The Exchange #16 People Centred Planning

On Monday, November 17, 2025, NTB hosted The Exchange #16: People Centred Planning at Silk Mill Studios, Frome.

We were excited to welcome Veronica Barbaro, Planning Director at Avalon Planning, who led the workshop and brought her expertise in planning strategy and community engagement. She guided participants in exploring how national policy shapes local outcomes and how community-led change can influence planning decisions.

The morning began with a talk on national policy and local practice, considering how the National Planning Policy Framework and the recent New Towns policy affected small practices and community-scale projects. After a short break, we took a site walk and workshop around Frome, exploring different ways to gather and map on-the-ground insights about place and people.

After lunch, we discussed the different approaches to mapping used during the site walk and the types of data collected, followed by Veronica sharing mapping and analysis tools to help us organise and visualise the data, enhancing its accessibility and impact.

It was a fantastic day!

The agenda for the day:

9.45 – 10.00 | Arrivals, Tea and Coffee

10.00 – 10.15 | Intros and NTB updates

10.15 – 11.00 | National change, Local impact | Veronica Barbaro

11.00 – 11.15 | Tea Break

11.15 – 12.15 | Walking Workshop: Site Analysis and Qualitative Mapping | Veronica Barbaro

12.30 – 13.30 | Lunch

13.30 – 14.30 | Mapping & Analysis: Open Source Tools and Data | Veronica Barbaro

14.30 | Workshop End