Cratus at the LGA 2023
The past month has been a very busy one for the Cratus team! Having attended the conferences across the country such as Footprint+ in Brighton, UKREiiF in Leeds and Housing 2023 in Manchester, and not to mention Cllr John Cotton’s memorable delivery of the 2023 Chamberlain Lecture in Birmingham, we have thoroughly enjoyed connecting with contacts, new and existing. However, in the world of local government, there is no bigger event than the annual Local Government Association (LGA) Conference.
This year’s LGA Conference was held in Bournemouth this past week and represents a vitally important platform for a discussion on the issues facing communities as well as looking forward to the year ahead.
The conference kicked off with an address from the new Chair of the LGA, Cllr Shaun Davies, who laid out his vision as Chair and called upon local government to devise a bill known as the Local Government Act – as he wants to work with Westminster to unlock the full potential of local government, within a central-local partnership. Cllr Davies’ address set the theme for a productive week which was filled with engaging talks and fringe events.
The LGA Conference also provides an opportunity to socialise, and this year we were thrilled to have held our first-ever Cratus Run. On Wednesday morning, we were joined by local government’s most energetic members for a run across Bournemouth’s seafront, which was then followed by some excellent hospitality at the Prom Cafe.
The Cratus Run may be in its advent, but our iconic annual LGBTQ+ Disco has become a mainstay of the conference and returned in some style for 2023. We were joined by over 500 guests at the Halo Nightclub, as our heroic DJ Chris Naylor entertained the masses with a mixture of 80s, 90s and new century tunes. The night, which was sponsored by our partners at Cleanstreets, may have been the best instalment yet and will take some beating next year, although that is a fight we are more than ready for.
The LGA Conference bookends a hectic, but enjoyable period of events and we are grateful for all those who have decided to spend their time in Cratus’ company.
We look forward to seeing you again soon – in the meantime, take a look at some of our highlights below!
