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Welcome to our 2022 Stakeholder Strategy Day
Conference Date: Thursday 5 May 2022
Time: Arrivals from 9.45am. Conference 10.30am – 4pm
Welcome to our 2022 Stakeholder Strategy Day webpage. Here you can find out all you need to know about the conference – details of the venue, programme, travel and most importantly your RSVP booking form.
We will continue to update the site in the run up to the conference, sharing any information that will help set the scene and provoke debate in the lead up.
Better and Stronger Together: The Way Ahead
Please let us know if you can join us, deadline for RSVPs is Tuesday 19 April 2022.
About this year’s Stakeholder Strategy Day
The theme for this year’s conference is Better and Stronger Together: The Way Ahead.
This year’s event is important for so many reasons, including a number of “firsts”. It will be the first:
- time we have held an in-person Stakeholder Strategy Day since 2019, and I know we will all be excited to have an opportunity to see each other again
- time we will be joined by our One Housing Group colleagues since they joined The Riverside Group last year
- opportunity to begin to consider our next Corporate Plan (2023-26) which will outline the future strategic direction of the Group and begin “The Big Conversation” about our main priorities as a Group over the next three years.
The day will be structured around a number of presentations from colleagues from both Riverside, One Housing Group and beyond. We are delighted to announce that on the day we will be joined by Kate Dodsworth, Director of Consumer Regulation from the Regulator of Social Housing. Kate is playing a key role in shaping the future of consumer regulation, following the publication of the Government’s Social Housing White Paper in 2020, and we are looking forward to hearing from her.
Importantly, there will also be the opportunity for discussion and debate. This is what makes Stakeholder Strategy Day such a vital part of the development of the Corporate Plan. Hearing the voices and opinions of our governance community, customers and staff really helps to identify the key issues, opportunities and concerns which will then shape the organisation’s future strategic direction.
This is a day not to miss, so please RSVP and book your place here.
Guest speakers
Kate Dodsworth, Director of Consumer Regulation from the Regulator of Social Housing
Kate started her career in housing 30 years ago in homelessness, working with rough sleepers in Birmingham and later managing homeless hostels in Brighton. After completing a Masters degree in Housing, she worked at the National Housing Federation for ten years; latterly as Assistant Director covering London, the South East and East of England. She was Executive Director of People and Communications at Amicus Horizon and, post-merger, as Optivo. Kate was Chief Executive of Gateway Housing Association for three years until starting her current role as Director of Consumer Regulation at the Regulator for Social Housing in July 2021. She was an external examiner for Westminster University until 2019 and a co-founder of the charity, Leadership2025, which aims to increase representation of black housing professionals in senior roles and address structural inequality.
Carol Matthews CBE, Group Chief Executive
Carol Matthews has been Group Chief Executive of The Riverside Group since 2012.
Carol has been in housing and customer service since 1984 starting as a housing officer with door to door rent collection as part of the role. Ten years of experience was with three local authorities: Sheffield, Burnley and Bristol before joining Northern Counties which became part of the Guinness Partnership in 2007.
Having recently served 2 years as Chair, Carol is a founding member of H4N – ‘Homes for the North’ – a group of seventeen HAs with northern stock who want to campaign and influence development and regeneration in the north.
Carol was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours list in 2020.
Terrie Alafat CBE, Group Chair
Terrie Alafat retired from being Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), the independent voice for housing and the home of professional standards, in 2019.
Before joining CIH in 2015 Terrie was director of housing in the then-Department for Communities and Local Government, with overall policy responsibility for the supply and management of housing across all tenures, housing growth, and homelessness prevention and support. As part of this, she also led on sponsorship of the Homes and Communities Agency. She worked in the civil service covering various housing policies and programmes from 2003.
Terrie was given a CBE in 2013 for services to homeless people.
Terrie began her career in the UK in social services policy development in a local authority and was director of housing and corporate strategy in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea until she moved to the civil service. Her academic background is in social policy and research.
She holds several non-executive positions including Chair of Riverside and Hestia, Deputy Chair of Crisis and trustee of the Nationwide Foundation.
In her spare time, she is an avid beekeeper and loves to spend time with her grandson.
Richard Hill, One Housing Group Chief Executive
Richard joined One Housing as Group Chief Executive in September 2017. He has a passion for housing and is hugely experienced having held numerous senior leadership positions in the sector. Before joining One Housing he led Spectrum Housing for three years as Chief Executive, taking the organisation into a merger with Sovereign Housing. Before Spectrum he held a number of senior roles at the housing regulator, the Homes and Communities Agency. These included Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Programmes, where he had responsibility for a range of high profile housing and research programmes and an annual investment fund of £5 billion.
About the venue
We’re delighted to say this year we will be heading to the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in Manchester.
With its Victorian architecture and fresh approach to hospitality, Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is the perfect expression of its setting: Manchester, a city where tradition and modernity meet and where artisanship reigns supreme. Housed in a magnificent terracotta Grade II–listed building, Kimpton Clocktower has a history that dates back to 1890, when the building first opened as The Refuge Assurance Company headquarters.
Whilst the building is fully accessible, please bear in mind that it is an old building so they have had to be sensitive making adaptations. This means that lift spaces and locations can be tight and so it would be really useful if you could tell us in your RVSP about any specific access requirements you have in advance, so we can help you on the day.
Getting there
Use this map to find details of nearest parking and walking routes. Travel details can be found on the Kimpton Clocktower website.
Travelling by train
The hotel is just a two minute walk from Manchester Oxford Road train station and 15 minute walk from Manchester Piccadilly.
Travelling by car
Please be aware there is no on-site parking available at the hotel. There are several NCP car parks within close proximity. The Kimpton Clocktower Hotel do have special rates of £20 for 24 hours parking arranged for hotel guests at the NCP car park on Oxford Street (M1 5EJ) and Whitworth Street (M1 6NE) which you can pay directly at check out at hotel Front Desk. Please note that the car parks above are suggestions based on proximity to the hotel. The car park is not part of the Kimpton Clocktower and the hotel is not liable for any loss or damage should it occur.
Accommodation
We hope that most people will be able to travel to and from Manchester on the day. If you do require overnight accommodation in the city, please contact your normal point of contact in Riverside or One Housing Group.
Setting the scene
Facing the future
I’m really looking forward to our first in person Stakeholder Strategy Day for three years and the opportunity it gives us to bring board members, customers and colleagues together to discuss our future direction.