Recent planning reforms have effective pre-application community consultation at their heart. Whilst well-advised developers have been engaging with the community and other key stakeholders for many years, new arrangements formalise the process for applicants, particularly those seeking approval to major development.

HOW has always regarded the process of community consultation as integral to a successful planning strategy for all major schemes. We use a diverse range of communication techniques tailored to each individual scheme to ensure effective promotion of a client's interests whilst seeking genuine feedback and comment from the community. This information can then be used to inform and guide a planning application. These techniques are applied pre-application and during determination.

Our approach is to seek to agree the consultation strategy with the Local Planning Authority wherever possible and ensure this is in line with relevant planning policy guidance.

We aim to reach a consensus quickly and fairly, seek to unlock silent supporters who can act as advocates for a scheme, and thus demonstrate a broad alignment of interests in support of the final proposals.

Our extensive experience of undertaking community consultation allows us to identify the most appropriate tools to utilise for the proposal and site. These might include:

• Leaflet Drops
• Website
• Postal Surveys
• Stakeholder/community forum groups
• Workshops
• Exhibitions
• Consultation Panel (Questions and Answers)

HOW has unrivalled knowledge in this sector and we are able to advise on which method(s) will help secure the optimum outcome for our clients.

As part of the consultation process, HOW analyses the feedback and produces a Statement of Community Involvement report. This forms an integral part of the application process and details the methods, its findings and where appropriate, relevant revisions to the scheme.

The formalisation of pre-application consultation now could result in a number of implications if not undertaken correctly, including: delays at validation and potential Judicial Review, for further information please contact...

Gary Halman
0161 831 5885
Gary.halman@howplanning.com

Richard Woodford
0161 831 5888
richard.woodford@howplanning.com