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The aim of this report is to record theachievements of the Inspire East DesignReview and Enabling services. As wecome to the end of five years ofsuccessful delivery we have sought tocapture the evidence of the number andrange of schemes that have receivedhelp from these services. The report is

also an attempt to capture what hasbeen learned by those who have beeninvolved, the experience of panelmembers and the feedback from users.Finally it is a chance to review theprogress we have made in the East ofEngland in delivering more sustainablecommunities.

Background“Sustainable communities meet the diverse needs ofexisting and future residents, their children and otherusers, contribute to high quality of life and provideopportunity and choice. They achieve this in ways thatmake effective use of natural resources, enhance theenvironment, promote social cohesion and inclusionand strengthen economic prosperity.”The Egan Review of Skills for Sustainable Communities (2004)

“A creative sense of what is possible linked to ashared and inspiring vision are essential ingredientsfor the development of high quality sustainablecommunities. In combination they provide theimaginative foundation, flexibility and inspiration thatare required to make things happen. Furthermore,these elements also provide the means, method andmotivation for overcoming the challenges thatinevitably arise in sustainable community projects.”SAM GOODALL, XMMO LTD

The Inspire East Design Review service was established in 2006 with the intention of improving the quality ofschemes in the East of England and to provide supportto projects and organisations through Enabling. Overthe period of 2006 to 2010 we have reviewed 136schemes and supported 70 projects.

“It is important to recognise that people’s perception and behaviours are influenced by many factors thatcompromise sustainability. Therefore, people are central to sustainability. The right environmentneeds to be developed whereby people can beencouraged to act in ways that won’t adverselyimpact on others both now, or in the future.”PETER HARDY, JMP CONSULTING

We have worked hard to evaluate our service. We have developed a number of case studies thatidentified the impact we have had on the schemes wehave supported through Design Review and Enabling.We have collected information on the numbers, typeand location of the schemes and projects we havesupported. We have sought feed back from the peoplewho have used our service, and finally we held a legacyevent on the 18th January 2011 with the majority ofpanel members. We discussed our experiences ofdelivering the service as well as our thoughts abouthow the delivery of sustainable communities can besupported in the future.

“New sustainable communities should not be planned in isolation. There is a tendency, particularly withexemplar communities for them to lack considerationto their relationship with the communities andsettlements around them. The emphasis on self-sufficiency can lead to them being seen as somewhatseparate rather than integrated with theirsurroundings. For example, the needs of the newcommunity facilities tend to be seen entirely from the perspective of the new community. This maywork in the case of fairly isolated communities, butmost are not. The assumption tends to be that allfacilities should be located in the new community.The right solution for the long-term sustainability of the area is more complex. Some facilities may not be viable within a new community but could belocated nearby. To concentrate all facilities in thenew community may be detrimental to thesustainability of settlements around it.”RICHARD HIGH, HIGH ASSOCIATES

We asked all the Design Review and Enabling panel members to give us theirrecommendations for the key points that should be considered in the creation ofsustainable communities. These are their comments.

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Five years is a very short time over which to accuratelyassess the impact of services like Design Review andEnabling. The schemes we support may take a long timeto come to fruition, progress may stall or even stopcompletely. In Design Review the schemes we havesupported have often been affected by the recession and even in a buoyant market many more schemes areproposed and designed than are actually built. All thismakes precise evaluation of our impact difficult and there are a limited numbers of schemes we have reviewed that have actually been built.

“Always start from the place, understanding how it istoday, thinking creatively about its potential in thefuture, and working with a wide range of people withdifferent skills and knowledge (both local and technical) to come up with proposals based on sound localplacemaking principles.

Placemaking is something we can all focus on now – it does not require changes to national policy or theprocess of development. We should embed this way of thinking in education and practice at all levels fromplan making, through masterplanning, down to specificdevelopment proposals.”JANE DANN, TIBBALDS PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN

In addition to this the development process can often beslow and involves a huge range of different individualsand organisations. Assigning credit for a scheme to oneindividual, organisation or event is hard as it is often ateam effort.

