Our inaugural Lecture was given by the Rt Hon the Lord Heseltine CH, who was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001.
He was a Cabinet Minister in various departments from 1979 to 1986 and 1990 to 1997 and Deputy Prime Minister from 1995 to 1997. Lord Heseltine later served as an advisor to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Growth, and as a Commissioner on the National Infrastructure Commission (October 2015 to March 2017). He is the founder and Chairman of the Haymarket Group.
Following the arrival of the Coalition into power in 2010, he was commissioned to draw up “Plan H” or “No Stone Left Unturned” to stimulate growth in local areas. Since then, 81 out of his 89 recommendations have been adopted and during the Lecture he detailed how his views have developed since then and debated where next for local authorities looking to stimulate local growth.