Making consultation accessible for everyone
ConsultOnline was born from a simple observation: public consultation should be easy for everyone involved — from the councils and consultancies running them, to the communities whose voices need to be heard.
Our Story
Built by people who understand planning
ConsultOnline was created by people who have spent their careers communicating planning and development proposals. Our team brings together experience in planning PR, public affairs, community consultation and digital communications, alongside the technology expertise needed to turn that experience into a practical online platform.
The thinking behind ConsultOnline has developed over many years. Co-founder Penny Norton has written extensively on how the property industry communicates and consults, including three books: Public Consultation and Community Involvement in Planning: a twenty-first century guide, Promoting Property and Communicating Construction. Our wider team also works directly in planning communications, helping developers, consultants and other organisations explain complex proposals and involve communities effectively.
That practical experience shapes the platform. We understand the pressures on project teams, the limitations of traditional consultation and the importance of reaching beyond the people who already attend public meetings or submit formal representations. We also understand that consultation is not simply about collecting comments - it is about presenting proposals clearly, encouraging informed participation and producing credible evidence of how communities have been involved.
ConsultOnline brings that experience together with technology, providing planning teams with a more accessible, efficient and effective way to consult - while retaining the judgement and communications expertise that good consultation requires.
Inclusivity First
Product features are designed to lower barriers to participation. Multi-language support, accessibility features, support for interrupted survey connections and mobile-first design can help more people take part.
Trust & Transparency
Public trust is paramount. ConsultOnline hosts data in European data centres and provides data-protection controls and audit trails that support GDPR-compliant consultation delivery.
Practical Innovation
We use automated sentiment analysis, live dashboards and report-drafting tools to reduce manual work. Actual time savings depend on the consultation data, configuration and review required.
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Our mission
To make public consultation more accessible, inclusive and effective - reaching the silent majority and turning feedback into clear, credible evidence to support planning applications.