Consultation Hub | Page 2

Online consultation is increasingly popular for many reasons, one of which is accessibility:  parents of young children, the very old and the disabled, not to mention the time poor and commuters have all used online consultation as a means to engage on a development proposal. But if online consultation is to be truly accessible – ...

Well run campaigns in opposition to a future development, particularly petitions, can cause considerable harm to reputation.  But fortunately planning bodies acknowledge that consultation is not a vote and that decisions should not be based solely on numbers. And the historic emphasis on the statistical analysis of responses has changed with the advent of various ...

Consultation results are likely to disappoint local residents if the consultation has not been publicised adequately, opportunities for involvement are limited, consultation tactics are half-hearted and comments are not listened to. Disappointment can fuel negativity – sometimes online, sometimes in the local media – and may well coincide with the point at which the planning ...

What is meant by ‘community’ and whether ‘community’ does it have any real meaning in the twenty-first century?  The Oxford English Dictionary[i] describes ‘community’ as: ‘a body of people living in one place, district or country’, and, ‘a body of people having religion, ethnic origin, profession etc in common’. In planning, we tend to regard ...

There is no point of public consultation – unless you know what you should be consulting on Articles on consultation in planning frequently focus on the methodologies used (online versus offline) and the potential to reach wide-ranging stakeholders (the ‘hard to reach’ or ‘seldom heard’). Perhaps more importantly – or at least an important initial ...

When a pre-planning consultation over and planning consent won, a significant amount of community engagement is complete.  But as the new scheme moves into the construction phase, community engagement too enters a new phase.  A successful pre-planning consultation will have created a good foundation for the next stage of engagement.  But rather than a continuation ...

Yesterday the House of Commons’ Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee issued a first report on The Future of the Planning System in England.  This follows the 2020 Planning White Paper, Planning for the Future which proposed some radical changes to the planning system. Read my digest of the very interesting points made in the ...

Yesterday the House of Commons’ Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee issued a first report on The future of the Planning System in England.  This follows the 2020 Planning White Paper, Planning for the Future which proposed some radical changes to the planning system. In March this year, while researching People in Planning: Considering Consultation ...

For consultation practitioners, there is some very valuable information to glean yesterday’s House of Commons’ Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee report on The future of the Planning System in England. VIEWS OF THE HCLG COMMITTEE There are strong arguments in favour of consulting at an early stage (ie, on Local Plans): Arguments advanced in ...

People in Planning: Considering Consultation Content is the first in a series of e-books on consultation in planning published by Bang the Table. Find out more about the book’s content and download a copy here.

I was delighted to contribute to Regulation of Extractive Industries: Community Engagement in the Arctic – a compilation of expert opinion on consultation and communication, edited by Rachael Lorna Johnstone & Anne Merrild Hansen and published this week. The book demonstrates how effective public participation is fundamental to the process of change brought about by ...

In countries such as the UK (which has eighty-nine percent digital saturation), online communication is increasingly used in public participation because of its accessibility: its ability to reach people at all times, with immediacy, through a variety of means: its ability to overcome language restrictions, access ‘hard to reach’ groups (particularly commuters, families with young ...