The Architecture, Culture & Tectonics Research Group warmly invites you
to attend their Virtual Seminar on Wednesday 5 May at 12:00pm, Teams.
“Letchworth Garden City's response to the Pandemic”
Guest speaker: David Ames
Abstract:
Letchworth is the world’s first garden city; the brainchild of Ebenezer Howard. It is now the home for 35,000 people and provides 15,000 jobs. It benefits from the core master planning principles that underpin Garden City design. Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation is a community benefit society that owns the freehold of the Letchworth Estate and applies Garden City Principles to reinvest the capture of land value for community benefit. This is by way of a community governance structure and applying long term stewardship models, to provide additional services and grant support beyond those provided by statutory providers.
The Heritage Foundation largely relies on income from its property portfolio in order to provide these community services and the pandemic has placed a significant financial burden on the Foundation’s income at a time when its community services and open spaces were needed the most.
How Letchworth and the Foundation approached these challenges and how the community stepped up to the challenge are explored, including views on possible lessons that can be applied to new and existing places.
Biography:
David Ames - Executive Director - Stewardship and Development, Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation
David is a Chartered Town Planner and qualified surveyor and is responsible for strategic town planning, heritage and environment matters for the Heritage Foundation. He has 32 years' experience in private and public sectors and returned to the Heritage Foundation in 2011, having previously worked there between 1997 to 2002.
David has previously worked for Broxbourne and Welwyn Hatfield Councils, Linden Homes and was an Associate Director for Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners. He also ran his own town planning practice for 5 years.
He has previously been involved in a number of regeneration and development schemes across the UK and is also one of the main speakers on Garden Cities, both in this country and abroad.
This virtual seminar will take place through ACT Teams - Office 365. If you did not recieve an invitation and would like to attend, please contact Sarah Taylor, Research Administrator.