Dear Colleagues

Seventh National Regeneration Convention 24-26 July
University of Warwick, Coventry

Please use the links to see the programme and booking form for this year's Convention, which I think you will find as interesting, varied and comprehensive as ever.

Three things mark this year's Convention out as different:

• It is a truly national, UK-wide event For the first time ever, our sponsors include the regeneration agencies from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. No other event has achieved this. The Convention will therefore be able to present and debate practice from all four countries, and cross-border comparisons will be very much part of both plenary and workshop sessions.

• We are focusing on policy as well as practice on the ground In a context of widespread policy change, the event will look at specific policies (for example, Local Area Agreements and Local Strategic Partnerships in England; Community Strategies and Communities First in Wales; and Community Right to Buy in Scotland). The Convention provides an excellent opportunity to debate national policies and how they work through in neighbourhoods.

• We are making a special effort to bring together people, professionals and policy-makers In other words, the Convention is very much not 'just another community event'. There is a 50% balance between those living and working in neighbourhoods (both volunteers and paid professionals), and professionals from other walks of life (local authorities, housing associations, regional and national agencies). We believe that only by bringing together experienced and well-informed audiences of this kind is it possible to engage in a tight and realistic debate about regeneration policies.