Community Consultation – Creating a Positive Planning Process

Community consultation plays a crucial role in the successful delivery of a planning proposal and should be viewed as more than a procedural obligation. Carrying out community engagement in a strategic way can mean that the application process becomes smoother – with issues being identified in the early stages so that proposed designs can be reviewed and adapted before it becomes too late or too costly to do so.

Our experience in delivering bespoke consultation programmes means that we can recommend the best model for delivery, using a range of consultation tools from roadshows for larger scale developments, to one-to-one canvassing for those stakeholders unable to attend public events.

At Cratus, we firmly believe that community consultation can and should be a positive experience for all involved. With our understanding of the local planning process, and our track record in political engagement, we devise tailored engagement strategies which we can adapt throughout the process to ensure that we are targeting the right message to the right people. By helping you prepare exhibitions and drop-in sessions, we enable you to engage pro-actively with the community and we recommend these types of events over larger scale public meetings owing to the benefots they bring .

We can assist with community consultation at all stages of a project from pre-application stage, helping you engage with the right people through the submission phase, to post-approval engagement. We know that the most successful projects are ones where community engagement has been transparent, adaptable and consistent and we identify key stakeholders early on and start an open dialogue to demonstrate your commitment to listening to views and sharing ideas. We use these relationships to identify where any changes might be needed so that, going into the submission phase, the best offer is put forward for approval.

Once an application has been approved, Cratus offers a new service to provide you with support through the construction phase, building on the relationships nurtured during the planning process. If problems arise during construction we can work to smooth them out as swiftly as possible, and can act as a liaison between the community, local councillors and the site management team to deliver an ongoing communications strategy to inform, and to mitigate any issues that arise where necessary.

Our aim is to ensure that at each part of the process we prove that you listen, share and inform. This is crucial to the success of gaining approval for even the most controversial developments, and makes for a more positive consultation experience for all involved.