A record attendance at the fourth Place Pizzazz at Chester Racecourse enjoyed a record number of amazing speakers and the place vibe was fantastic!
The feedback has been incredibly positive with delegates enjoying the panels and breakout sessions in equal measure.
We heard about the recent impact on various places that have been under the radar caused by the new focus on resilience and future proofing the UK. Defence cluster opportunities in Aldershot and Farnborough and massive investment in Devon’ defence ecosystem are literally changing the narrative and economy of these places in what will be a transformational way.
There was plenty of passion and debate about the recently announced New Towns and other large scale developments which focussed on the importance of them being firstly about people and community not just houses, that having an authentic story and identity is vital so people can belong, that stewardship is a long term commitment as is community engagement and that New Towns are a really exciting opportunity to do things differently!
It was great to hear from Bolton, Cheshire and Durham about their amazing and incredibly varied place marketing and branding execution showing what can be done with stretched resources and budgets from sponsoring the new Ladies Cricket team in Durham to co-operative marketing with Avanti in Cheshire and in Bolton tapping into the local passion of a newly formed Place Board and being careful not to kill the much sought after Tinkerbell moment!
When it comes to Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation it’s clear the biggest shake up in local government England for over 50 years is bound to come with some posturing and politics but improving efficiency and galvanising local economies make it a price worth paying. Within this process it’s vital to remember that places are still the hero and that these larger economic areas need their story too. There is also a realisation that collaboration is key whether with neighbours or places that have the synergy of sectors or specialisms.
As ever the breakout sessions were a big hit with in depth discussions about learning from todays places to build the places of tomorrow, the rising importance of film offices, the power of visual storytelling, being a good ancestor for future generations, the potential of The Great North initiative and creating new economic areas and mobilising Business Improvement Discussion.
There was so much energy, enthusiasm, passion, insight and laughter throughout the day and it was great to hear how much people got out of their Place Pizzazz.
It makes all the effort of putting the event on worthwhile!
Till the next time …
