members of the local community and businesses to get involved in the development of the framework at an early stage. The event will take place on 25th May from 4pm until 8pm at the University Centre. Places are free, but do need to be booked in advance.

You can find out more about the CRIF project here, and specifically about the event here.

14/04/2011 - Training success

Seven members of the Horizons team have successfully passed the Association for Project Management (APM) introductory certificate after undertaking an intensive two day training course covering all aspects of successful project management followed by an exam.

Well done to Gill Barker, Sue Beecroft, Dan Clarke, Paul Mumford, John Williamson, David Bethell and Laura Halstead for passing.

12/04/2011 - Regional Growth Fund: Results of the first round of bids

So the Government has announced the outcomes from the first round of bids for support from the Regional Growth Fund. The more astute among you will notice that, with the honourable exception of one award for the bid from e2v in Chelmsford, there are no successful bids from anywhere in the East or South East of England.

This geographic slant is consistent with the messages given out by Lord Heseltine and Sir Ian Wrigglesworth that this fund would be used to support areas of the country with greater reliance on public sector jobs, but it does raise some interesting issues. 

Whilst the plight of some areas of the country with difficult economic futures should be of concern to us all, it is not clear that this approach offers the right answers for those areas or for the country as a whole. If the Government's prime aim is to rebalance the economy from the public to the private sector, and given that there are limited funds to help with this, should it not look for a more blended approach, where some of the money is used in areas where it generates the biggest returns in terms of new jobs created? That way, the business and income taxes resulting from growth can be reinvested in those areas with more significant structural difficulties, rather than applying sticking plasters in the shape of limited funds like RGF.

And this is not a North-South divide issue either: cities such as Manchester, Leeds, and York are likely to be net generators of jobs just as much as Cambridge, Peterborough, Reading or Oxford. Its all about making the most of our national assets in tough times and investing in areas where the UK can still outcompete other parts of the world.

No use crying over spilt milk of course, but it is a shame that a great number of very strong bids in the Greater South East seem to have been dismissed purely on the grounds of geography. I hope that decisions on future rounds of RGF, and for the competition for the remaining 10 Enterprise Zones are made using different criteria.

04/04/2011 - Future Jobs Fund success

Here at Horizons we have participated in the Government's Future Jobs Fund (FJF) programme over the past year. We received funding to take on two Administrative Assistants (who were young people in long-term unemployment) for six months at a time to provide them with training and real work experience to increase their chances of getting a permanent job at the end of the programme.

I'm please to say that Jamie Howard, our most recent FJF candidate, has secured a job at Roddons Housing Association, based in March. So well done Jamie for making the most of your time here, and for moving into a new job that is still connected to the work of Cambridgeshire Horizons. We wish you the best of luck in your new role.

31/03/2011 - Jimmy's Night Shelter

I gave a seminar for a law firm recently for which they offered me a fee - I instead asked that they make a charitable donation, and given the links to the work we carry out here at Horizons I chose Jimmy's Night Shelter (which operates in part of the Zion Baptist Church on East Road in Cambridge) as the beneficiary.

This week, I took the cheque in to the manager of Jimmy's, Henry Brown. Henry kindly took the time to show me around the shelter, which currently provides night-time emergency accommodation, food and laundry services for around 22 homeless people, with bunk-beds pretty tightly packed in to small rooms.

Henry also showed me the beginnings of their conversion project, which will provide modern, spacious accommodation with better facilities and the chance to provide daytime support, and room to provide education, training and other support activities to help people move out of homelessness and address other problems in their lives.

Henry and I spent some time discussing the difficulties of accessing housing in the Cambridge area, the pressing need for more rental properties at rates that people can afford, and the concerns that the combined impact of current policy changes relating to affordable housing and benefits could worsen the situation.

It was great to get a feel for the good work that Jimmy's does, and to help in a small way by making a donation to them. I hope to go back to see them again as the conversion works take shape.

31/03/2011 - Farewell to Carol and Esther

Today we said goodbye to two members of the Horizons team - Carol Dunn, our long-standing finance assistant, and Esther Cooke, our part-time Quality of Life Project Manager.

