In 1999 the National Housing and Town Planning Council (NHTPC) merged with the Housing Centre Trust and became "ROOM". On 28 August 2002 it merged with the RTPI.
One of the purposes of ROOM, is to bring different professionals, both public and the private, together with politicians, developers and service providers to have an open dialogue about housing issues and challenges.
ROOM seeks to encourage debate and dialogue through appropriate forums where experiences can be shared, practice improved, and policy developed – recognising the inter-relationship housing and regeneration initiatives have with the spatial planning system.
In 2015, The SWRTPI Regional Management Board wanted to re-invigorate "ROOM@RTPI" events in the South West given the seismic changes happening across planning and housing at a national level.
We didn't just want another conference focussed on housing but a series of master classes focussing on topical housing issues. We wanted the master classes to explore in more detail specific housing issues and be inter-active.
Over time we want to re-engage with Registered Providers, developers, politicians and planning, housing and regeneration professionals operating across the whole South West region.