This wasn’t about us crafting the brand, but creating the conditions for it to be uncovered. Peel brought us in to run a workshop that would dig into the ambition behind a once-in-a-generation development: to tell a brand story big enough to shift local perspectives and shape a lasting sense of place.

People are understandably weary of new developments that look inward and offer little in return. This was different. It had the potential to ‘complete the town’ – with new jobs, homes, play spaces, retail, and more. The challenge was how to communicate that from the very start – to ensure the tone, narrative, and ambition would resonate before a single brick was laid.

After spending a lot of time in The Boot Room digesting and evaluating the current landscape, we held a workshop that laid the emotional and strategic groundwork for the brand. We rolled up our sleeves with the Peel Land team to dig deep into what this development really means – not just functionally, but emotionally. What does it offer that others haven’t? What might people feel proud to be part of?

Over a few focused hours, we built shared clarity around the tone, ambition, and narrative direction. From naming places to shaping the feel of a high street that deserves so much more, everything pointed back to building something with meaning, identity, and connection – for Westhoughton, and beyond.

Our workshops are refreshingly real: no role play, no jargon, no wrong answers. Just honest collaboration, with every voice in the room valued. This allowed us to truly understand what the project means to its stakeholders – and how they see it fitting in with the wider North West transformation and family of brands.

Foundations for a brand that can win hearts, minds, and long-term investment.

The session helped unearth what makes this project unique – not just another development, but something that could define a new chapter for the town. It gave the Peel Land team a confident starting point for their brand’s look and feel to flourish – a brand built on insight, people and history, not assumption.

This resulted in a clear, meaningful direction. A solid ground to build a presence that connects with current residents, invites new communities, and adds momentum to the wider growth corridor.