And so the third UKREiiF has come to an end and thousands of delegates have returned home exhausted and talked out.
For thinkingplace it was another excellent event with plenty of interesting discussions, appointments and our much talked about Magic of Place reception.
Some of the take outs:
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- Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Leader and Shadow Housing Secretary was the keynote speaker on day one and set out how Labour will re-introduce housing targets and instigate a ‘New Towns Code’ where new houses must be buildings with character in tree lined streets that fit with nearby areas and that have design that pays attention to local history and identity. The latter we totally applaud and is what thinkingplace constantly try to deliver through our work, nobody wants to live in a clone town or somewhere ‘parachuted’ into an area.
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- There was plenty of chat about devolution but less certainty about what it delivers and how it helps. Too often the focus seems to be on structures and ‘rearranging the deckchairs’ and not on the people and places within these areas, no surprise there is cynicism.
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- We found plenty of appetite from places to focus on their identity, narrative, opportunities and framing these for various reasons: attracting inward investment, retaining and attracting talent, bringing in more visitors, competing for funding or seeking devolution. Far more places want to engage their stakeholders in promoting and developing their city, town or region which is a no brainer at a time of such challenging local authority budgets.
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- And then there was a General Election announcement which sent many into a gossipy frenzy; why now?, what will it mean?, when does purdah start?, can we finish that piece of work? and why announce it in the rain?! Whilst it was also indeed tanking it down in Leeds (we were unlikely to be lucky with the weather three years in a row), surely someone could have given Rishi a brolly!
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- It was certainly much busier with 13,000 delegates but we always seemed to find a space for a chat.
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- Best of all, it was great to see our clients (past and present) getting their message out with professionalism and impact; Staffordshire, Oxford to Cambridge Region, County Durham, Cumberland and Torbay.
I hope you got as much out of UKREiiF as we did. From my perspective it’s always amazing to watch industry leaders being blown away by up close magic as they did at our event and long may that continue!
See you next time 😊
