Eastern Promise - The Podcast

This week: It's a privilege for Eastern Promise to bring you our visit to the Babraham Research Campus to the south of Cambridge, at the invitation of Chief Scientific and Innovation Officer, Dr Louise Jopling!    Our own Mike Rigby, will be chatting to Lou about innovation the Babraham way, looking at the Babraham Masterplan and the future of the campus - not to mention the big role housing is playing in that vision.   Lou will also be showing Mike around the grounds, looking at the buildings and why green space is so important to those working on the Babraham Research Campus.  Don't miss it!  For more information on the future plans for the Babraham Research Campus, click here:  https://www.babraham.com/masterplan/ For more detail on Live Labs, click here: https://www.babraham.com/livelabs/ For more on the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Local Growth Plan, click here: https://cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/C221033-CPCA-Local-Growth-Plan-Stage-7_v21_Acc.pdf For more information on Eastern Promise, to contact us, or to listen to our FULL back catalogue, click here: https://easternpromise.org.uk Eastern Promise is made with love in The Podding Shed in association with Mills & Reeve.  

This Week: We take you inside Aviva's iconic Marble Hall, where the Norwich Financial Industry Group (FIG) is meeting for its 2026 Annual Conference.  This year's theme is 'People': an especially prescient theme as the AI revolution gathers pace.  Host Mike Rigby talks to keynote speakers Gautam Hazari, Chief Product and Innovation Officer at XConnect, and Professor Amir Sharif of the Norwich Business School at the University of East Anglia. We hear what the delegates made of the event, including Turning Factor's Brian Bush and East Norfolk Sixth Form College students Charlie Willis and Sonny Moughton, not to mention college principal Dr Catherine Richards!   Finally we hear from Norwich FIG Chair Steve Davidson on a fantastic evening, and Holly Bamford of Work In Norwich (WiN) about their crucial survey for the Norwich Business Improvement District.  And don't forget our three irresistible Action Points! The Norwich financial sector is a case study in quiet excellence and a pleasure to turn up the volume yet further. You can find the Work In Norwich survey here: https://www.workinnorwich.co.uk/win-fig-survey/. Visit the Norwich FIG website here: https://fignorwich.org/. To find out more about Eastern Promise, to use our contact form, or listen to our back catalogue, visit: https://easternpromise.org.uk. The Eastern Promise podcast is made in The Podding Shed in proud association with Mills & Reeve.  

This week: Eastern Promise's own Mike Rigby heads for Barnwell Road, on Cambridge's Abbey estate, where hyperlocal charity, Abbey People, are working incredibly hard to help residents move from surviving to thriving. Mike joins Chief Executive Nicky Shepard and her team - Food Hub Coordinator Rachel and Comms guru Gemma, amongst many others - to chat about the work Abbey People do at The Hub on Barnwell Road, all whilst the Community Cafe buzzes away in the background.  Then, they get out into a rainy Cambridge afternoon to walk to the pocket parks and new verges created by Abbey People, before visiting the Community Food Hub and Social Supermarket.  You can find out more about Abbey People, including how to donate to this hyperlocal charity, here: https://abbeypeople.org.uk/ All this, plus this week's 'Eastern Insight' also comes from Abbey People in their own words!  We hear more about Abbey People's Barnwell Basket campaign, aiming to ensure everyone in the community can have access to nourishing food. For more information about the Barnwell Basket, visit the Abbey People website here and Boost the Basket: https://abbeypeople.org.uk/barnwell-basket-campaign/. To deliver the 'Eastern Insight', and share your thought leadership with the region, contact Eastern Promise at [email protected].  A single slot costs £75 and a block of six across the year costs £350.  The slots are free to charities and non-profits.  To listen to the Eastern Promise back catalogue, and to find out more about what we do, visit: https://easternpromise.org.uk. The Eastern Promise podcast is made in The Podding Shed and is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This week: We drop in on Stephen Crocker, CEO and Creative Director of Norwich Theatre.  We ask Stephen about his career, whether behind or in front of the curtain; the three stages across the City of Stories that make up the Norwich Theatre; how Norwich Theatre lives and breathes its values and the amazing community work the theatre does.    Host Mike Rigby talks to Stephen about how the cultural sector contributes to the region's economy, the power of Norwich as a centre for creative wellbeing and Stephen's role as a Norfolk ambassador. As our ACTION POINTS stress, regional theatre provides an amazing entry point for new performance arts, whether as patron or participant; ballet, opera, straight drama, comedy, music or even panto.  Oh, yes it is! (Stop it!)  Do visit the Norwich Theatre's website here: https://norwichtheatre.org/ Find out how you can support Norwich Playhouse's redevelopment project: https://norwichtheatre.org/playhouse-redevelopment-project/ Learn more about the Norfolk Ambassadors here: https://norfolkambassadors.co.uk/ ...and the Norfolk Suffolk Cultural Board here: https://norfolksuffolkculture.co.uk/ To find out more about Eastern Promise, including our entire back catalogue and to contact us via our messaging service, visit: https://easternpromise.org.uk! The Eastern Promise podcast is made with love in The Podding Shed, in proud association with Mills & Reeve.    

This Week: Your host Mike Rigby chats to Councillor Cameron Holloway, Leader of Cambridge City Council. We discuss his ward, the side of Cambridge many people seldom see, and also the impact of the Cambridge x Manchester Innovation Partnership. Not only that, Cameron also discusses the hugely positive impact that the city council has had on housing and the consultation on the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation that closes shortly (1st April 2026). Then, we distil the interview and propose three 'Action Points'; each of great practical and philosophical value!  PLUS! Eastern Promise is looking for strategic partners who share our values and can support us in delivering our ambitious programme for 2026-27.  With your help we can go even further... For more information on Cambridge City Council, click here: https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/ Find out more about the Cambridge x Manchester Innovation Partnership by clicking here: https://www.cambridge-manchester.com/ To submit your response to the consultation on establishing a Greater Cambridge Development Corporation before 1st April 2026, click here: https://easternpromise.org.uk You can read the Bylines East Anglia interview with Cameron Holloway, as referenced in the podcast, here: https://eastangliabylines.co.uk/politics/local-government/cameron-holloway-on-growth-poverty-and-rebuilding-trust-in-cambridge/  To find out more about Eastern Promise, access our podcast's full back catalogue and get in touch via our contact form, here: https://easternpromise.org.uk This podcast is made with love in The Podding Shed in association with Mills & Reeve.       

