26th February 2024
Advice for council on sensitive land issue
We’ve provided an English local authority with the first phase of communications support for a contentious land project.
The southwest-based borough council is exploring the idea of disposing of a large area of open land. Its plan is to sell the land to a developer which would create hundreds of new homes as well as community facilities, roads and commercial premises. While providing homes for many local people, the proposals are also likely to provoke controversy, with some ...
27th July 2023
Community engagement for London affordable homes scheme
We’re happy to have completed the first phase of community consultation work for property developer Apex Airspace and Shian Housing Association - for a residential scheme in the London Borough of Islington.
The early-stage project is exploring the potential to extend a four-storey block of 28 flats upwards to develop more affordable homes, while making improvements to the existing building.
With an acute shortage of affordable housing in ....
8th November 2022
Reputation project completed for Berkshire council
We’ve now completed the main phase of our brand reputation initiative for Wokingham Borough Council.
The objective of this wide-ranging exercise for the Berkshire local authority has been to analyse its reputation – especially amongst its 175,000 residents – and recommend ways to improve it through communications and marketing. The Council said it selected us based on our experience in advising local government bodies as well as private sector businesses, and the clarity of our proposed approach.
Our project links closely with the local authority's ...
12th July 2022
Communications advice for Council culture project
We’re supporting Mid Sussex District Council with communications advice for an important community project.
The local authority is running a £100,000 initiative to explore investment options to create a sustainable cultural facility on a large site in the centre of Haywards Heath. The options to be assessed will take account of ....
1st December 2021
Marketing drive for digital transformation of Sussex
We’re delivering an extensive communications campaign to support a pioneering initiative to create one of the most digitally advanced areas of the country.
Mid Sussex District Council is leading the programme - as part of its wider economic development strategy - to get businesses, residents and public bodies connected to the latest digital technology. It’s laying an underground fibre optic ‘spine’ between Crawley and Brighton, and around Burgess Hill, with branches from this set to connect every part of the district to full fibre broadband in the near future. Innovatively, the Council is ...
27th April 2021
Public consultation for 144 Birmingham homes
We’re pleased to be running a community consultation exercise for MIA Property Group, one of Birmingham’s most established family-owned developers.
MIA is planning to redevelop the rundown site of a disused community centre in the Ladywood district, close to Birmingham city centre. The company is proposing 144 one, two and three bedroom apartments to breathe new life into the area, in line with Birmingham City Council’s policy – given the scarcity of vacant land - to build ...
6th October 2020
All change for community engagement?
The recently-published white paper – Planning for the Future – sets out the government’s plans to overhaul town planning, with implications for how local councils and property developers will need to consult communities.
There’s a strong emphasis on the need for local authorities “radically and profoundly to re-invent the ambition, depth and breadth with which they engage communities as they consult on Local Plans,” giving them “an earlier ...
16th July 2020
Community engagement advice for innovative London developer
We’ve just delivered a project to advise innovative residential property developer Apex Airspace on community engagement for a housing scheme in the London Borough of Southwark. Apex specialises in developing high-quality ‘airspace’ homes on top of existing buildings, addressing the problem of severely limited land supply in built-up cities. The company hired us to support its proposals to develop 30 affordable homes by extending two large 1950s blocks of flats in London's Bermondsey area. We've advised Apex on ...
7th November 2019
Place marketing: how inspirational is your location brand?
I wrote a little while ago about how there’s been a recent resurgence in location marketing and why UK towns and cities are right to grasp the nettle. I said I’d come back to how relevant bodies can undertake smart marketing to boost their area's economic ...
27th August 2019
Place branding: the time to start is now
It’s funny how certain fields of marketing demonstrate sudden surges in interest. One field showing this lately is place marketing. By this I mean the ...
20th January 2017
Public consultation Tip 10: Always report back
The final of my Top 10 Consultation Tips is always report back to consultees at the end of your exercise - in a clear, honest and timely way.
7th October 2016
Public consultation Tip 9: Be transparent!
The ninth of my Top 10 Consultation Tips is to be as open and transparent as possible. It will help you win trust and support. And, in any case, you don’t have anything to hide.
3rd August 2016
Public consultation tip 8: Genuinely listen!
The eighth in my Top 10 Consultation Tips series is genuinely to listen to people’s feedback - and see how this can improve your scheme.
5th April 2016
Public consultation tip 7: Be ready to be grilled!
The latest post in my Top 10 Consultation Tips series is about being mindful that, unless your proposals are extremely straight forward, you’ll not just be collating people’s views but answering their questions too.
15th November 2015
Public consultation tip 6: Set your boundaries
This next post in my Top 10 Consultation Tips series deals with the importance of being clear from the outset about the boundaries of your consultation.
17th August 2015
Consultation for factory development
TK Associates is managing a community consultation for the development of a new factory in St Leonards, East Sussex.
8th July 2015
Consultation for new Bexhill regeneration scheme
We are delivering a public consultation exercise around proposals for a multi-million pound road to open up extensive development land near Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex.
2nd June 2015
Public consultation Tip 5: Be accessible!
As the latest in my Top 10 Consultation Tips series, my fifth tip is: be as accessible as possible to your consultees.
1st April 2015
Public consultation Tip 4: Be clear!
As the next in my Top Ten Tips series, my fourth maxim for running a great consultation is to be clear. An obvious one, right? But it’s where so many consultations fall down.
23rd March 2015
Public consultation Tip 3: Be inclusive – within limits
As the latest post in my series of top 10 tips for running an effective public consultation – many of them learnt the hard way - here’s Tip 3: Be inclusive – within limits.