A delegation of over 100 top property professionals will be coming to Bury St Edmunds next week for a two-day conference featuring some of the best speakers in their field.
The Athenaeum – recently refurbished and officially opened at the end of August - will host the two-day ACES (Association of Chief Estate Surveyors & Property Managers in Local Government) Presidential Conference on 14 and 15 September. Speakers will concentrate on the regional initiatives of the Public Service Village, planned for Western Way in Bury St Edmunds and the redevelopment scheme for the Cattle Market site, while subjects such as sustainability and rural diversification will also be explored.
The ACES organisation brings together representatives from over 300 local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales, with the aim of keeping members in touch with best practice. The annual conference will this year be held here following the election of Betty Albon, Corporate Property Officer at St Edmundsbury Borough Council, to the role of President last November.
Betty said:
“This is the second visit of ACES to Bury St Edmunds. The last time the National Conference was held in the town was in 2000. Delegates will come to Bury St Edmunds and see what a wonderful town we have here and learn about the exciting projects ahead, which are of national significance in the world of local government property management. I am very proud to be hosting my Conference here. It involves many colleagues from St Edmundsbury Borough Council, all of whom have supported me through my year as President.”
Conference speakers are drawn from a wide area, and a wide variety of backgrounds. They include surveyors, solicitors and developers associated with the two major projects, namely Donaldsons and GVA Grimley, Mills & Reeve and Centros Miller.
Speakers on the second day are Sir Kenneth and Lady Carla Carlisle from Wyken Vineyard – a former Government Minister and an American author, both now successful entrepreneurs; the President–Elect of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors David Tuffin; Hank Dittmar who is Chief Executive of The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment and Professor Apostolos Papairis of Thessaly and Greek Open Universities
The Council’s own Chief Executive Deborah Cadman OBE and the Corporate Director (Resources) Dr Carlton Brand will also address the conference and the Council’s Leader, John Griffiths, will welcome delegates at a formal dinner on Thursday evening. More than 100 property surveyors, partners, sponsors, speakers and guests will attend the dinner in the Athenaeum. This promises to be a glittering occasion. Catering will be provided by The Angel Hotel, guests will be serenaded by the local jazz big band Marrakesh, and this will be followed by what is expected to be a witty after dinner speech by Roger Messenger, a surveyor and rating expert from the surveyors Wilks, Head & Eve.
ENDS
ISSUED BY LIZ HEARNSHAW, COMMUNICATIONS UNIT, ST EDMUNDSBURY BOROUGH COUNCIL. Tel 01284 757033. liz.hearnshaw@stedsbc.gov.uk