This Week: We return to our special series of 'Beginner's Guides' with a deep dive into the East of England's town & city ecosystems.  And in this episode, we take on Suffolk's county town - IPSWICH! You join your host, Mike Rigby, at the University of Suffolk with an extraordinary panel: Provost of the University of Suffolk, Professor Rachel Allen;   CEO of 'Brighten The Corners'. Joe Bailey; Ipswich Borough Councillor, former Mayor and columnist, Lynne Mortimer; Ipswich Central's Chief Executive, Lee Walker; and Local resident, previous guest and Senior Partner (East Anglia) for KPMG, Joe Faulkner. Between them, the panel delves deep into: what defines Ipswich for them. We examine why the cultural and music scene is so fundamental to the town, as is its rich historic legacy.  The panel share their thoughts on the University itself, the key sectors of Ipswich's economy, especially innovation.  Then there's networking, start-up funding, signposting and much more besides!   Plus, with the announcement that Ipswich has been long-listed for City of Culture, Lee explains the process, considerations and strategy behind Ipswich's approach - it's one Eastern Promise supports wholeheartedly! And that's not all!  Mike is back for your Eastern Insight this week, extoling the benefits of a strategic partnership with...Eastern Promise!  Can he do that?  Yes, he can!  Some Ipswich links: https://www.uos.ac.uk/ - The University of Suffolk. https://ipswichcentral.com/ - Ipswich's Business Improvement District (BID). https://www.brightenthecorners.co.uk/ - A non-profit, youth-focused live music organisation. https://www.ipswich.gov.uk/ - Ipswich Borough Council. https://www.danceeast.co.uk/ - Based on Ipswich waterfront, it's the home of dance in the East of England. https://www.abports.co.uk/locations/ipswich/ - The Port of Ipswich. https://usehalo.com/ - Suffolk software firm moving into Ipswich's iconic Willis Building. https://ipswich.love/ - giving Ipswich the love it deserves. This is episode 162 of the Eastern Promise podcast, made in The Podding Shed. To listen to our back catalogue, and to contact us, visit: https://easternpromise.org.uk. Eastern Promise is made in The Podding Shed in association with Mills & Reeve: http://mills-reeve.com..

This week: We're taking a closer look at Government proposals to establish a centrally-led Urban Development Corporation (UDC) for Greater Cambridge. Taking us through the proposals, including what exactly is being proposed, the powers a UDC will have, the difference a UDC can make and the size of the opportunity presented, are two distinguished members of the Cambridge Growth Company's Advisory Council.  Mike is joined by CGC Chair, Peter Freeman; and Master of Fitzwilliam College Cambridge, and Chair of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Baroness Sally Morgan.  Peter and Sally take Mike through the proposals and stress the potential for positive public impact to emerge early through these proposals., The Government consultation on these proposals is open now and runs until 1 April 2026.  You can read the consultation documents and submit your response by clicking here.  You can also read more about the Cambridge Growth Company - which will evolve into the Greater Cambridge Development Corporation - by clicking here.  PLUS! This week's 'Eastern Insight' is delivered by our own Mike Rigby, delivering a three-minute slug of thought leadership on 4.5 years' worth of learning from the Eastern Promise podcast.  Listen now!  You can listen to our podcast's back catalogue, or contact Eastern Promise, by visiting our website - click here to go there now!    Eastern Promise is proud to be in partnership with Mills & Reeve.

This week: Eastern Promise host Mike Rigby sits down to chat with Mayor of the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, Paul Bristow. We discuss Paul's hometown of Peterborough, the Cambridge x Manchester Partnership, the difference between being a mayor and his previous role as an MP, and also the Combined Authority's Local Growth Plan - particularly the decision to have 'mayoral targets', putting his accountability front and centre.    You can read and download a copy of the Local Growth Plan by clicking here.    You can visit the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority website by clicking here.  PLUS!  We begin a new era with our first EASTERN INSIGHT!  This week, Kim Lockwood of Thetford Town Cricket Club's Project 100, which aims to create a fully inclusive, modern, and accessible community sports environment that enables more people in Thetford to become active, stay active and feel part of a supportive community.  Here's Project 100's crowdfunding page: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/project-100-2. For more more information on Eastern Insight, contact Eastern Promise at: [email protected]. Visit our website at https://www.easternpromise.org.uk. Thank you to our partners, Mills & Reeve.   