“Have a clear forward plan for stewardship andgovernance of new residential areas. Without attention to how new people will be supported to settle and whowill own and run amenities and the public realm (andhow their running costs will be met in the long-term),places will fail to realise both the economic and socialvalue of new settlements and they may fail in manycritical areas (such as promoting stable populations).”MARILYN TAYLOR, MARILYN TAYLOR ASSOCIATES

Assessing the role of the service as a broker or catalystand the qualitative impact that the service has made is anarea where we could have been stronger. It was pointedout at the legacy event that meeting output targets couldhave become an end in itself. This may be true, althoughit is also a feature of the way Inspire East as a whole wasfunded. There is an important lesson to be had for anyonedelivering a similar service about the need to measurequalitative impacts as well as quantitative outputs. Thismay be something that a third sector organisation mightfind easier as it relates to the role of an advocate forgood design, something that is a little harder for a publicbody.

“We should redouble our efforts to work together,utilising the combined knowledge, skills and experienceof all stakeholders to achieve a clearly defined commongoal. Sustainability is not an optional extra in anythingwe do.”ALISON GREIG, ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY

Despite all this we have sought to collect evidence of ourimpact through evaluation of Inspire East as a whole. Interms of the Design Review and Enabling services it maybe harder for us to demonstrate our achievements of longterm objectives over a relatively short period of time. Andas discussed above our individual contribution is hard tomeasure. However we can measure the impact of ourservices on the users and the benefits they feel they havegained. This feedback from users has been vital to us indeveloping the service we provide.

“Ultimately, ‘quality’ is about what people value in the communities in which they live, and is a relative concept. “Poor quality”, as perceived from the outside,is where local expectations may be low and sharedunderstanding of what makes for prosperity,sustainability and equity is lacking. Higher aspirationsand expectations can come from people finding outmore about other communities and how they haveachieved what they value in their “sustainablecommunity”. My recommendation is for communityleaders to seek out and learn from experienceelsewhere, with support in finding good and relevantexamples. Which Inspire East was set up to do….”DERRICK JOHNSTONE, EDUCE Ltd

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The feedback we have received has been helpful to us in developing the Design Review Service. It has beenoverwhelmingly positive. In particular the managementand the running of the panel has always been rated aseither ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’.

Some of the reasons people have given for using thepanel have been:

• To gain advice about the suitability of the height, massing and scale of the proposed scheme.LOCAL AUTHORITY URBAN DESIGNER

• To assist with resolution of different views held between the designer and planning officer.PRIVATE SECTOR ARCHITECT

• To undertake an independent review of the scheme for the City Council… to seek the view of the panel regarding the delivery of key elements of community infrastructure.LOCAL AUTHORITY PLANNER

“Provide high quality places in terms of buildings andopen spaces to create a desirable place where peoplewill choose to live with high quality walking, cycling and public transport connections to the places wherepeople actually want and need to go to.”COLIN SHIELDS, WHITE YOUNG GREEN

Some comments on the benefits people felt they gainedfrom attending design review were:

• We gained confidence in our scheme and approach… the Borough Council and the Planning Committee also had an understanding of the process of Design Review.LOCAL AUTHORITY PLANNER

“Planning permission remains the focus of the complexprocess through which better places are mediated. Acollaborative approach remains the ideal way to reachdecisions on major change. This is accepted wisdom,available through planning performance agreements.But it is not easy for local planning authorities to takethe lead when a powerful retail or housing provider ispushing very hard for a standard product. It is also hardfor LPAs to mesh public and politics into a well-honedmulti-professional design process.

I would urge a continuing shift in LPA mindset, changingthe culture of control into proactive ‘urban changemanagement’, embracing local engagement, briefing,enabling, review, negotiation, agreement. Progressingbefore, during and after planning applications, withinwhich the scheme-team actively assists in thecollaborative process. Design review is a necessary partof the LPA’s responsibility, whether conducted in-houseor independently, as long as it is informed, critical anddocumented.

