right place, right time

Hosted by thinkingplace

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Latest episode

Jun 2026

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About the show

thinkingplace is place specialist company, helping places such as towns, cities, counties, and regions to make most of their assets, to tell their place story, and most of all to mobilise their stakeholders to be enthused and inspired to share their place story. So, if you are involved in making your place even more successful by engaging stakeholders, getting your message in front of the right audiences, and doing things differently in a more place-led way then this new series of podcasts is for you! Over the course of this series, our team will be in conversation with an amazing line up of place-based people who we have got to know over the last 20 years, and they will share their leading-edge thinking, ideas, and approaches with you. Join us in the 'right place'!

Listen to episodes

34 recent

June 5, 2026Episode 3340 min

Placemaking is an ever evolving story … alignment, influence but always authenticity

An absolutely fascinating conversation with Tarah Gear, Director of Brand and Place Futures (cue rock n roll job title!) at Milligan who revitalise towns and cities through creativity, innovation, curiosity and imagination. In this episode we consider the importance of storytelling and brand in place creation, tapping into the DNA of places, always listening and how the story of a place constantly evolves. We hear about great examples of story driven coastal regeneration, how it is deliverable and why culture, heritage and sport are the placemaking pillars of the future.

May 6, 2026Episode 3236 min

Burnley is booming!, meet the Place Brand Manager making sure that everyone knows!

Episode 32 of 'right place, right time' Podcast is now live.... hear from Rachel Bayley, Burnley Place Brand Manager.It's not every day you meet a Place Brand Manager. So, catching up with Rachel is special in many ways, firstly Burnley have had a place-led, place brand approach way longer than most, nearly 20 years, secondly Burnley is bucking the trend in terms of investment, regeneration, profile, town centre and thirdly Rachel is everything you'd want a perfect place person to be; passionate, enthusiastic, dynamic, positive with Burnley in her DNA.

March 18, 2026Episode 3145 min

The Ultimate Chesterfield Champion!

Dr Huw Bowen has been CEO of Chesterfield Council for 18 years and is stepping down from this role in May this year. Apart from driving a £2billion growth programme for the town he has always been a passionate advocate of a place led approach and was instrumental in Chesterfield developing a story, brand and Destination Chesterfield as the place marketing organisation. This approach was also successfully adopted for nearby Staveley. He has some powerful views on why you should be place led, the benefits it brings and what devolution and local government reorganisation might mean for places.

February 18, 2026Episode 3033 min

thinkingplace at 20 years... a place journey

On February 15th 2026 thinkingplace turned 20 and in this podcast John Till CEO looks back on a personal and professional journey that has seen the team work with over 100 places the length and breadth of the UK. thinkingplace has created place stories, visual brands, leadership groups, ambassador programmes and a whole range of implementation for regions, cities, towns, economic geographies and new developments. We discover where John’s love affair with place came from, the important Hull influence on why thinkingplace came into being, what has been learnt over the 20 years, best practice thoughts and what the future might hold for place.

January 19, 202656 min

A New Year place message from Dr Martin Reeves

Champion of place joins thinkingplace … a New Year place message from Dr Martin Reeves, CEO of Oxfordshire County Council. As thinkingplace moves into its 20th year! we’re delighted to bring you an extended podcast with Dr Martin Reeves, CEO of Oxfordshire County Council and newly appointed Strategic Associate Director of thinkingplace. Martin is bringing his much vaunted place insight and experience to thinkingplace clients and in this podcast he considers how despite austerity place is absolutely critical for local authorities, the opportunities devolution and Local Government Reorganisation will bring and the role of place in its widest sense from infrastructure to New Towns. Always ahead of the game, provocative, informative and inspiring grab a brew and enjoy! ** PS If you’re inspired by what Martin has to say we’re giving the opportunity of a 15-minute place speed date with Martin for the first 5 places that ask to gain his insight to benefit you! Please email nicola.dobson@thinkingplace.co.uk to arrange. **

December 18, 2025Episode 2838 min

Empowering young people in their place

Empowering young people in their place: from tokenism to a shift in power through youth led social action … Saeed Atcha; MBE, DL, founder of Youth Leads addresses the important aspects of properly engaging young people in the future of their place; how and where to listen, engaging with purpose, hearing diverse views, examples of best practice and ensuring the thoughts and aspirations of young people turn into action and change.

December 3, 2025Episode 2734 min

Barrow: the blueprint for protecting Britain and boosting a community

Hear how from Peter Anstiss, the CEO of Team Barrow, an innovative partnership between the UK Government, BAE Systems and Westmorland and Furness Council. This town is at the heart of keeping Britain safe as home of the nuclear submarine building industry and will need thousands more local and incomer skilled workers in the coming years with implications for housing, facilities and services. Learn about a huge and exciting place project and a real example of doing things differently!

October 14, 2025Episode 2629 min

Everything falls into place…

Hear from Chris Wade, Director, The People & Places Partnership who reflects on placemaking, policy, pride, place branding and people.Chris is the author of the Local Government Association’s Revitalising Town Centres Toolkit and a former Expert Adviser for the Government-backed, High Streets Task Force. In this and all his work, Chris seeks to join-up the dots of town centre practice and policy by addressing the ‘what’ (look and feel) and ‘how’ (partnership development) of “getting more smiling faces on our streets”. Chris is currently undertaking research into the role of place branding and identity as part of his third, place-related Masters. He is an avid watcher of Government policy and funding related to place.

September 24, 2025Episode 2532 min

Placemaker, communicator and social value proponent brings unique skill set to help thinkingplace deliver people first places

Our founding Director John Till is delighted to be joined by Emma Drake, our new Associate Director for thinkingplace and founder and Director of Henbe Communications. Emma has over 30 years experience working with some of the most significant new communities in England. She is a strategic communicator, a specialist in stakeholder engagement and a great believer in creating social value as the heart of a place.

June 30, 2025Episode 2427 min

Putting the spa rkle(!) back into Droitwich Spa.

Hear how Matt Nicol, Chairman and his Place Board alongside Wychavon District Council are putting the spa rkle(!) back into Droitwich Spa. For anyone who doesn’t believe a coalition of the willing can make a difference in a place just sit back and be inspired by Matt, a place force of nature!