This Week: With a packed hall of farmers, agronomists, scientists and agricultural luminaries old and young, we're glad Mike Rigby dropped in on the 2026 Norfolk Farming Conference!  Calling in first on the Food and Farming Discovery Trust's splendid mobile classroom, we hear from Trust Manager Frances Roberson about why they're at the conference and what this educational sister charity to the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association has planned for the year ahead - no need to feel sheepish!  Next, Mike drops by the Norfolk Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group's stand to chat with Nathan Walker about their deer management strategy and the move to get more people into venison.   With the slightest of pauses to hear more about Eastern Insight, Mike catches up with Cllr Fabian Eagle to ask about the Norfolk Rural Business Awards, before seizing the chance to interview former agriculture minister and Pier of the Realm, Baroness Shepard of Northwold, asking about what makes this event so important.  It was a whistle-stop tour of the stands but you can get a flavour of the event right here...possibly venison!  You can hear all of Eastern Promise's back catalogue and contact us by visiting our website and clicking on 'contact'. Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: Form the Future is one-of-a-kind; a unique bridge between the worlds of education and work.  This Cambridge-based CIC is rightly praised for its work in lifting the horizons of young people in the #EastofEngland and beyond, so Eastern Promise didn't hesitate to send Mike Rigby along to Hinxton Hall Conference Centre to ask delegates at Form the Future's 2026 Annual Conference why they're there, what makes Form the Future so special, and what they hope to have gleaned by the end of the day.    Mike chats to delegates, speakers and CEO of Form the Future, Anne Bailey herself.  Don't miss it! To find out more about Form the Future, click here. PLUS! Hear all about our new thought leadership slot, 'EASTERN INSIGHT'; it'll be kinda like 'Thought for the Day' but more: 'Thought for the East'! Perfect if you need to raise the salience of a product, place, innovation, or a cause that motivates you.  If you've something to say that's true to Eastern Promise's values of people, place, potential and positivity, and shares our commitment to diversity and inclusion, then get in touch via [email protected] for pricing and booking details. There's only one Eastern Insight slot per week, so you'll have unrivalled visibility (or audibility!)  To listen to Eastern Promise's entire back catalogue, or to contact the podcast, click here to visit easternpromise.org.uk.   Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: As the magnificent Cambridge Science Centre publishes its new Strategic Plan for 2026-2031, Eastern Promise's own Mike Rigby chats with the centre's CEO on the intent behind the Strategic Plan, their outreach strategy and the drive to not only make the centre 'best in class', but also an exemplar for STEM educational centres around the world. You can read the Strategic Plan by clicking here, and buy tickets to visit the centre by clicking here. PLUS! You can hear about the all-new thought leadership slot coming soon to the Eastern Promise podcast: EASTERN INSIGHT!  It's your chance to share your news, views and more with the world, with strategic visibility and a unique position in each episode. All this and so much more! You can contact Eastern Promise by visiting the Eastern Promise website and clicking or by emailing [email protected].    Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: Confused by Cambridge?  Well, Eastern Promise has your back and help is at hand!  We bid you welcome to this first in our occasional series exploring our region's main urban ecosystems, the BEGINNER'S GUIDES! In this first of our special episodes, Mike Rigby is joined by local experts to explore and explain the nuances, niceties, and need-to-knows of CAMBRIDGE! Joining Mike to make up this cohort of Cambridge connoisseurs is: Chair of Cambridge Ahead, Cambridge Science Centre, and all-round legend, Harriet Fear MBE; Founder and CEO of CONEXEN, Paula Bekinschtein;  MD of Cap Air Systems, Board Member and SME champion, Katy Davies; Strategy and Community Advisor, Ilker Akansel; and Investment Fund specialist and Partner at Mills & Reeve, Dona Ardeman! Together, they talk through the special secret sauce that makes this city what it is; bust a few myths and shed new light into a place that can seem intimidating from the outside, but is a truly warm and welcoming place that rewards those who make the effort to engage.  You'll be informed, educated and - hopefully - entertained!  More Beginner's Guides will be coming soon, with Ipswich, Norwich and Peterborough following later in the spring!  Let us know what you think of these special episodes.  What did Mike miss? Does it need a second volume?  Where should we go after our first four?  Let us know by emailing [email protected], or by visiting our website at https://easternpromise.org.uk, and clicking on 'contact us'.   Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve. Recorded on 5th December 2025 at Botanic House, Hills Road, Cambridge.

This Week: We meet three of Norfolk's incredible coterie of AMBASSADORS! Meet Matt Smith of Place UK, Candy Richards of the Federation of Small Businesses, and Chris Spinks of Westcotec, who will be sharing with you: Their love for Norfolk; What makes the county unique; and Why families, businesses, entrepreneurs and more should relocate to Norfolk!  Our ambassadors share their experience and a clear-eyed vision for the county; not shrinking from challenges and eager to forge solutions.  Norfolk really couldn't ask for better representatives So, put those spherical, golden chocolate & hazelnut sweeties into a tottering pyramid, because these ambassadors  are really spoiling us!  To find out more, and to apply to become an Ambassador for Norfolk, click here. For further details about the Norfolk Business Board, click here. To learn more about Eastern Promise, and to listen to all of our back catalogue, click here.  Eastern Promise is proud to be sponsored by Mills & Reeve.

This Week! We're kicking off 2026 in style, and focussed on what's currently the most important economic development project in the UK - The Oxford Cambridge Corridor.   Our navigators to this galactic-scale potential are the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board, ably represented by Chair Andy Williams and fellow board member (and CEO of Cambridge Ahead) Dan Thorp.  Together, we'll dig into where we are, where we're going, what's at stake and what each of us needs to do to make this happen (top tip: just be nice to each other!)   It's a fantastic listen and a brilliant insight into the importance of capability, community and coherence to this project.  Our thanks to Dan and Andy. For the Connected Clusters report referenced by Mike and Dan, click here. To visit the website of the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board, and read the reports referenced in this episode, click here.   Click here to read the UK Government's investment prospectus for the Oxford Cambridge corridor (PDF, opens in new window).  To read the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority's Local Growth Plan, then click here (PDF, opens in new window).  If you want to take a look at the Cambridge Growth Company  Click here to visit their site.     Eastern Promise was made in The Podding Shed and you can catch up on previous episodes at our website, and contact us there or by emailing [email protected].    Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: We round off our Christmas Charity Appeal open mic with the Big C Cancer Charity and the MedCan Foundation!  Find out more about our 2025 featured charities here: Abbey People The Big C -  Norfolk's Cancer Charity The Cambridge Acorn Project The MedCan Foundation Then!  We take a long, loving look back at 2025 with some choice cuts from the archive... We'll visit UKREiiF 2025, pop in on the John Innes Centre's Insectary, drop by the STEMM village during the Royal Norfolk Show, and relive part of last month's 'Skills, Careers & Policy' event (such a catchy title, and it's three parts, actually!)   We'll even skip ahead and sample some of what 2026 has to offer, including the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board, and a snippet from two of our 'Beginner's Guides': Norwich and Cambridge!  Thank you for listening in 2025 and all being well, we'll see you again on 15th January 2026!  To find out more about Eastern Promise, contact us, and listen to our back catalogue, click here. Eastern Promise was made in The Podding Shed and is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: We find out how, for dementia patients and their families, the hits of their youth have now become a critical bridge, especially when communication falters.  We'll meet Music for My Mind's Dimana Georgieva at Cambridge Consultant's HQ on Cambridge Science Park, along with CC's AI experts Joseph Corrigan and Ali Shafti, to discover how the deeptech dynamos of CapGemini Invent helped Hertfordshire-based charity 'Music For My Mind' to create an AI Prototype to measure and learn the reactions of people living with dementia to hearing music.   To try out the Music For My Mind playlist maker yoursef, click here: https://app.musicformymind.com/ We'll also be bringing you our first two Christmas charity appeal open mics, and we'll be joined by the Cambridge Acorn Project's own Hannah Golding, and then by Nicky Shepard, CEO of Abbey People, a vibrant community charity in the Abbey Ward of Cambridge, improving the lives and wellbeing of Abbey residents.  CLICK HERE FOR THE CAMBRIDGE ACORN PROJECT BIG GIVE!  To find out more about the Cambridge Acorn Project, a fantastic mental wellbeing of young people in Cambridgeshire, click here. To find out more about Abbey People's amazing work in the Cambridge Abbe Ward, click here.

