Community Engagement

Community & Stakeholder Engagement

Community Engagement  Some planning applications and projects will require consultation with the local community.  Community consultation is also important so that any potential issues can be picked up and dealt with, as well as providing the opportunity for local people to influence a planning application proposal in a constructive way.

We are of course aware that some members of the community may be anti-development and we are able to deal with this in a positive way if this situation arises.  We provide clients with community consultation advice, strategy and undertake the consultation work for all types of projects.   Each project is unique and there we will recommend the best ways to engage with the community.

Here is a summary list of particular services we have provided on projects in recent years:

• Community Engagement Strategies – advising on the benefits and negatives of the
  suggested approach and offering clients a full ‘menu’ of options to select from.
• Identifying and communicating with stakeholders in the community, and relevant statutory
  consultees.
• Arrangement and attendance of community engagement special events (eg:
  community halls or attending Parish Council meetings) with project material and presenting the
  proposals to the community.
• Producing Questionnaires, both digital and paper-based, and information documents.
• Gaining and collating feedback from communities in respect of large projects and neighbourhood plans
•  Digital engagement and full marketing mix services for projects including the production of
  printed materials, creation and management of Social Media Pages ( Facebook and twitter) and consultation
  website pages.
• Engagement and discussions with
  • Cllr’s, MP’s, Local and National Press and other interested parties
  • specialist and statutory consultees, particularly if potential issues or areas
    of concern are identified on projects, to aim to head off or de-risk a project.
  • neighbours and local businesses, undertaken using a variety of inclusive communication methods.