With or without local community initiative, LPA-ledcollaboration will always rely on a sound policyframework, which must set a spatial framework, regarddesign as active and continuous, and define quality oflife outcomes.”ROGER ESTOP, CHELMSFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL

• It is good to have independent and fresh views on a project in which we have become immersed for almost two years.VOLUNTARY SECTOR CHIEF EXECUTIVE

In terms of what actually changed as a result of thepanel’s comments a number of people who respondedindicated they would be changing elements of theirschemes in response to the Design Review. Manysuccessfully submitted applications. Comments included:

• The masterplan has been modified and we are expecting an application in due course.LOCAL AUTHORITY URBAN DESIGNER

“The outcome of delivering sustainable communitiesseems to have been better achieved in some locations in Europe than here. We should invest in learning theselessons. If we are to really reach these outcomes, weshould learn from the civic leadership, partnershipworking and municipal investment that is demonstrated in the best practice of some small European cities. My recommendation would be a programme of genuine local freedoms with local fund raising capacity,supported by skilled and informed growth partnershipswhich are core to the future development of thoseplaces.”JUDITH BARKER, JUDITH BARKER CONSULTANCY

Feedback from users

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• Project design has progressed since the design review in response to the comments of the panel. The scheme is to be submitted to the District Council as an application for planning permission very shortly.PRIVATE SECTOR ARCHITECT

It would be wrong to assume comments have always been positive. Sometimes there has been disagreementon specific issues. Some comments we have been able torespond to have been concerns about the length of timegiven to major schemes and a lack of understanding ofthe context. When necessary we have been able to offerextended sessions to major schemes and we have movedthe panel around the region in order to be able to carryout site visits.

“Empower stakeholders to make correct decisions at the right time. This needs to be done by communication of solutions (converting information into knowledge and ultimately wisdom) both from top-down (experts)and bottom-up from within a community. Find ways toshare this. Ensure there are robust ‘feedback loops’ to keep wisdom living and correct. Share successes and use knowledge to change small things further ‘upstream’. Planning departments are the doorkeepers –inform and enable them.”DAVID KIRKLAND, KIRKLAND FRASER MOOR

Issues that have been harder to resolve have beenfundamental disagreements on particular aspects of a scheme. There have been disagreements with bothprivate sector scheme promoters and Local PlanningAuthorities. We feel this is to be expected if the review is to be rigorous. We have been as likely to be critical of local policy as we have been to criticise a developersomething that is important as our aim has been toimprove the quality of schemes rather than to supportone particular view.

Development of the service“The quality of sustainable communities can be improvedby a balanced approach to the physical design thatincludes decent infrastructure. Housing developmentcan be improved through design review, but this will only succeed if the developer and local authority have

a costed plan that includes schools, amenities, servicesand transport policies. The key to improving sustainablecommunities is to have a vision which has the supportof both the community and the local authority.”ED FARRELL, CONSULTANT

The Design Review and Enabling services were conceivedas two separate services and procured separately. Thisresulted in two panels with some people serving on both.Many of the panel members have served for four years. Anew procurement process in 2008 brought in some newpanel members whilst some decided not to continue. Theway we have used the panels and panel members haschanged over the four years we have been delivering theservice. It has evolved to a point that if the service wereto continue it is doubtful we would retain separate panels.

The way in which the skills of panel members have beenused effectively in a different way has been most obviousthrough the Capacity for Urban Renaissance in the East of England (CURE) programme which Inspire Eastdelivered in partnership with Regional Cities East.Through this a number of Enabling and Design Reviewpanel members worked directly with Local Authorities tobuild capacity around a range of issues. Support in theform of mentoring and running workshops was providedfor both Local Authority staff and stakeholders. This covered issues as diverse as masterplanning, businessengagement and sustainable development.

“Consider sustainability in the round – do not get carried away with any particular aspect. Listen to what people have to say from different disciplines. Beproportionate and realistic. Put yourself in the shoes of the people who will love, work and play in thecommunity and think how it will work for them. Thinkahead – not just to when whatever it is has been built,but how it will be in ten, twenty, thirty years time. How will it weather? What will it look like? Will it still be wanted? What about maintenance? How will people get to it and from it? ”NIGEL SMITH, HEWDON CONSULTING

In 2009 we contributed to the development of a NationalNetwork of Design Review Panels affiliated to CABE. For us this formalised a close working relationship andallowed us to share schemes and information. We wereable to share good practice with a network of panelsacross the country all committed to the ten principles ofdesign review1. This is something that was beginning todevelop a consistent and comprehensive approach toDesign Review.

1 10 Principles of Design Review Appendix 1

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“Communities reside in and are built around realphysical places; they are not just social concepts. For a community to become and remain sustainable it musthave a suitable physical environment within which it can develop. The key prerequisite for improvement in the formation of sustainable communities is theimprovement of the quality of our physical environments.We must improve places so that communities want to be a part of them and want to own them as their place in the world. This can only be delivered throughinvestment and striving for the very best in theimprovement of the quality of design of places andspaces - the public realm and the architecture which we all live with.