This Week: On 21st November 2025, Eastern Promise held a live event at Mills & Reeve's Cambridge office, focussed around skills, careers and creating better policy on both. However, this recording, in front of a live audience set out to do something different: to talk to a group of young people about their hopes, dreams and future plans, and get a panel of educators and skills professionals consisting of: Andy Daly, Executive Principal of the Meridian Trust; Anne Bailey, CEO of Form the Future CIC; Kevin Keable, Chair of the East of England Energy Group (and, coincidentally, the recently announced Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of Norfolk and Suffolk), and Deputy Principal of East Norfolk Sixth Form College in Gorleston near Great Yarmouth, Dr Simon Fox, to address these points, before giving young people the final say.   Then, in what is admittedly a bit of a 'long player' of a podcast, we move forward to look at the impact of career breaks, whether chosen or not, and career pivots.  We'll hear a number of stories of what can best be described as 'squiggly careers', huge life changes, sudden shocks, pivots from successful careers into new ventures and more. Taking us through this are: Deborah Dawson of Mills & Reeve, Victoria Higgins of 'Beyond the Noise', Sally Field of Cambridge Wireless and Tarquin Bennett-Coles of Compass Carter Osborne. And finally, Charlotte Horobin, CEO of the Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce; Dan Thorp, CEO of Cambridge Ahead; Owen Garling of the Bennett School of Public Policy; and Gareth John, Director of Policy at accountancy trainers First Intuition will unpack everything we've heard and share their thoughts about what it all means going forward. Eastern Promise would like to thank everyone who attended the recording, our engineer, North Cambridge Academy and East Norfolk Sixth Form, and especially Lee, Dotty, Mai, Drew, Ash and Shanae from those institutions for taking part. To find out more about Eastern Promise, to listen to our back catalogue and to contact us, visit https://easternpromise.org.uk. Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: Mike Rigby joins the fun and frolics (there were frolics, weren't there?) to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the opening of Haverhill's very own innovation hub, the EpiCentre!   Eastern Promise's own Grand Fromage, Mike Rigby, joins the jamboree and, at the invitation of Centre Manager Helen Earl and Innovation Director Gary Jennings, hosts four special panels for the galaxy of guests present, with each panel looking at a different aspect of the EpiCentre's offer to its community.   We consider: Funding; Engineering Skills; Healthcare & Innovation; and AI.   It's a celebration with insight, excitement, progress, and practical advice, and we thank all those who took part. For more information on the EpiCentre, click here. To listen to our whole back catalogue, or to contact Eastern Promise, click here. Eastern Promise is proud to be sponsored by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: High Streets Matter! They matter across our region and they matter in North Walsham, where your host, Mike Rigby, finds himself this week. In the company of Alexandra Hemen of New Anglia Growth Hub, visits the magnificent Black Swan Pub and Theatre to chat with landlord, actor and all-round human dynamo Joseph Ballard, along with social entrepreneur Selina of Best In Broads.   Alex then whisks us into the town proper, calling in at Dolly's gift shop, a recipient of support ftom the Norfolk County Council Retail Excellence Programme, to talk to shop florist Evie.  All our local guests have several things in common: their love of North Walsham and their soaring community spirit.  Alex(andra), meanwhile, brings huge and hard-won retail expertise at the pinnacle of one of the East of England's best known brands.   One of Mike Rigby's favourite things is to get out and about across the East of England and North Walsham was truly something special.   If you want to find out more about the High Streets Matter package of support, visit the New Anglia Growth website here: https://www.newangliagrowthhub.co.uk/norfolk-high-streets-matter/ Find out more about the wonderful New Stages Black Swan Pub & Theatre here.  You can find out more about Eastern Promise, listen to our back catalogue or contact us here.  Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: 'Ahead of the Curve' could well be Cambridge Consultant's business address.  Indeed, these global professional problem solvers, part of Capgemini Invent, thrive on getting out in front and staying there. After an illuminating press day, host Mike Rigby is joined by Head of Biotechnology Frances Metcalfe and New Frontiers Board Member Richard Traherne, to find out more about this organisation, whose presence on the Cambridge Science Park site predates the park itself.   For more information on Cambridge Consultants, visit their website here.     To listen to our back catalogue or to contact Eastern Promise, visit our website here. Eastern Promise is proud to be sponsored by Mills & Reeve.  Follow the link to discover more.