Carol has been with Horizons on a part-time basis for many years now, and ensured that our finances were always kept in check, working closely with Ivan Matthews and our former Finance Manager John Barnes. Carol runs her own business and is now looking to expand her client base further.

Esther has been a lively part of the Horizons team for 12 months, joining us on a fixed-term contract to help establish the Quality Panel, amongst other projects. Esther has also been busy setting up her own business - Nature Nurture Workshops -  focussing on workshops that are designed to refuel the spirit and return to the simple pleasures in life, with nature and creativity at the heart.

We wish both Carol and Esther the very best of luck in the future, and thank them for all of their hard work and dedication during their time at Horizons.

30/03/2011 - Cycling challenge

Our Green Infrastructure Project Manager, David Bethell, completed a challenging cycle ride this weekend to raise money for charity.

David cycled 74 miles from Cambridge to Southend in 8 hours 45 minutes (including rest breaks), raising £617 for the British Heart Foundation in the process.

Well done David!

23/03/2011 - LEP statement on local enterprise zones

The Chancellor has announced in the Budget that 21 local enterprise zones will be created. Neville Reyner, the Chair of the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership, has made the following statement about the announcement:

"I welcome the Chancellor's announcements on enterprise zones and the central role envisaged for local enterprise partnerships. For Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough, the Enterprise Zone approach could give a real boost to the plans we have to generate thousands of new jobs over the coming years.

Enterprise Zones will mean we can retain more of the dividends from growth within our LEP area and so tackle those barriers which currently prevent our businesses from achieving their full potential. We will be seeking to bring forward a compelling case for an Enterprise Zone in our area as soon as possible."

21/03/2011 - Horizons promotes renewable energy at the Science Festival

Yesterday Cambridgeshire Horizons hosted an event at the University of Cambridge's Science Festival. Over 200 people visited our family friendly event at the Pitt Building, which taught people more about the different types of renewable energy available and how they could be used in new communities.

Visitors could read more about different energy types, or watch a short animated video, before asking questions of our in-house experts Sheryl French and Laura Halstead. For the younger visitors there was the chance to make your own new town out of Duplo (no sarcastic comments about Milton Keynes please!), as well as drawing and colouring and a renewable energy ball game.

Most popular was the chance for children to have a go on an exercise bike which showed just how much energy it takes to run typical household appliances. I gather that some children were taking the opportunity to get Sheryl and Laura to help them with their science homework assignments!

Well done to all who helped arrange this event, and thanks go to Laura and Sheryl for giving up some of their weekend to put on the event.

You can find out more about the renewable energy projects we are involved in here.

15/03/2011 - New Horizons

It has been announced today that I have accepted an offer to take up the role of Executive Director: Environment Services at Cambridgeshire County Council, which means I will lead for the Council on issues such as transport, economic growth, and environment.

The new role will bring diverse challenges, but I am looking forward to working with a great team within and beyond the County Council, many of whom I know well already from my time here at Horizons.

Given the links between my new portfolio and the growth challenges that Horizons has led on over the past six years, I hope that I will be able to provide some continuity beyond the period when Horizons closes. The precise timing of the move is still to be determined, but I will continue to combine my work with the role I also have as Interim Strategic Director of the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership.

I have really enjoyed my time at Horizons, and will continue to do so for some months yet. I believe that, through the collaborative way of working that Horizons has helped to develop, and the innovative approaches to funding we have worked up with our colleagues in the local authorities and with partners in the private sector, we have enabled the delivery of many much needed new homes and facilities for the people of Cambridgeshire - but there is still an awful lot to do. I will continue to work hard to ensure that Horizons continues to do as much as it can before our closure later this year, and that the legacy of Horizons is protected into the future as I take up my new role.

08/03/2011 - Prime Minister and top team attend LEP summit

Yesterday I headed to Coventry for a summit for local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) from across the country, at the Ricoh Arena (home of Coventry Football Club).

Whilst colleagues at CLG and BIS had indicated that Ministers may attend, it was a surprise to see The Prime Minister, The Deputy Prime Minister, two Secretaries of State (Dr Vince Cable and Eric Pickles), as well as Planning Minister Mark Prisk and Decentrallisation Minister Greg Clark all in attendance, keen to promote the importance of LEPs as we move into a changed set of structures around sub-national economic development, and to discuss the issues and opportunities our Local Enterprise Partnership are encountering.

