On Thursday 6 May,  voters in the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) area go to the polls to elect a new mayor. With significant devolved powers and responsibilities, the West of England Mayor will have to make crucial decisions about the future of infrastructure, priorities for regional and national funding and the development of the built environment that will have repercussions for many years to come.

This online event will give candidates the opportunity to set out their vision on key infrastructure issues and enable built environment professionals (and future professionals) to put their questions to those seeking election.

ICE South West has partnered with the Chartered Institution of Building (CIOB), Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and Constructing Excellence South West to host the debate, drawing on its collaborative membership to quiz candidates on their priorities and policies.

Climate change, decarbonisation and net zero targets are expected to be high on the agenda, as we examine how the candidates will approach sustainability in areas such as transport, housing and energy and how they will align these challenges against the need to deliver growth and support the West of England economy.  How can the West of England be ambitious on levelling up infrastructure, while working together with local and regional partners? And what role will the built environment play in driving economic recovery for the region following the coronavirus pandemic?

The debate will be chaired by Katy Toms, ICE South West Regional Chair and Principal Engineer at WSP.

The West of England covers three local authority areas: Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol & South Gloucestershire.

The confirmed candidates for the debate are:

Dan Norris, Labour – votedan.uk

Jerome Thomas, Green Party – bristolgreenparty.org.uk/councillor/jerome-thomas//p>

Samuel Williams, Conservative – www.samuelwilliams.org.uk/

Also invited:

Stephen Williams, Liberal Democrat – www.stephenwilliams.org.uk/

If you would like to submit a question in advance, please email ice.southwest@ice.org.uk