This Week: We start a new 6-week run of the Eastern Promise podcast at the Earlham Institute on Norwich Research Park! This event looks at the latest developments in genomics and brings together industry, academia, and Knowledge Transfer Partnership experts from Innovate UK.   Your host, Mike Rigby, chats to all these fine folk, including Director of the Earlham Institute, Professor Neil Hall and Helena Saunders of Syngenta. Melissa Salmon and Marine Folgoas represent PhD candidates and Tozer Seeds-embedded Jamie Pike tells us more about KTPs, alongside Innovate UK's Mike Lloyd. We'll also hear from Georgie Oatley about Tropic's banana-based work!   For more on the Earlham Institute, click here. You can find more information, contact details and listen to the Eastern Promise back catalogue here. Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: We welcome the two leading lights of the Cambridge Tech Podcast, all-round ecosystem lynchpin Faye Holland and MD of the iconic Bradfield Centre and NFL fan, James Parton!  We'll discuss how they do what they do, the importance of Faye's rolodex and what drives their pod forward!  Host Mike Rigby has been itching to interview Faye and James since day one of Eastern Promise so please listen, so maybe now he'll stop going on about it! You can hear the most recent episode of the Cambridge Tech Podcast here, on Apple, Spotify, and Audible. To listen to more of the Eastern Promise podcast, or to drop us a line via our contact form, visit the Eastern Promise website here. Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: You didn't think we'd forgotten about Cambridge Tech Week, did you?  Certainly not!  In fact your own (and you're welcome to him) Mike Rigby hits the anything-but-mean streets of the Cambridge Guildhall for 'Innovation Alley', and what an incredible experience it is... We chat to some of the hottest names in new tech, some of the sharpest spin-outs, the most brilliant innovators and we say 'wilkommen' to visitors from the German tech sector.  Digital twins, AI, photonics, battery tech, it's all here!   AND THIS IS JUST PART ONE!  Come back next week for part two, where we chat with the dynamic duo behind the Cambridge Tech Podcast!   At Cambridge Tech Week 2025, we meet... Cambridge Enterprise Entopy FiveD Form The Future CIC HutanBio Illumion Orca Paicon Prospectral The University of East Anglia To listen to the Eastern Promise back catalogue and to contact the show, click here. Eastern Promise is proudly supported by Mills & Reeve and is a Podding Shed production..

This Week: We peek behind the scenes at one of the most consequential research institutes in the world, let alone the UK or the East of England!   Nestling at the heart of the Norwich Research Park, the John Innes Centre is home to the UK's greatest concentration of plant and microbial science and scientists - but that's not all!  No siree... My co-host for our Royal Norfolk Show episodes joins regular roving microphone wielder Mike Rigby to look at just a fraction of the work being done inside the centre, including Bioimaging, Genotyping and the Insectary!  We also take in the social side of the John Innes Foundation, created though bequest by a Mr J. Innes.   It was a struggle to keep this recording under an hour and it only just makes it. The recording was also bedevilled by technical issues, hence the delay bringing it to you and for which we apologise to you and the JIC.   But wait!  We do find time for helicopters and fish!  And the link will surprise you... For more information about the John Innes Centre click here. To contact Eastern Promise or listen to our back catalogue, click here. Eastern Promise are proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: When Innovate Cambridge call and say "we'd like to talk about the HUGE week ahead for the city and both the tech and life science ecosystems", you drop EVERYTHING!  And so, dear listener, we did... So it was that your host, Mike Rigby, dropped in on The Glasshouse - home of Innovate Cambridge - to find out how the fun, inclusive and enigmatic branding unveiled last year is launching now, just as Cambridge Tech Week and the inaugural BioCentury Grand Rounds - Europe take the city by storm in ONE SINGLE WEEK (15th Sept. to 19th Sept. 2025)! Dr Kathryn Chapman, Executive Director of Innovate Cambridge will be telling us about the huge importance of this moment and the vote of confidence it represents for the city.   And then! Chair of Innovate Cambridge, Prof. Andy Neely and Michelle Lamprecht of Cambridge Innovation Capital join Mike to talk through the branding campaign for the Cambridge Innovation Study, just how widely it's being spread, and the power of a unified ecosystem to make a huge difference for everyone.   To find out more about the Cambridge Innovation story, including the film introducing the story, click here. To listen to the Eastern Promise podcast back catalogue, or to contatct us, click here.    Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: We are at one of the most important locations in the East of England for furthering, supporting and unleashing our region's innovative and entrepreneurial spirits in all manners health-related.  Yes!  Mike Rigby is heading to Health Innovation East!   The key reason Health Innovation East exists is to translate early-stage scientific discover and research into actual medicines, processes, practices and devices.  My guest, Health Innovation East's (HIE) CEO Piers Ricketts, tells your host Mike Rigby (and, therefore, you!) about the manifold ways in which HIE helps the NHS, plus academia and the private sector, to do precisely that.  For more information on Health Innovation East, visit: https://healthinnovationeast.co.uk/ To listen to our back catalogue, or to find out more about Eastern Promise click here. Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: Eastern Promise roars back from our Summer hiatus, with a trip to the new King's Lynn Enterprise Park! Your host (with, if not the most, then at least a bit), Mike Rigby, headed over to the Enterprise Park to meet Cllr Simon Ring, Deputy Leader of the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Regenerations Programme Manager Jemma Curtis, also of BCKLWN; Norfolk County Council's Enterprise Zone guru Jen Wigzell and Graham Purkins, co-founder and CTO of med-tech anchor tenant Merxin! We discuss the origins of the park, what the assembled want to see as the KLEP continues it's growth, why Graham chose King's Lynn in the first place, plus the sheer drive and verve behind the KLEP offer is laid out.  It's got exactly the right ethos and we look forward to revisiting it soon. To find out more about King's Lynn Enterprise Park, click here. King's Lynn Town Deal board is here and, for more about this perfectly positioned port, visit Vision King's Lynn! You can learn more about the New Anglia Growth Hub here. For Merxin, please visit this link! If you want to hear our back catalog, including our previous visitas to King's Lynn, then visit https://easternpromise.org.uk. Eastern Promise is proud to be sponsored by Mills & Reeve. Eastern Promise is a Podding Shed Production.