Inspire East’s Design Review and Enabling services have played a key role in improving the ambition ofthose who are creating the new places in our Region. It is essential that we re-establish these key services to continue raising the standards of the proposalscoming forward which will shape our futureenvironments.”KEVIN BURRELL, HFBT ARCHITECTS

Those that had worked on the schemes felt that thesupport we were able to provide was helpful as it allowedorganisations and partnerships to articulate a commonvision. Local Authorities often still have silos of skills andoutside support can help to bring these skills togetherand see what needs to be done. This approach has helpedto bring organisations working in partnership together, tounderstand the perspectives of others and developbroader shared visions of how to achieve public good.

This approach has not been restricted to LocalAuthorities. Proportionally they have been the biggestusers of this type of support but we have also tried to reach out to community organisations like the Three Rivers Way. We have been able to provide support toother community groups on issues like water managementand, more recently, supporting a community led approachto the masterplanning of key sites.

“Sustainable communities could receive a huge boost if firms and employers encouraged staff to take time off to volunteer within the community. The biggestdeterrent to getting more involved in community life is our long-hours culture. So being able to leave early on occasion, and with prior agreement, to help out with clubs, societies and projects in the communitycould make a real difference. The range of skills andabilities available to communities would be massivelyincreased. Furthermore, employers and firms could

benefit too, through a positive association with civic-minded projects and activities. I know these sorts ofarrangements happen already, but they often appear ad hoc and inconsistent. And this can make anotherwise willing firm or employer hesitant aboutlaunching their own scheme. So some sort of nationalaccreditation, or similar, could be the next step.”RICHARD EASTHAM, FERIA LTD

The support we have provided has helped groups break a large task down into more manageable chunks, pulltogether evidence to support funding bids and organisingpublic meetings. We have also provided, free of charge, a level of expertise in transport planning, urban designand development viability that would be hard for manyorganisations to access on a commercial basis.

This capacity building role of the Design Review andEnabling service is something that has worked well. Thetwo have worked alongside each other as we have beenable to provide additional support to schemes that havecome to Design Review to resolve problems or improvethe capacity, particularly of Local Authorities. This hasclearly worked with schemes that have been reviewed anumber of times and where enabling support has beenprovided to the Local Authority. These have resulted inschemes where both design and viability improved. This is an approach that organisations like the Homes andCommunities Agency should take note of as they seek to develop their role as an enabling organisation.

Make up of thePanelsThere are a wide range of skills represented on bothpanels. All panel members have an interest in the builtenvironment, although it is not dominated by oneprofession and a number of panel members are qualifiedin more than one discipline. This is something that panelmembers feel is a real strength to both services andreflects the range of skills necessary to deliver sustainablecommunities. This adds weight to the panel’s commentsparticularly in Design Review. It is often the case that the same problems will be identified from a differentprofessional perspective. This can help the users of the service to identify the key problems that need to be resolved in order to deliver a successful scheme.

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“For all the firm policies, exciting masterplans andexcellent advice, the UK lags far behind the rest ofEurope in building sustainable communities. Nor did our few sustainable urban neighbourhoods resolve the problems of minimising energy consumption, andmanaging environment impact, as continental exampleshave done. Investment in housing output was half thatof France and Germany. Instead we built blocks of smallapartments and sold them to buy to let investors. Whenthe property crash came the British volume housingindustry collapsed. Clearly the business model is not fit for purpose, and our economy and quality of lifesuffer as a result; in Cambridge the average house price is nine times’ average earnings, and developers no longer have the confidence to take complex schemes forward.

What should be done? The messages from continentalexperience are clear. Produce much more affordablehousing by building in the right place, with larger units, but with lower profit margins and land values by de-risking the whole process. We have to simplifyneighbourhood development, and not cut red tapelengthwise. So let us get public land released, with clear development frameworks in manageable parcels (1-2 hectares) with the landowner receiving 25% of the sales value when it is realised. Then we would build sustainable urban neighbourhoods, not just talkabout them.”NICHOLAS FALK, URBED

In recruiting panel members as much thought was given to the interpersonal skills of panel members as to theirprofessional expertise. We sought panel members who couldwork together with other professions and communicatetheir own knowledge in a way that is supportive.

