REP Research Seminar - Presenting in person : Mr Gordon Seabright and Ms Gemma Dean from The Creative Land Trust. Title " Creative Land Trust: Making Space for Art"

This is an internal seminar and attendees should use their University email account to join the meeting if they are joining via MS Teams. If you are a guest external to the University would like to attend our Seminar, please contact our Department School Office at repschooloffice@reading.ac.uk.

Gordon and Gemma’s Bio and Abstract are below

Abstract:

The topic of the presentation will be about the challenge of increasing affordable property availability for cultural and creative economy occupancy in a prime market like London. We approach this challenge in two ways. The development of innovative real estate finance investment initiatives on the one hand and on the other hand, the identification of monetizable evidence of the social value-added of incorporating cultural/creative economy space in property developments/the urban realm to inform property company financial reporting and to secure affordable space through the planning system (S106 / IL).

Bios:

Gordon Seabright is Chief Executive of Creative Land Trust, a charity tackling the loss of creative workspace for artists and makers in the UK. Before that he led environmental charities for a decade, most recently as CEO of the Eden Project, following periods at the helm of the national cycling charity and the Royal Horticultural Society. Outside work he is a trustee of parkrun Global, Five Talents (a development charity operating in East Africa) and a community orchard in Cornwall, a Fellow of the Linnean Society and an Honorary Fellow of University of Exeter Business School.

Gemma Dean is Head of Development at Creative Land Trust, a charity founded to tackle the loss of affordable creative workspace in London. She focuses on property opportunities and impact investment strategies that facilitate long term growth, recognising the contribution of creative production to sustainable places and our cultural infrastructure. Gemma’s career to date spans the real estate finance industry having previously worked in banking, restructuring and advisory roles. Alongside Creative Land Trust, Gemma is a member of the Mayor of London's Workspace Advisory Group and volunteers on the Development Board at the Albany Theatre in Deptford. She is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Finance and Investment) and has a Masters in Real Estate Finance and Investment from the University of Reading.