This Week:  We pay a visit to the Cambridge Independent Business Awards' Start-Up of the Year 2024 - oral wellbeing experts Well:O!   We sent our own Mike Rigby to meet co-founder Felix von Nathusius and Clinical Director Shelley Belgrove to chat about the Well:O story, the beautiful and decidedly non-clinical feel of their studio and how their model could do great things for a service economy such as the UK's where retail is disappearing from the high street.   PLUS! Before we press pause for our Summer break, we give you a quick tease of a small sliver of the goodness yet to come!  For more information about Well:O, visit: https://wellohello.co.uk/ To listen to the Eastern Promise back catalogue, and to contact us here on the podcast, visit our website here. Eastern Promise is proud to be sponsored by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: Dr Laura Reeves of the University of Suffolk takes us through her research on hybrid (AKA agile) working and its emphasis on belonging.  Laura takes us through her findings and conclusions of the research, before asking 'what next'?   But that's not all by ANY means!   Still on the hybrid working trail, Mary-Jo Hill tells us all about YakBit app, which helps managers analyse online meetings to see where they can get more from their team. You can find out more about Laura's research here: https://www.bam.ac.uk/grants/project-repository/funded-transitions-1-projects/2023-laura-reeves.html and here: https://www.uos.ac.uk/about/news/opinion-will-hybrid-remain-the-future-of-work/.  You can find out more about YakBit here: https://yakbit.ai/ And, of course, you can find the Eastern Promise podcast back catalogue and a contact form at: https://easternpromise.org.uk. Eastern Promise is proud to be sponsored by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: We chat to Cambridge Wireless CEO Michaela Eschbach about her career path to the top of this global connections community.  We ask her what exactly IS Cambridge Wireless - aka CW - and how does it leverage the world-famous name in its title?   We'll also look at what's to come during Cambridge Tech Week 2025, which kicks off on 15th September.   For more information on all of the above, visit Cambridge Wireless here or... Click here to find out more about Cambridge Tech Week 2025. To contact the Eastern Promise podcast or to listen to our entire back catalogue, visit us here. Eastern promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve. 

This week: It's the Royal Norfolk Show 2025!  What more needs be said?   Only that regular host Mike Rigby is again joined by show co-host Dr Penny Hundleby of the John Innes Centre to tour the avenues and boulevards and winkle out the best bits for our Eastern Promise podcast audience!  Thank you Penny and everyone who gave a clip for this show. We'll talk education, tech, business, food, renewable energy, agri-tech, science, TOOTH FARIES and at least one bishop, (who of course left the podcast diagonally...)  Check out the chapter markers and be guided to your content of choice!     For the entire back catalogue of the Eastern Promise podcast, and to contact us directly, visit our website here.  Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: It's arts and culture a-go-go, as first we travel to King's Lynn to chat with Anna Pool, Festival Manager for the King's Lynn Festival, about the exciting programme of classical music concerts, talks and tours! Then, we go behind the camera and 'on set' of the new Norfolk-set comedy crime caper 'Chicken Town' with Producer Tom Wood and Director Richard Bracewell! The East of England is a cultural juggernaut and this proves it!   To find out more about the King's Lynn Festival and to book tickets, click here. For more details about chicken Town, click here (NUA) To listen to the FULL Eastern Promise back catalog, or to contact the show, click here. Eastern Promise is proud to be sponsored by Mills & Reeve.  

This Week: You can now hear Mike Rigby's unabridged, unedited and unplugged talk at Cambridge Wide Open Week, delivered beside the beautiful River Cam at Cambridge Wide Open Week!  For more on Cambridge Wide Open Week click here. To listen to the FULL Eastern Promise back catalog, or to contact the show, click here. Eastern Promise is proud to be sponsored by Mills & Reeve.  

This Week: Does the investor make the ecosystem, or does the ecosystem shape the investor?  That's the question our expert guests will be answering, amongst others, as we dive headlong into the swirling waters of venture capital,with two of our region's foremost experts as our guides! Cambridge Innovation Capital is a trusted brand; the University of Cambridge's preferred partner when it comes to investment and your host, Mike Rigby, sat down with CIC Managing Partner, Andrew Williamson and fellow partner - and returning guest - Michael Anstey to find out more. For more information on Cambridge Innovation Capital, click here. For the FULL Eastern Promise back catalog, and to send us a message through our contact form, visit the Eastern Promise website here. Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.  

This Week: We talk to Executive Director of the Norwich Business Improvement District (BID), Stefan Gurney, and Norwich BID board member, Joe Faulkner, about the BID's City Centre Manifesto for the ancient and venerable city of Norwich.   We'll learn what prompted this document; what is its intent, and how it seeks to marry the desirable with the achievable.   Norwich is unlike any city in the UK; to use a cliché, it's small but punching well above its weight. No wonder the Norwich BID are seeking to declare the City of Stories the Capital of the East!   And if other cities in our region may wish to debate that claim, a good-humoured discussion laced with friendly rivalry about why our places are awesome can be A. Good. Thing.   Read the Norwich City Centre manifesto here.   You can listen to our podcast back catalog, as well as contacting Eastern Promise, here. Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.     

This week: It's our second slice of UKREiiF 2025 and this time, we've got AN HOUR of highlights from Team Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, from the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster pavilion, the Invest Suffolk stand and an exclusive chat with newly elected Mayor of the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, Paul Bristow.   This show has everything: Cross-country coll.aboration between Cambridge & Manchester! Trains, planes and automobiles! Unicorns! And did I say UNICORNS!?! If you're wondering why it's so long, then I have good news;  You're lucky it's as short as it is!  What a way to celebrate the East of England's barnstorming turn at the UK's most important property. investment and infrastructure show. My thanks in particular to the Suffolk Economy team, Dr Andy Williams, Norfolk & Suffolk Unlimited, Team Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Team BA and Infrastructure Matters for making the Eastern Promise trip to Leeds so memorable and worthwhile.  Normal service resumes next week! For more information, including our back catalog and contact form, visit the Eastern Promise website.  Alternatively, drop us a line at [email protected]. Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve. 1

Today: Mike Rigby brings you the happenings and highlights from the East of England's events at the UK Real Estate, Investment & Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) recorded at the Royal Arnouries and put together overnight to make sure YOU can find out what's occuring.  Mike talks to Rebecca Britton of Urban & Civic, Beth Dugdale of the Cambridge Growth Company, Steve Beel of Freeport East, Eman Martin-Vingerte of Bosch UK, and Judith Baker of the Cambs and Peterborough Combined Authority.   PLUS!  Hear Suffolk Business Board Chair Mark Pendlington, Chair of the Cambridge Growth Company Peter Freeman, Jo Cassidy from Arup, and Rob Carter of R G Carter speaking in their various events, captured thanks to some really nice AV guys!  Join me tomorrow for my final day in Leeds... Eastern Promise is proud to be sponsored by Mills & Reeve.

