Get to know us

An intro from Jonny

The Place Maker is led by me, Jonny Birkett, I've been recognised as one of the UK’s leading place strategists. I specialise in town centres and high streets - helping them adapt, evolve and thrive in times of real change. Places are under pressure, and many are struggling, but I believe every town centre can improve. No place is beyond help, and even the strongest high streets can find new energy and direction.

I created The Placemaker because of the increasing pressure that our town centres and High Streets are under. But where others see decline, I see possibility. I believe that no place is beyond transformation, and that even thriving towns can improve. I work with ambitious local authorities, place partnerships, CICs, cultural organisations and - vitally - business communities.

My role is to bring people together, break down barriers, and help them build a shared vision for their place. I speak the languages of public, private and third sectors, and I connect them under one roof to act together. The results aren’t about glossy reports or top-down masterplans - they’re about real, practical change led by the people who live and work there.

If you’re part of the movement to rethink and reshape our town centres - whether you’re in local government, business, culture or community - I’d love to collaborate. JB

Over the past two decades, I’ve built a practice grounded in delivery and strategy. I’ve worked across hundreds of regeneration projects in the UK and internationally, spanning all the elements that make a place thrive:

Evening and night-time economy – designing and advising on strategies at home and abroad.
Town centre and place management – building vehicles that bring partners together and drive co-designed change.
Economic development and inward investment – strengthening resilience, supporting business growth, diversifying economies, and linking opportunities to local people.
Culture and community – the “dark matter” of place that binds people, builds pride and attracts visitors.
Heritage – anchoring places in their past while helping them adapt for the future.
Environment – from the public realm to sustainability and carbon responsibility, creating healthy, liveable spaces.
Business communities – often the heart of a high street, from independents to larger firms, who must be central to transformation.

Jonny Birkett

Founder / Place Maker

Jonny's profile

I’ve been an entrepreneur since my teens, and put myself through uni by renovating and running a music venue in Stoke in the 1990s. It was then I first felt the frustration of not having any local influence over my place of business. I set out to find out why and how decisions were made. That curiosity over how places work spiralled into an incredible career.

Over the next few decades, I worked on the ground and at the highest levels of placemaking. I’ve managed town centres, led Business Improvement Districts, advised government on town centre regeneration, shaped international policy on the evening and night time economy, won awards and been part of hundreds of regeneration projects.

Along the way, I’ve seen that real change doesn’t come from the top; it comes when people who care most about a place pull together to shape its future. But they need the right conditions and support to make changes that last. I created The Placemaker because of the increasing pressure that our town centres and High Streets are under. But where others see decline, I see possibility. I believe that no place is beyond transformation, and that even thriving towns can improve.

The Place Maker is rooted in experience from hundreds of regeneration and strategic projects across the UK and internationally. From night-time economy strategies to cultural transformation, from economic development to heritage and environmental design, I’ve worked across every strand that shapes a place. I don’t offer an off-the-shelf programme. What I offer is a values-driven approach that helps communities, councils and businesses co-design the future of their high street and gives them the tools to deliver it.

At heart, I believe in people and in place. My job is to connect the two, so that town centres aren’t just surviving, but thriving, now and for the future.

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What guides us

We believe great places are built on more than plans, they’re built on understanding. Our approach is grounded in four interconnected foundations: economic resilience, social and community strength, environmental sustainability, and heritage value. These elements aren’t separate, they’re part of a living system that shapes how places function, grow and thrive.

At the heart of our work is the belief that culture is the connective tissue, the cross-cutting force that gives meaning, builds identity, and helps people make sense of change.

But we also recognise that many of the challenges we face in our towns and cities aren’t accidental, they’re systemic. They’re built into the design, the governance, and the assumptions that have shaped our places over time. These can be understood, unpicked, and reimagined.

That’s why we approach placemaking like a gardener, not an architect. It’s about working with what’s already living in a place, nurturing it, shaping it, and helping it grow in the right direction. It’s slow, careful work, rooted in context, guided by people, and built to last.

Our team

Our strength lies in our individuality. Set up by Esther Bryce, the team strives to bring in the best talent in various fields, from architecture to interior design and sales.