Atif Ali

Development Officer, Inclusive Growth Directorate
Birmingham City Council

Atif is a currently a Business Support Officer in the Business Improvement & Change team at Birmingham City Council. He recently completed a graduate scheme in the Inclusive Growth Directorate, where he was working on the Compulsory Purchase Order for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. His current work includes supporting colleagues who are working on strategic policy, the modernisation agenda and the Council Plan inter alia. Atif is a law graduate having attained a Masters in Law from the University of Birmingham in 2017. He is passionate about community engagement, public sector and organisational development. His work in the public sector has been recognised through shortlisting for the Future Face of Public Sector Award 2019 at Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Birmingham City Councils Chamberlain Awards 2019 in the ‘Rising Stars’ category for showing; ‘great attitude, initiative, accountability and responsibility’. Aside from work, he is a Severn Trent Community Fund Panel responsible for the allocation of up to £10m to local projects, charities & community groups.

Karen Cooksley

Karen is highly regarded within specialist planning, advising clients on the full spectrum of planning and environmental issues they face, including devising strategies for obtaining planning permissions and other consents, viability, environmental impact assessment, s106 agreements and CIL, compulsory purchase and highways matters. She has particular expertise in relation to mixed use developments, tall buildings, urban extensions, waterside schemes and the optimisation of consents to increase financial value for clients. She works for leading developers, private rented sector operator and management companies, national housebuilders, registered providers, local authorities and funders. The majority of her projects are in London – she is currently working on several tall building projects, advising on the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station and other major schemes in the Vauxhall opportunity area and securing office to residential conversions under permitted development rights. She and her team also work across the country – they have recently obtained permission for the £5.5 billion Liverpool Waters scheme and are advising on new settlements in Cambridgeshire, Devon and Kent.

Tim Heatley

Co-Founder
Capital & Centric

Tim is co-founder of Capital&Centric. In just five years since it started they’ve completed over 750,000 sq ft of development, they spend £1m a week on regeneration activity and have won 15 awards for design and regeneration. 

Some of their projects in Manchester include the £30m conversion of Crusader Mills in Piccadilly and the £200m Kampus Project and the recently completed Foundry a 50,000 sq ft creative workspace in Salford.

Having completed 5 developments last year alone the pipeline of projects Manchester stands at £330m. Projects in Liverpool include Littlewoods Film Studios, and the recently completed Bunker, Tempest and Hangar projects. The total development pipeline is in excess of £500m.

Leigh Natasha Salter

Managing Director
Movers & Shakers

Leigh Natasha Salter is a leading convenor and connector within the UK Real Estate Industry, with more than 25 years’ experience bringing together the people, ideas and organisations shaping the built environment.

As Managing Director of Movers & Shakers and Founder of CIPS - Creative Industries Property Summit, Leigh has built an influential senior-level network spanning the private and public sectors, across all major Real Estate asset classes.

Known for her ability to bring the right people into the room, Leigh creates platforms for high-level conversation, connection and collaboration between investors, developers, operators, occupiers, policymakers, advisers, and industry leaders.

Under her leadership, Movers & Shakers has evolved beyond conventional property debate, deliberately pushing the boundaries of Real Estate to explore new sectors, emerging trends and alternative value drivers - from creativity and culture to sport, health, experience, technology, regeneration and the changing ways people live and work.

Leigh founded CIPS to champion the intersection of property, creativity, culture, and place, and is an accomplished moderator, interviewer, and public speaker, known for creating intelligent, engaging discussions and connecting perspectives that might not otherwise meet.