Working StyleIn Design Review we have been successful in ensuring thatbuildings fit both their surroundings and their ultimateuse. Reviews have concentrated on how developmentsworked rather than being affected by personal architecturaltastes. However, when things are done well, in whateverstyle, then an aesthetic value and a beauty is createdwhich is something we have sought to support.

“The quality of architecture and urban design in newhousing development is often much criticised. Yetcustomers continue to buy the product, and indeedaspire to own it. Some commentators put this down tolack of choice (that the alternatives are neither availablenor affordable). I believe that far more should be done at an earlier stage to help consumers become more awareof the context within which they are making their choices.The public remain excluded from the debate regardinghow our future built environment can be shaped to achieveshared objectives and goals. I would press for greaterresources to be made available to raise awareness of(and participation in) the issues and objectives that thebuilt environment disciplines grapple with. There is aneed for all end-users to demand a product that meetsthese objectives. Until people of all ages understandfully the implications of the choices they make, and the opportunities for their input into shaping futureenvironments, the status quo is unlikely to change.”MARTIN HARRADINE, AZ URBAN STUDIO LTD

We have sought to remove schemes from the, oftenadversarial, planning arena that can develop. Since weare entirely independent we have been able to adopt amore cooperative and helpful approach. Sometimes themost valuable part of the experience has been bringingthe parties together provide an environment where theycan talk openly about their scheme.

“My recommendation would be to make the process ofdeveloping sustainable communities less adversarial.The UK house building industry, with some honourableexceptions, seems to view concepts such as sustainablecommunities as something that increases costs withoutmaking schemes more attractive to buyers. Conflict is therefore built into the process. The experience ofDesign Review in the East of England, as elsewhere, isthat it can be a valuable tool in breaking down thesebarriers. It allows developers to engage in dialogue with independent experts and panels to betterunderstand commercial pressures. The result has notalways been perfect, but has, in my view, always beenbetter that it would have been without the contribution of a design review panel.”DAVID RUDLIN, URBED

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We have sought to help with the strategic thinking manyprojects lack. Design Review can help to bring this to thefore and encourage that level of strategic thought.

GeographicalSpreadThe service has been effective in reviewing schemes andsupporting projects across the East of England, althoughthe service has been used in some areas more thanothers. This still leaves a lot of gaps and many areas that have had limited access to the expertise the panelprovided.

“It should be a right that every community has access to somebody who has architecture and design expertiseand encourage them to exercise that right at all times.Such ‘Design Aid’ would be complimentary to PlanningAid.”ANTHONY HUDSON, HUDSON ARCHITECTS

Many authorities lack expertise in sustainability,something that can be simple and achievable. Alsoplanners as ‘gatekeepers’ are a key profession for thedelivery of sustainable communities. Unfortunately theyare often under resourced, something that will increasewith public sector cuts. There is often a need for theadditional support the panel can provide on design,viability and strategic approaches. These skills can becostly and hard to access for the public sector and this is why there will continue to be a need for the support the Design Review and Enabling services can provide.

“It is vital to properly consider the movement andaccess requirements of potential site occupants andvisitors. Unfortunately, it is still far too common fortraffic engineers and transport planners to adopt aformulaic approach to transport. On paper applicationsmay tick the necessary boxes to comply with basictransport planning requirements, but generally they still fail to realise the significance of this uniqueopportunity to incorporate innovative design features, a TDM initiatives, that are likely to prove essentialcomponents of a future access strategy. A sustainablefuture depends on thinking differently. The transportchallenges are complex and facing these will requireprofessionals able to think beyond the traditionalboundaries. Sustainable communities rely on solutionsthat draw upon contemporary knowledge andinternational transport planning innovation tailored for local application.”COLIN BLACK, CONTEMPORARY TRANSPORT LTD

Bond Bryan Architects, Ipswich One, reviewed in 2007

6a Architects, Mines Farm PPS7 House, reviewed in 2008

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Residential schemes have formed the biggest single users of the Design Review service. However, the number ofmasterplans and educational schemes has also been significant as one would expect in a region like the East ofEngland which has experienced significant growth. This also reflects the recent level of public funding for Education.

