Reactivation / Rediscovery

The 2023 Summer School and TCMI Awards Opens for Bookings

When: 21st and 22nd June 2023
Where: Mercure Leicester The Grand Hotel, Leicester City Centre
Book Now: Here (Early Bird rates applicable)

ATCM’s flagship annual event, Summer School, is open for bookings. The two day event will take place in Leicester City Centre and will include keynote presentations from industry leaders, panel debates, interactive sessions, study tours, networking opportunities, social gatherings and the Town and City Management Industry Awards.

Reactivation / Rediscovery
The UK and Ireland face a gruelling cost of living crisis which is eroding disposable income and consumer confidence. This is happening hot on the heels of months of tough trading conditions in response to the pandemic meaning business resilience is already low. Reactivation / Rediscovery will start by assessing the damage done, and then look at what the place management industry can do to inject new life into high streets, exploring everything from supporting existing businesses, nurturing new businesses, events, regeneration and the creative use of property.

Here's a tiny preview of what delegates can expect…

The Cost-of-Living Crisis vs the High Street
With inflation the highest in a generation, economic forecasts have been consistently dire. But, what is the real impact on the high street? Tulsi Parida of Visa has confirmed her attendance at Summer School to talk us through the data on spend.

Panel Debate: Counting the Cost
The impact of the cost of living crisis has not been uniform across all sectors. Our panel debate, ‘Counting the Cost’ will explore the impact on specific business models and bring understanding to how it impacts the high street holistically. We are delighted to confirm Keith Pullinger, Founder and Deputy Chairman of The Light Cinema will take part in the panel.

Panel Debate: How to Nurture a New Generation High Street Entrepreneurs
There is no doubting that business closures have been an unfortunate feature of the years of challenges we have faced. Reactivation / Rediscovery will ask what we need to do to bring forward the next generation of businesses to usher in a new era of innovation in town centres. Charlotte Thomason, Head of Policy and Government Relations for Enterprise Nation, will join us for a fascinating debate.

Banking on Change
A transition to a largely cashless society has led to a decline in the use of retail banks. This, in turn, has led to a decline in banks on the high street with implications for those people and businesses that still rely on their services with the town centre eco-system being undermined. We are delighted to confirm that Cat Farrow, Chief Operating Officer for Cash Access UK will make her Summer School debut to talk about BankHub and the rollout of shared, community banking services in the wake of the loss of high street banks. She will be joined by Richard Fleetwood, and operator of two BankHubs.

Panel Debate: A New Era for Commercial Property?
There is a growing consensus that more dynamic space is required to help usher in a new era for the high street, one where innovation, experimentation and community oriented uses can capture the imagination of town centre users. However, for this to become reality, does the property sector need to buy into the vision? Is there a pressure to change the relationship between landlords and tenants to create a more fluid use of space in town centres?

We are delighted to confirm that the excellent John Hoyle, Founder of Sook, will make his Summer School debut on day 2 of the conference.