This week: We're on the world-famous Cambridge Biomedical Campus to find out more about plans for the new, multi-million pound Cancer research hospital there.   Mike Rigby talks to Dr Hugo Ford, clinical lead for the project and Director of Cancer Services at the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Shelly Thake, CEO of the Addenbrookes Charitable Trust, ACT4Addenbrookes! Together, we'll discuss the importance of the planned hospital, discuss aligning our finest scientific minds on the problem of cancer and find out what we can all do to help with the fundraising effort. This is a vitally important project and in by far the best place for the region and the nation to maximise the scientific expertise on the biomedical campus, throughout the city and the region as a whole.   For more information on the project, visit: https://www.cambridgecancer.org.uk/.  Find out more about the fundraising effort at: https://act4addenbrookes.org.uk/.  You can listen to the Eastern Promise back-catalogue and contact us by visiting https://easternpromise.org.uk.  Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.     

This Week: We join two conferences in the heart of Norwich; first, the Norwich Financial Industry Group (FIG) met in Aviva's iconic Marble Hall to discuss the ramifications of AI for FinTech and the financial sector. Speakers Ash Black and Nathan Punter of Coder explain how AI can boost the Norwich Financial Cluster. Then!  Oh, but then, your host Mike Rigby is joined on the streets of Norwich by Director of Save Britain's Heritage, Henrietta Billings, to preview the charity's upcoming annual conference on 15th May 2025 in the Kings Centre, on King Street in Norwich.   We run down the speakers and panels, as well as discussing the conference's key theme: delivering good growth in heritage locations - and what better place or time to discuss it than sat outside with a coffee on Gentleman's Walk on a sunny Wednesday morning in April?   Nope, there isn't one.   For more details and to get tickets to the Save Britain's Heritage Annual Conference, click here.  For more information on Norwich FIG click here. To find out more about Eastern Promise podcast, including our back catalogue and contact form, visit our website at https://easternpromise.org.uk.  Alternatively,  email us at: [email protected].  Eastern Promise are proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: Direct from  the James Hehir Building of the University of Suffolk, Mike Rigby chats with Jack Abbott MP, Member of Parliament for Ipswich and the Government's Missions Champion for the East of England.   Jack shares what that role means in practice, his road to Parliament, his maiden speech, why all the policemen and doorkeepers already knew his name, and his hopes for the future of Ipswich and of Suffolk, as both and MP and a local boy.   It's a fascinating glimpse 'behind the Speaker's Chair' from a unique perspective.   For more information about Jack, including his contributions to debates, visit the House of Commons website here or his own website, https://www.jackabbott.org/.     For more information on Eastern Promise, including our back catalogue, visit https://easternpromise.org.uk.  Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: We bring you an on-location special!   First, Mike Rigby talks to organisers and key delegates at the East of England Local Government Association (EELGA) & Infrastructure Matters' conference, 'Opportunity East', itself based on EELGA's landmark 2024 report (PDF) and held at the award-winning 'Lab' at ARU Peterborough.  With us are EELGA Chief Executive Cairistine Foster-Cannan, Charlotte Horobin, CEO of the Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce,  Strategic Director of Transport East, Andrew Summers, and MP for Lowestoft, Jess Asato.  We'll explore the message of Opportunity East and what the output will achieve.   Then, we head hotfoot (and back in time, technically!) to Norwich University of the Arts for Tech Educators' #HackEd hackathon!  We hear from mentors, Frankie Shreeves, Steve Whitelock of Aviva and Neal Riley of Adaptavist.  We'll dive into why Norwich is such a hotbed for the hackathon!   In a shock move, we've had to cram in an extra episode due to all the awesomeness going on!   Links to the various organisations featured are above. For more information on Eastern Promise,  to listen to our back catalogue and to contact us, visit our website, https://easternpromise.org.uk. Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: Mike Rigby chats with Prashant Shah, co-founder of both the O2H Group, which seeds new ideas in science, technology and green innovation, and the amazing extrava-palooza that is Cambridge Wide Open Week! (do peruse the links below for more info).   Prashant tells us about his introduction to the Cambridge ecosystem through his father, what makes him such a strong advocate for the city and its entrepreneurs, the story behind the iconic Hauxton Mill, where O2H Group has its UK headquarters and the venue for the unique house-party that draws the Cambridge Wide Open festivities to a close.  It was a pleasure to chat with him. For more information on O2H Group and Cambridge Wide Open Week, click on the relevant link. Find out more about Eastern Promise, listen top our back catalogue and contact us, visit: https://easternpromise.org.uk. Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: Eastern Promise has assembled a mighty armada of experts to weigh in on the not-so-small matter of how the East of England's SMEs can WIN more business from across the public sector!   Coming to you from the Norwich offices of The Crown Commercial Service, the CCS' Deputy Director of Cloud Neal Smith joins our own Mike Rigby, along with Tim Robinson of Tech East, Jack Weaver of the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce, Candy Richards of the Federation of Small Businesses and Greg Gibson of our very good friends (and sponsors!) Mills & Reeve.  We discuss the opportunities to be had, the role tech firms in particular can play, and some of the ways SMEs can outmanoeuvre the big boys & girls! Click here for more information on the Central Digital Platform and the Crown Commercial Service. You can also click on the links for the following Chambers of Commerce:   Chambers East Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire Essex Hertfordshire Norfolk Suffolk You can also find out more at: The Federation of Small Businesses Tech East To find out more about Eastern Promise, listen to our back catalog, or to contact us, visit: https://easternpromise.org.uk.  Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: It's a long-awaited interview for Eastern Promise, as we sit down with Chair of the Cambridge Delivery Group and former Chair of Homes England, Peter Freeman. Mike Rigby chats with Peter his background, how he approached his role, his philosophy of development, new towns vs. urban extensions and get his tips on how your favourite East of England-focused podcast can help.   We're truly grateful to Peter for his time.  You can find out more about Homes England and the Cambridge Delivery Group here.  You can also read The Case for Cambridge document produced by the previous Government. You can contact Eastern Promise by emailing [email protected] or by visiting https://easternpromise.org.uk and clicking on the contact link.   Eastern Promise is truly proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve. 