The Deputy Prime Minister took the opportunity to announce that the results of the first round of Regional Growth Fund bids would be announced shortly, and that the amount of funding available in this first round will increase due to the number of high quality bids. It was also confirmed that the second round of funding will open on 12th April.

As a part of the day I was asked to facilitate a workshop focussing on the LEP role in relation to strategic infrastructure and planning, after setting out some of the work we have successfully carried out in Cambridgeshire over recent years, the room moved on to debate the importance of LEPs retaining a focus on the economic vision for their area and what is needed in terms of spatial planning, housing and infrastructure to achieve that vision, of the desirability of speeding up the planning process, and of LEPs helping to make the best use of the range of new funding tools (tax increment finance, new homes bonus, business rates) that are becoming available.

Ministers confirmed that Government would support the settting up of an Association of Local Enterprise Partnership to enable ongoing sharing of best practice and support between all 31 approved partnerships. A really useful afternoon, and the fact that such a senior Ministerial team took time out of their busy schedules to show their support for LEPs bodes well for the future.

01/03/2011 - Green Vision

The team at Horizons have been working hard with colleagues in the local authorities to put the finishing touches to the reviewed Green Infrastructure Strategy for Cambridgeshire over the past months, and it is now ready to go out to public consultation again. From 3rd March until 3rd April a series of events will be held across the county to support the online consultation.

The first event will be taking place at Cambridge Central Library on Wednesday 9th March between 3pm and 7pm, and you can find out more about the other events here. You will also be able read the updated document and respond to the questionnaire online here from Thursday.

25/02/2011 - Community groups

Yesterday we said goodbye to Project Assistant Becca Bryant, who has been working with the team for a year on secondment from Cambridgeshire County Council. During her time here Becca has developed her Project Management and Communications skills, and put to them to good use outside of the office as well by starting up a new community group called Big Walkies.

The group meets once a month to go for a walk with their dogs in and around the Huntingdonshire area. After working so hard on the Green Infrastructure Strategy Becca is now exploring new green spaces and places across the area for her walks in the future. The group is free to join and you can find out more here.

We wish Becca the very best of luck for the future, both with Big Walkies and in her day job too.

21/02/2011 - Housing headlines

The headlines of 2011 have already been filled with apparently contradictory tales of lowering house prices on one hand and increasing asking prices on the other. Today Rightmove.com said that the early Spring market bounce has seen asking prices increase by 3%, but of course this is only the asking price, not the selling price.

When listening to reports of the housing market nationally it is important to remember that these figures take the average from across the country. In places like Cambridgeshire, and in particular in and around Cambridge, we are still experiencing high levels of demand for housing with prices remaining relatively stable. The need for new houses, and in particular new affordable housing, is still there. We must remember this as new communities start to be built to the south and north west of the City, and if our vibrant local businesses can achieve the kind of growth levels anticipated in the Local Enterprise Partnerhip's bid document, then we will need to ensure we have the right homes in place to accommodate their growing workforces.

Find out more about these proposed developments here.

10/02/2011 - Enterprise Partnership Appoints Chair

Last night I attended the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership Project Board meeting where the appointment of a Chair was agreed.

Neville Reyner CBE DL is a highly respected businessman, with a great deal of local and national business experience. He lives in the south of our Enterprise Partnership area in Royston, and has business interests to the north of our area in Wisbech, as Chairman of Anglia Components Ltd. He is also President of the British Chamber of Commerce, a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and former Deputy Chair of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), with a particular role in championing innovation.

Neville officially starts his role on 1st March and with my colleague Neil Darwin from Opportunity Peterborough I am very much looking forward to working with him to develop the Enterprise Partnership and begin to make a positive impact on the economic priorities for our part of the country.

08/02/2011 - Leaner and Greener...

