Making Warwickshire a better place is Sarah's mission

“I like the idea of spotting an opportunity and seeing how we can make it happen.”

 “It’s all about place shaping and looking at a town or a village or a settlement as a whole place and how it can it function with all its components together – buildings, transport, green space, events. How does it all come together as a whole place?”

That is how Sarah James describes her role as Regeneration and Place Programme Officer at Warwickshire County Council. Sarah is part of the wider Place & Infrastructure team which, with its partners in the region, brings together a number of teams that plan and support the long-term future of Warwickshire.

The Regeneration and Place team, where Sarah’s role sits, are facilitators for change; seeking out opportunities within the towns and places of Warwickshire where regeneration and place-based activities can be developed which will improve the local economy, and community for the benefit of all.

Sarah’s focus is on places – and it is a role to which she has brought much relevant experience.

Coventry-born Sarah has a long background in planning at local authorities across the Midlands and her knowledge in that field is of high value in her current role. Of even greater relevance though, as she gets to grips with helping Warwickshire’s towns bounce back from the challenges of the pandemic, is the last seven years which she spent working for Civic Voice.

Civic Voice is a national charity which involves people in caring for the places where they live. Her job there took her to all sorts of places all round England and built her an in-depth knowledge of the challenges facing communities that she can now apply specifically to those in Warwickshire.

“I really enjoyed my time with Civic Voice and learned so much that is now really valuable in my role now,” Sarah said. “I worked with community groups across the country to try to get them thinking and let them know about ideas and what support is potentially out there. It was really interesting and very varied work.

“With my background, I often led on anything planning-wise. We had a scheme which celebrated high-quality development across the country, just to show that projects which are well-designed are really welcome and appreciated. We held parliamentary events at Westminster and did training and it was a fascinating role. It could be challenging at times because sometimes you have to say what people don’t want to hear, but was so rewarding when a project happens that you know will make a place better.

“I loved it there and wasn’t looking to leave but when I saw this role in Warwickshire, it just looked the perfect mix of regeneration, planning and design, with a community aspect to it as well. And four months in, I’m really enjoying it. Warwickshire has some brilliant towns, and so diverse, and it’s a privilege to be helping to support them.”

Sarah, who achieved a degree in architecture from the University of Cardiff and added a Masters in town planning from Oxford Brookes has a wide brief in Warwickshire but has started with particular emphasis on Leamington and Rugby. Both those towns have exciting plans in the pipeline and her job is to help as much as possible with existing opportunities and uncover new ones.

“We spot opportunities across the county, which could improve places, and work hard with partners, funders and communities to help make positive change happen. We need to be quite well-networked with other teams and work closely with the Place, Projects and Partnerships team because they are more on the ground having day-to-day conversations.

“It’s a lot about partnerships and my first few months have mainly been talking to a lot of people in and beyond the council to find out what we can do. We work with transport and highways to see what’s possible. It’s a question of how we work together.”

Sarah’s specialist knowledge in historic conservation is invaluable in a county brimming with centuries-old buildings. These include, for example, a number in Southam which are currently vacant so the challenge is on: Is there anything we can do to get these back to use again?

“I really like the role,” Sarah said. “Planning is quite regulatory and process-driven whereas this is a mix of everything and there is freedom to show some creativity. I like the idea of spotting an opportunity and seeing how we can make it happen.

“I am really keen on working with communities because otherwise the process of change can be a bit top-down. When I read up before my interview about what Warwickshire was doing, I saw how much they are involved with communities and that looked really good. I’m delighted to now be part of it.”