South East Councils was pleased to co host London and the Wider South East Conference with East of England LGA, GLA and London Councils today bringing together local authorities from across the South East with colleagues from East of England and London.
Alongside an overview of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, attendees discussed core areas including:
Collaborating on the climate emergency
Meeting the climate challenge was top of the agenda with round table discussions and presentations from Innovate UK KTN, London Councils and SEC member – Eastleigh Borough Council – on its self-delivery approach and the innovative project One Horton Heath, one of the early First Homes schemes delivering up to 20 percent biodiversity net gain.
Meeting spatial challenges
Expertise and the benefits of joint working across authority boundaries was shared through insights from North Essex Economic Board, West London Alliance and member council, Sevenoaks District Council. Wider cooperation across the South East on s patial planning was called for by Sevenoaks District Council which outlined challenges including environmental protection, the need for housing growth and the ever decreasing pot of capital funding.
At the end of the conference, it was agreed that it should be made an annual event. SEC Chair Cllr Nicolas Heslop also proposed that the leader’s political steering group be revived and asked officers to take that away and consider the format.
Find out more about the London and the Wider South East Conference here.
