Specialist Seminars
These are being arranged, and the site will be updated with more details soon.
If you would like to suggest topics you would more detail on please contact us
West MidlandsRural Affairs Forum Specialist Seminar
8th December 2010 at 77 Paradise Circus Queensway, Birmingham
Improving decision making for the sustainable management of the rural-urban fringe
The seminar, run by Dr Alister Scott and his Colleagues was attended by over 20 delegates. Thank you to all those who participated and contributed to the afternoon.
Dr Scott and his colleagues have pulled together the detail from the workshops into a DRAFT written piece which is attached here for information (click to view the draft paper). He would be really pleased to secure a further set of responses to this material allowing you the chance of further reflection. In particular:
1. to identify any examples that capture good practice and might serve as exemplars or examples that illustrate how not to do things.
2. to correct or add any views that you expressed and you feel were not adequately captured
3. To proffer any comments on the other workshops with ideas or solutions.
If comments can come Direct to Dr Scott, who will then summarise these and produce an overall piece that collectively captures all the contributions as a formal output for WMRAF and the Relu project.
Please feel free to add any comments you wish in this exchange I will not identify any single contribution.
If you wish to be kept informed about the project please let Dr Scott know - Alister.Scott@bcu.ac.uk
West MidlandsRural Affairs Forum Specialist Seminar
Community Resilience: What if…?
5 July 2010, at Worcester County Council Chamber
– Summary of the day
One of the WMRAF’s top priorities is rural community sustainability and helping communities become more resilient.
The recent seminar was the WMRAF’s first step towards this, looking at how communities can anticipate and prepare for an extreme event such as flooding and the who, the what and the how issues are dealt with before, during and after.
It was a packed day with lots of information sharing. GOWM’s Community Resilience lead – Nik Whyte - introduced the topic, by giving a brief overview of how such an event is addressed nationally, regionally and locally. click for presentation
Tips from the Red Cross provided clear messages on being prepared as an individual or family unit – for example, buying a wind up radio and torch, sounded like a good investment! Click for presentation
There were presentations from our ‘blue light’ responders: Police, Fire & Rescue; followed by the Military. They presented a clear picture of their roles, often multifaceted, and the importance of everyone working together and sharing information real time - up, down and across. These discussions highlighted the wish of some communities to engage with responders in a more co-ordinated and inter-active way. Click here for presentations: Police, Fire & Rescue, Miltary
The Environment Agency explained how they prepare for and manage risks and the information they have available to communities. Click for presentations: part 1 & part 2
Annette Dawson inspired the seminar with the Sedgeberrow experience. She explained how they had overcome a number of hurdles and identified some of the issues that still challenged them. Click for presentation
This was supported by the lessons learnt from the Tenbury Wells experience. Click for presentation
The day concluded with a brief look at a scenario and a wider discussion about some of the issues and challenges talked about throughout the day.
The Q & As can be viewedhere
For full details - programme