Key Takeaways from our November Members Meeting

It was a pleasure to see everyone gathered at Birdhouse Tea for our recent November Members Meeting. We loved catching up with everyone, as we shared updates and insights that showcased the growth and diverse initiatives of our association. 

Let's dive into the highlights of this exciting event!

1. Welcoming New Members 
   

We're thrilled to announce the expansion of our S-PA family! A warm welcome to our new members, including Chiles Evans + Care Architects, Dice Consulting, Ares Landscape Architects, Peter + Paul, Apex Consulting, and 10X Marketing. 

We're also in the process of onboarding My Landlord Cares, Secure Power, and Caulmert Planning Consultants. 

2. Updates from the Chair

We also got to hear from Martin McKervey for the last time in his role as Chair of the S-PA, before he steps down next month. 

Martin’s update included some key points about various updates in the city:

• The exciting work of the Sheffield Together Partnership and the Sheffield Housing Growth Board, includes plans for new cosmopolitan neighbourhoods, 7,200 new homes, open spaces, and improved connections between the city centre and neighbourhoods.

• The new Culture Strategy for 2035, commissioned by Sheffield City Council, The University of Sheffield, and Arts Council England. This strategy aims to provide a guiding vision for culture in the city, aligning with City Goals and securing funding for cultural initiatives.

• The Homewards programme, a five-year initiative launched by Prince William and The Royal Foundation, aiming to end homelessness in Sheffield and other UK locations. Homewarsh Sheffield is preparing a Local Action Plan to set out where groundwork will be laid to prevent homelessness.

• The Sheffield Growth Plan, which builds on the City Goals and key strategies to prioritise growth and deliver for the city.

3. Priority Group Updates
   

Our priority groups have been hard at work, and we're excited to share their progress:

EDI (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion):

• The EDI group is now active and has hosted successful events throughout the year, as well as finalising the S-PA’s EDI strategy following consultation with members.

• Future plans involve events around key festivals, launching some thought leadership around how development in the region can properly take into account EDI considerations, and facilitating the sharing of EDI best practices among members.

• The group will continue to host EDI themed coffee mornings quarterly, as part of the regular slot on the first Tuesday of every month.

Working for You:

• Working For You hosts a members coffee morning every first Tuesday of the month from 8.30 am at Marmadukes on Cambridge Street.

• Other recent events included Congregate, Attercliffe Waterside at Domo and Monthly Coffee Mornings.

• Upcoming events: Christmas Event on 11th December, Future of Hospitality, and Sheffield Hallam Alliance.

• Would you like to join the Working for You team? Looking after new and existing members is a great way to meet new people in the S-PA. If so, please drop us a line to find out more at info@sheffieldpropertyassociation.com

Inspiring the Future:

• A partnership with See It Be It, with a launch event on 13th November at Henry Boot's offices.

• Development of a resource library for members.
  

Shaping the City:

• Ongoing investment review research led by Kada, leading an extensive review of Sheffield’s attractiveness to investors and the success of other cities in attracting investment.

• Involvement in the Sheffield Growth Plan and sponsorship of Sheffield Design Awards.
  

Promoting Sheffield:

• Collaboration on the Sheffield Place Brand initiative.

• Working From Home Follow-Up Summary Report to assess economic impacts.

• Currently working on next year’s attendance at UKREiiF

Aspire:

• Previous successes have been the Riverside BBQ and Couch Coffee mornings

• New event style featuring guest speakers.

• We had a great event with Jonathan Edward Bradley from the University of Sheffield speaking about Knowledge Exchange and a winter social at Picture House Social on the 21st November.

Protecting our Future:

• A new sustainability group was formed.

• Collaboration with Sheffield City Council on sustainability initiatives.

• Plans for site visits to exemplar sustainable buildings and sharing project case studies.

How can you continue to support the Sheffield Property Association?

As we move forward, we encourage all members to actively participate in these initiatives by attending our events and finding out how you can get involved. We advertise all of our events via our social media and email newsletters, so if you or a colleague would like to join our mailing list and stay up to date with everything that’s upcoming, get in touch with us at info@sheffieldpropertyassociation.com or direct contacts can be found here https://www.sheffieldpropertyassociation.com/people

We encourage all members to continue spreading the word. The larger our membership, the better our association can serve everyone and the more powerful our force for change.

Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to this fantastic meeting. We look forward to seeing you all again soon and continuing our important work together!