This Week: We delve into the microencapsulation collaboration between Cambridge-based materials innovator Xampla and Norwich Research Park's titan of digestive health, The Quadram Institute! These two centres of excellence have come together to ensure that the probiotics we take for better digestive health can actually be packed, shipped to your local supermarket, stored at home and then consumed with minimal loss in quality - always tricky when you're dealing with live cultures!  Until now, what a probiotic says 'on the tin' may not match what ends up in your gut.   Xampla nutritionist Hannah Pearse, Quadram Institute group leader, Prof. Arjan Narbad and QIB Head of External Relations Andrew Stronach are on hand to tell us more.  You'll never look at yoghurt health drinks, dishwasher tablets, or takeout pizzas in the same way again! To find out more about Xampla and The Quadram Institute, click the relevant links, and here are links to BBSRC and Innovate UK for good measure! To listen to more episodes from the Eastern Promise podcast's back catalog, to contact the show, or to find out more about what we do, click here.  Or, you can contact us at [email protected].   The Eastern Promise Podcast is produced in The Podding Shed for the Eastern Promise Community Interest Company, in proud association with Mills & Reeve.      

This Week: Eastern Promise takes a look at the exciting, inclusive and growing dynamo that is Innovate Cambridge! Recorded at their HQ, The Glasshouse, in Botanic House on Hills Road in the city, Dr Kathryn Chapman, Executive Director, and Board Member Michael Anstey, chat with host of the Eastern Promise podcast, Mike Rigby, about the progress Innovate Cambridge has made thus far, the vision behind the initiative and more, including the Cambridge X Manchester partnership (of particular interest to our Mancunian Exec Producer!)   But that's not all!  We take a meander around The Glasshouse with Innovate Cambridge's Ana Lucia Buckman, taking in the decor and finding out the thinking and feel behind the warm, welcoming design of this facility. You can find out more about becoming a member of Innovate Cambridge by clicking here. You can contact Eastern Promise at: [email protected] or by visiting easternpromise.org.uk, where you can also hear previous episodes of the podcast... Eastern Promise is proud to be sponsored by Mills & Reeve. 

This Week: Yes! Deferred is not denied and postponed is not prevented, 'coz CrowdSourcery is back to work its magic once again!  This time, we're looking at your hopes and dreams for 2025, with health, wealth and happiness featuring on your lists, in no particular order.   BUT THAT'S NOT ALL...By no means, for CEO of Eastern Promise and Executive Producer of this Podcast answers YOUR questions, including: funniest guest, most moving story, impediments to progress, getting the East of England noticed!  His favourite coffee shops!  Mike answers them all... Thank you to everyone who sent in a question(s)! To contact CrowdSourcery and/or Eastern Promise, you can email: [email protected] or [email protected]. Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve. 

This Week: ARU Peterborough is the East of England's newest higher education provider, created for a specific set of socio-economic purposes by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Peterborough City Council and Anglia Ruskin University. ARU Peterborough is addressing the skills shortage that threatens an otherwise strongly performing economy, limiting local firms and giving incoming businesses pause.   Host and Executive Producer Mike Rigby is joined by the inaugural (and current) Principal, Professor Ross Renton, and Chair of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Business Board, Al Kingsley MBE, to discuss the genesis of the campus, the awards for social mobility, its importance to the region and its steps towards becoming a standalone institution in 2023. You can contact the Eastern Promise podcast team by emailing: [email protected]. For more information on ARU Peterborough, click here. To hear other episodes of the Eastern Promise podcast, click here. Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve.

This Week: You join me in the Mother of Parliaments as a guest of Andrew Pakes, MP for Peterborough; North West Cambridgeshire MP Sam Carling; and the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority and Mayor Dr Nik Johnson.   I chat with Nik about the message behind the event; that Cambridgeshire and Peterborough stand ready to provide the growth that the UK needs.  We also discuss his role as the East of England's ONLY metro mayor and we hear comments to the assembled from Local Growth Minister Alex Morris MP.  But that's not even half of what this episode has for you... We bring you part two of our panel on 'How the Brecks can Support the Growth of Cambridge', looking specifically at housing, community and placemaking.   The Brecks area of Norfolk straddles the A11 and Cambridge railway line, and sits roughly equidistant between Cambridge and Norwich.   How the area might relieve the housing pressure on Cambridge for he benefit of all, and do so in a carefully created community is discussed by an all-star panel.   Joining host Mike Rigby from Breckland Council are Councillor Sarah Suggitt, Cabinet Member for housing and planning at along with Strategic Growth Manager Stephen Scowen.  From Thetford Town Council we have independent Deputy Mayor Carla Barreto; Community engagement expert and CEO of Socially Adept, Esmee Wilcox; Feilden and Mawson architect and champion of arboreal living Matt Wood; and Mills & Reeve’s own, Stewardship and development specialist Anna Aldous.   You can hear the first part of the roundtable here: https://easternpromise.podbean.com/e/episode-120-cambs-peterborough-in-parliament-plus-brecks-cambridge-housing-roundtable-part-2/   For more information on the New Town 'sandbox', email [email protected], putting 'sandbox' in the subject line. Find out more about Breckland Council's growth and development plans here. Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve. For more information, and to hear all previous editions of the podcast, visit easternpromise.org.uk.  

This Week: We return to our series on 'How the Brecks can Support the Growth of Cambridge'.   The Brecks area of Norfolk straddles the A11 and Cambridge railway line, and sits roughly equidistant between Cambridge and Norwich.   How the area might relieve the housing pressure on Cambridge for he benefit of all, and do so in a carefully created community is discussed by an all-star panel.   Joining host Mike Rigby from Breckland Council are Councillor Sarah Suggitt, Cabinet Member for housing and planning at along with Strategic Growth Manager Stephen Scowen.  From Thetford Town Council we have independent Deputy Mayor Carla Barreto; Community engagement expert and CEO of Socially Adept, Esmee Wilcox; Feilden and Mawson architect and champion of arboreal living Matt Wood; and Mills & Reeve’s own, Stewardship and development specialist Anna Aldous. For more information on the New Town 'sandbox', email [email protected], putting 'sandbox' in the subject line. Find out more about Breckland Council's growth and development plans here. Eastern Promise is proud to be supported by Mills & Reeve. For more information, and to hear all previous editions of the podcast, visit easternpromise.org.uk.