A new membership scheme has been launched by the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM) to help council, community and business groups provide support for market and small towns.
Responding to feedback from local regeneration leaders, the new membership band will be available to new members working in towns with a population of up to 20,000. The scheme will be nearly half the price of existing membership for larger town and city centres.
Benefits for all towns
The benefits of the new ATCM membership category offer support for market and other small towns (population up to around 20,000) and will give them a strong national voice and help share local good practice. Benefits include:
- Regular policy briefings and the opportunity to contribute to national policy development and Government consultations
- Participation in All Party Parliamentary Group on Town Centres
- Participation in regional networks, training events and national conferences
- Access to case studies of good practice and other member areas of the ATCM web site
- Frequent funding tips
- Monthly e-bulletin news round-ups
New services for small towns
Having recently appointed Chris Wade, Director of the People & Places Partnership to its Advisory Council, ATCM will draw-on Chris’ knowledge of small towns across the UK. Chris will assist other Advisory Council members and the ATCM staff team to ‘proof’ policy and practice guidance to ensure it is applicable to towns of all sizes.
Small towns who are considering creating a Business Improvement District (BID) will be able to benefit from a ’buddying’ system with existing ATCM BID members, staff and associates.
In addition, as an ATCM member, small towns will benefit from discounts on two popular services provided through the People & Places Partnership:
- Town Centre Benchmarking Surveys: An annual benchmarking license and self-help manual.
- People, Places and Parking Process: A level 1 service that includes an initial survey, scoping and report on the quality, quantity, cost and management of town centre parking.
Joining a family of practitioners
Shanaaz Carroll, outgoing ATCM Chief Executive, commented, “We are delighted to be working with Chris and others to support smaller locations and ensure they are included in the ATCM family of practitioners and experts. We hope to create an inclusive network of all types and sizes of partnership and look forward to hearing from small locations and market towns on the specific issues they face.”
Chris Wade, Director the People & Places Partnership commented, “It’s great to be adding our knowledge to the breadth of expertise available through ATCM staff and its national and international networks of members and associates. I look forward to helping engage with its growing membership from market and small towns”.
Click here for further details of ATCM membership offering support for market and small towns.
Our council may be interested in ATCM membership – could you let me know what the fees are?