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Why stakeholder consultation could make or break your development

“The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft a-gley”

Scottish poet Robbie Burns may not have been directly addressing the intricacies of the UK’s planning system in the 21st century when he wrote these lines, but the sentiment still runs true more than 200 years later: transforming a property development from blueprint to reality is fraught with difficulties and can often go awry, no matter how well planned or well intentioned.

As we have noted in a previous article, the UK’s planning system is complex and challenging to negotiate.

Developers often face significant challenges in aligning their projects with local planning policies, environmental considerations, and the needs of local communities.

One of the most crucial steps in ensuring a smooth and successful planning process is consulting with local residents and stakeholders before submitting an application.

By engaging with the community early, developers can identify potential concerns, build trust, and increase the likelihood of approval. However, the process of stakeholder consultation needs careful handling if it is to succeed and the unwary or unprepared developer can end up creating further problems for themselves if they don’t take sufficient care.

This is why partnering with an agency with experience and expertise in the field can really reap dividends, smooth the process and get the development off to a great start. Let’s look first at some of the advantages of taking your stakeholder consultation seriously.

Building Trust and Goodwill

Engaging with local residents and stakeholders demonstrates a commitment to transparency and inclusivity. Development projects often have a direct impact on local communities, affecting aspects such as traffic, environmental quality, and property values. Early consultation allows developers to show they are genuinely interested in the community’s views, fostering goodwill and reducing opposition.

Communities that feel neglected or overlooked are more likely to object to planning applications, which can delay or even derail a project. Conversely, proactive engagement can help developers identify mutually beneficial solutions, mitigating potential conflicts before they escalate.

Our advice would be to start this process as early as you can – there is nothing more calculated to irritate local residents and stakeholders than the idea that they are the last people to know about a development which directly affects them.

You should also cast your net as wide as possible, taking in not just local residents but also local community leaders, environmental and nature groups, civic groups, sports clubs and community organisations, etc. No-one likes to feel left out so don’t hold back on who you talk to.

Identifying and Addressing Concerns Early

Consultation provides developers with valuable insights into local concerns and priorities. For example, residents may express concerns about increased traffic, noise pollution, or the loss of green spaces. By understanding these issues early, developers can adapt their plans to address them, such as incorporating sustainable transport solutions or enhancing landscaping.

In addition to addressing immediate concerns, consultation can help developers align their projects with local planning policies and community aspirations. This not only increases the likelihood of planning approval but also ensures the project contributes positively to the area.

Demonstrating your responsiveness to people’s concerns will make planners look more favourably on your application as well as generating understanding and, potentially, goodwill among the people who will be the neighbours for your development.

Strengthening the Planning Application

Needless to say, local support can significantly strengthen a planning application just as local opposition has the potential to weaken an application. When local residents and stakeholders back a development, it sends a strong message to planning authorities that the project is aligned with community needs.

Developers can include evidence of consultation, such as feedback surveys and letters of support, as part of their submission. This demonstrates that the proposal has been shaped by community input, making it more compelling to decision-makers.

It’s important that your consultation process goes beyond the bare minimum – applicants who have held an hour-long public event in a draughty village hall on a Tuesday afternoon and placed a single statutory notice in a local newspaper are likely to get short shrift from councillors deciding on whether to allow their development to go ahead.

Our work for clients in this field has included everything from leafletting campaigns and targeted hyper-local social media advertising to providing free transport for local people to attend consultation events. Developers who can demonstrate they have gone ‘above and beyond’ stand a far better chance of garnering support, lessening opposition and getting a receptive hearing from councillors.

Reducing Costs and Delays

You might be thinking that stakeholder consultation is a costly exercise – but it can actually end up saving you an awful lot of money.

Failure to consult with the community can lead to objections, appeals, and legal challenges, which can be time-consuming and costly. By addressing potential issues early in the process, developers can avoid delays and keep their projects on track.

Don’t just think of stakeholder consultation as a legal or procedural formality – it is an investment in a project’s success and, executed well, it can be an investment which brings great rewards.

So how should you start on your stakeholder consultation journey? We’d signpost you in our direction.

How our expertise can help

Partnering with an experienced and skilled communications agency at an early stage can transform the chances of your development becoming a reality.
Here are just some of the ways we can help – and have helped – developers and companies with their property projects.

1. Facilitating Communication

We can design and implement a comprehensive communication strategy tailored to the needs of the project and the community. From organising and staging public meetings and online surveys through to social media outreach, we can ensure the right messages reach the right people at the right time. And by using clear and accessible language, we’ll ensure that all stakeholders understand the project and its potential benefits. Here’s one example of how we made sure local people were fully in the picture about a potential development on their doorstep.

2. Managing Stakeholder Relationships

We can act as intermediaries, helping to manage relationships between developers, residents, and other stakeholders. As honest brokers partially removed from the process, we can mediate discussions, ensure that all voices are heard, and create a constructive dialogue. This can be particularly valuable in contentious situations, where trust needs to be built and concerns addressed diplomatically.

3. Enhancing Credibility

A well-managed consultation process, supported by a professional PR agency, can help to enhance the credibility of the development team. It shows that the developer is committed to transparency, collaboration, and ethical practices. Carried out properly, this not only improves relationships with the community but it can also make planning authorities look more favourably on an application.

4. Dealing with the media

Planning applications – particularly if they are controversial – are food and drink to local and regional media. As experienced practitioners, we can help you to develop relationships with key figures in the local media, present your case in the best light possible and deal swiftly with any crisis situations which may arise.

Consulting with local residents and stakeholders is an essential step in the planning application process. It allows developers to build trust, address concerns, strengthen their proposals, and reduce the risk of costly delays – and if ignored or undercooked, it could scupper a development for good.

By linking up with a communications agency at an early stage, you can help make sure your consultation efforts are strategic, effective, inclusive – and are seen to be so by local media and opinion formers. Ultimately, early and meaningful engagement benefits all parties, paving the way for developments that are both successful and well-received by the communities they serve.