Martin Fisher, Rother LSP Executive Chairman, welcomes this year’s conference delegates.

Martin gave a warm welcome to all of those who are attending the annual Rother Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) Conference.

He welcomed the guest speakers for the day:

• Scott Lawrence – Senior Researcher for Opinion Research Services
• Tom Warder – Housing & Community Engagement Team Leader for Action in rural Sussex
• Julie Gilbert-King – Borough Commander at East Fire & Rescue Service, and Vice Chair of the Rother LSP
• Richard Watson – Health Inequalities Programme Manager for NHS Hastings and Rother CCG, and;
• Marie Jones – East Sussex Fuel Poverty Coordinator at Hastings Borough Council

Martin also welcomed Angela Prickett, Regional Director for Sussex Homes & Communities at Optivo (formally known as AmicusHorizon and Viridian Housing), before giving a presentation providing broad overview for today, in terms of the Rother LSP in the context of Rother’s profile.

• Focus on homes and wellbeing
• What can the public and voluntary sectors do?
• Facts and figures on Rother demographic and relationship to our neighbours
• Some areas of Rother ranked as in the top 10% of most deprived in England (Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2015)
• Incomes low in comparison to house prices
• Rother needs more affordable houses and flats