Types of Schemes

By far the biggest users of the Enabling Service havebeen in the public sector, mostly Local Authorities.This is not surprising given the nature of the serviceand the level at which the support has been marketed.However we have tried to work with the voluntarysector with some success and as the Localism agendaevolves there is still considerable scope for this. Itwas significant that the last assignment delivered bythe service has been working with a community inSuffolk to provide urban design skills and expertise onviability to help them realise the opportunity of a keysite in their town.

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Contribution to Sustainable Communities“That we make valued judgements about the worth of land and the wealth in creating homes, instead ofsimply being led by price of houses based solely onaffordability or the availability of finance.”BEN VAN BRUGGEN, SAVILLS

It is clear that Inspire East and the Design Review andEnabling services have made a contribution to deliveringmore sustainable communities but there is still a long way to go. Panel members have suggested a number ofways in which sustainable communities can continue to be supported. A number of different solutions that couldmake a difference were discussed at the legacy event,including different approaches to land ownership and the value of charters; in particular the CambridgeshireQuality Charter.

“The key success factor for sustainable communities is people and in particular leadership – not politicalleadership, but leadership from within the community.This is essential in order to drive forward workundertaken by both public and private sector deliverybodies from Local Authorities to Developers. It isimportant to get the balance right in terms ofresponsibility given to such leaders as they must not beoverburdened and thought must be given to succession.”RICHARD JONES, ENERGY MYWAY

Leadership is still an important issue as successfulschemes are those with leaders. It is important to identify and support leaders within local communities,particularly those who are not part of the politicallandscape.

In terms of Inspire East’s original remit there is still aneed to promote the sort of cross-silo working that we have been able to achieve with the panel. This isparticularly necessary in the education of professionalsand their continuing development.

“We should procure urban extensions, new settlementsand regeneration projects through municipal landdevelopment, where local authorities take the lead on land assembly, masterplanning, design quality,community infrastructure, and thus enabling the uplift in land value to be re-distributed back into the project as much as possible, to help fund locally led facilitieswhich will benefit future residents.”NICK ENGE, HOMES AND COMMUNITIES AGENCY

The need to be more than just experts sitting in judgmentbut to support and share information will always be thereand the brokerage role we have been able to offer willbecome more important under the localism agenda. Mostimportantly, there will always be a need to encouragequality and to raise people’s aspirations.

Disability Essex Building reviewed in 2007

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Appendix 1

11 IInnddeeppeennddeennttIt is conducted by people who are separate from the scheme promoter and decision-maker, and it protects against conflicts of interest.

22 AAccccoouunnttaabbllee It records and explains its advice and is transparent about potential conflicts of interest.

33 EExxppeerrtt It is conducted by suitably trained people who are experienced in design and know how to criticise constructively. Review is usually most respected where it is carried out by professional peers of the project designers, as their standing and expertise will be acknowledged.

44 AAddvviissoorryyIt does not make decisions. It acts as a source of impartial advice for decision-makers.

55 AAcccceessssiibbllee Its findings are clearly expressed in terms that decision-makers can understand and use.

66 PPrrooppoorrttiioonnaattee It is used on projects whose significance warrants the public investment of providing design review at national, regional and local level, as appropriate. Other methods of appraising design quality should be used for less significant projects.

77 TTiimmeellyy It takes place as early as possible in the life of a design because this saves the most time and costs less to make changes. If a planning application has already been made, it happens within the timeframe for considering it. And it is repeated when a further opinion is required.

88 OObbjjeeccttiivveeIt appraises schemes in the round according to reasoned, objective criteria rather than the stylistic tastes of individual panel members.

99 FFooccuusssseedd oonn oouuttccoommeess ffoorr ppeeoopplleeIt asks how this building or place can better meet the needs of the people using it, and of the public at large who are affected by it.

1100 FFooccuusssseedd oonn iimmpprroovviinngg qquuaalliittyyIt constructively seeks to improve the quality of architecture, urban design, landscape, highway design and town planning.

10 Principles of Design Review

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Website: www.inspire-east.org.uk

Inspire East would like to thank all the applicants who took the time to attend and contribute to the service. We would like to thank all the panelmembers and in particular Ben van Bruggen our Chair of four years and aconstant advocate of design quality. Finally we would like to thank ValerieWeekes, our Panel Administrator who held the fort and kept us organised.