Last week I attended the launch of a new report called Leaner and Greener: Delivering Effective Estate Management at the House of Commons. The report was launched by The Rt Hon Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and by Matthew Hancock, MP for West Suffolk and Inquiry Chair. The report outlines the findings from a research inquiry held by the Westminster Sustainable Business Forum (WSBF) to examine how best to promote greater sustainability in the realm of public sector estate management.

Looking for new ways to make the best use of the public sector estate and to reduce costs of operating the estate is something that partners in Cambridgeshire have already been moving forward as part of a project called Making Assets Count. With so many different public sector organisations operating within our County there are real opportunities to work together better in relation to the assets we collectively own or operate, and so reduce both financial and environmental costs at the same time as improving and better integrating the services that are provided to local communities. It was great to see Cambridgeshire's work on Making Assets Count profiled as an example of best practice within the report, and the move towards Local Government Shared Services by Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire County Councils is also featured.

The research inquiry itself identifies some bold recommendations for how to manage the public sector estate more efficiently which is crucial at this time of reducing public finances. The report states that local authorities and other public sector organisations could reduce their space requirements by 30% by sharing office space, potentially saving up to £7bn per year in running costs.

04/02/2011 - Great Fen wins national award

The Great Fen Project has been awarded two prizes from the Royal Town Planning Institute, including the Silver Jubilee Cup - the top honour - for its "visionary plan" to transform arable farmland in Huntingdonshire into a sustainable rural environment.

The Great Fen Project received funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government's Growth Area Fund, which has contributed to the £16.5 million the partners have raised so far. The Great Fen protects two nature reserves, which not only provides green open spaces for local people to enjoy, it also promotes tourism, craft industries, farm diversification, biomass crops and education.

This is a fantastic accolade for a project that is of national as well as local significance, congratulations to everyone who has been involved in the delivery of this project.

03/02/2011 - £5 million transitional funding for LEPs tackling housing growth

Earlier this week, Housing minister Grant Shapps and communities minister Andrew Stunell announced a new £5 million fund over two years to help Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) deliver large-scale housing schemes. The budget, which will be distributed over two years, is designed to enable LEPs to work across local authority boundaries to support growth in housing market renewal areas - something that Cambridgeshire Horizons has been successfully doing over the past six years, and which we are hoping can be continued as the new Greater Cambridge-Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership takes shape.

It is good to hear ministers acknowledge the importance of a cross-cutting approach to these important issues, and to provide at least some funding support, which is something I have been pressing Government for ever since the LEP proposals were announced. I hope that this fund, whilst it will not be transformational given that the money will be stretched over a wide area of the country, can help to support the delivery of high-quality housing schemes across the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough area where new homes, and in particular affordable homes, are in such significant demand.

I have been in touch with colleagues in Whitehall as to how the fund will be administered, which they tell me is not yet finallised, and will put more details on the blog once that information becomes available.

26/01/2011 - Gold award winners

I was delighted to hear from Sheryl French and Becca Bryant that Cambridgeshire Horizons was awarded a Gold Certificate of Development Award at the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough WorkPlace Travel Plan Awards last night. We have worked really hard as a team to consider our travel options for both travel to and travel for work, improving our cycle provision, advertising car sharing and introducing flexible working, with a large part of our internal campaign managed by Martyn Watson, who worked with us for eight months as an Administrative Assistant through the Future Jobs Fund.

The assessment report we received said: "The Gold Standard recognises that Cambridgeshire Horizons has done as much as possible to ensure that the travel plan will succeed. It is good to see Horizons' travel plan is being used to help meet one of its key objectives - to reduce its carbon footprint."

Well done to all of the team who have made changes to the way they travel to help us reduce our carbon footprint.

25/01/2011 - Looking for Board members

Tomorrow is the closing date for submitting applications to become the Chair of the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership, but there is still plenty of time for people to apply for other roles on the Board.

We are seeking six business representatives, one voluntary sector or social enterprise partnership representative and one Higher or Further Education representative to join our board and help shape our local economy. Applications needs to be submitted by 25th February and further information can be found at www.yourlocalenterprisepartnership.co.uk

10/01/2011 - Water matters

As plans to develop the north west fringe of Cambridge move forward, the local authorities (South Cambridgeshire District Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and Cambridge City Council) and Cambridgeshire Horizons have joined together to run an evening event focussing on water management, drainage and flooding for local people.

The event is part of an ongoing series of evening and weekend events on a variety of topics, each suggested by members of the local community. Previous events have introduced the individual development sites as a whole, discussed transport issues and updated people on the latest plans. At the end of each event visitors are asked to suggest which topics they would like to see covered in the future, and this determines the topic we focus on next.

So I'd encourage anyone who lives in or near north west Cambridge, or has an interest in the area, to go to the Meadows Centre in St Catharine's Road, Cambridge, from 7pm until 9pm on Wednesday 26th January to listen to a short presentation about the work that is being carried out to carefully manage water in the area (and beyond) before having the chance to ask the expert panel questions. There is no need to book and the event is free, simply turn up on the day.

You can find out more about the Water Cycle Strategy work we carry out at Horizons here.

07/01/2011 - Happy New Year

The Christmas and New Year's break is now well and truly over, and I have been busy catching up on emails that I received whilst on holiday. 2011 is set to be a year of great change for all of us involved in the world of housing growth, infrastructure and economic development. As I announced last year, Cambridgeshire Horizons will be wound up as an operational company by September of this year, and we still have many important projects to move forward and complete before that time, including work around renewable energy, water use, community engagement, innovative finance and much, much more.

And in 2011 we will start to see the real outcomes from much of the work that Horizons and its partners has been engaged with over recent years. The first residents are expected to move in to new homes on the Southern Fringe of Cambridge later this year. The Addenbrookes Access Road is now being used, and more and more people are moving into their new homes, many of those as designated affordable homes, across the county.

In other news, during the Spring (likely over March and April) we will be going out to consultation to gain feedback on the updated Green Infrastructure Strategy before making the final changes and publishing this new document.

As ever, I will be updating my blog on a regular basis to keep you up-to-date with our latest news.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2011.

01/01/2011 - The future of Horizons

2010 has been a year of great change for us all, particularly those working in the public sector. The new Government is introducing new ideas such as the Big Society and Localism, and pushing ahead with a programme of rapid fiscal tightening, which means significant reductions in public sector funding which is biting particularly hard on local government.

As you would imagine, Cambridgeshire Horizons, as an organisation funded predominantly by the Department for Communities and Local Government with some additional funding from the six Cambridgeshire Local Authorities, is not immune from these changes, and the Spending Review confirmed that all of our central Government funding, both revenue and capital, was being discontinued with effect from 31 March 2011.

At the a full Horizons Board meeting earlier this month, it was agreed that Cambridgeshire Horizons will begin to put in a place a transition plan with a view to winding up as an operational entity during 2011 - most likely around September. We will continue to be fully committed to all of the work we carry out until we close for business, and are working hard to put in place transition plans to ensure that our work and knowledge is transferred to successor organisations over the coming months.

Some of the Horizons team are also part of a group working to develop proposals for the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Local Enterprise Partnership, after the bid was given the green light by Government at the end of October. The Enterprise Partnership could potentially take on some of the work that currently sits within Horizons, but this is yet to be formally decided.

I would like to take this opportunity to echo comments made by our Board Members in thanking all of our staff - past and present - for their hard work and dedication to our vision to deliver sustainable new communities across the county. This is vitally important work that must continue, in some form or another, in the future.

Delivering new homes, and the infrastructure to match, is critical to the economic prosperity of this area, is an imperative for the people of Cambridgeshire, particularly those thousands in acute housing need, and, because of the national and international profile of this area, it is also vital for the economic future of the country as a whole.

The work we have carried out with our partners during the period of Horizons' existence has undoubtedly helped to move this agenda forward. We have come up with innovative solutions to difficult issues, put quality at the heart of our plans for growth, and helped to build a robust evidence base for sustainable development. All of these things will serve the county well in whatever new structures emerge.

So, whilst it is a difficult time for us, I want to say thank you again to all of the team here at Horizons, to all our partners in the public and the private sector, and to all of you who take an interest in the work we have done and will continue to do.

I will carry on updating my blog as the way forward develops.

Merry Christmas and all good wishes for 2011.

Alex

This blog was first posted on 22nd December 2010