ConsultOnline blog
Ideas for better planning consultation
Insights on public consultation, community engagement and planning communications.
How we built interactive maps for planning consultations
Interactive maps are one of ConsultOnline's most requested features. Here is a look at the technical decisions behind our pin-drop feedback system and how we made complex planning proposals easier for communities to understand.
What makes a strong Statement of Community Involvement? A practical guide
A Statement of Community Involvement can make or break a planning application. Here is what planning authorities are looking for, common mistakes that weaken your SCI and how digital consultation tools can help you produce stronger evidence of genuine engagement.
Building accessible consultation tools: more than just compliance
Accessibility in public consultation is not just about WCAG standards. Here is how ConsultOnline 2.0 is designed to support more inclusive participation, alongside the work consultation organisers still need to do.
Introducing ConsultOnline 2.0: why we rebuilt our consultation platform from scratch
After more than a decade of the original ConsultOnline, we made the decision to start again from the ground up. Here is why we rebuilt the platform, what is new in 2.0 and how it changes what is possible for planning consultation.
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Addressing common challenges in consultation
Opposing factors and risks are common to public participation: the very notion that developers bring change to established local communities; the wide-ranging views which exist within a community; the sentiment of those wary of engagement and exponents of it. Significant time and financial resources are expended with no guarantee that the investment will be realised, ...
Community relations during construction – working effectively with residents
There are many different facets to community relations during construction which will be addressed in later blogs. This first blog on the subject concerns the vital role of resident liaison. It goes without saying that local residents will be more positively engaged with a development team and less critical of it if their locality is ...
Maintaining good local relationships post-planning consent
With pre-planning consultation complete and planning consent won, a significant amount of public participation has been accomplished. But as the project moves into the construction phase, community engagement too enters a new phase. Inclusive and engaging consultation creates a foundation for the next stage of public participation. But rather than a continuation of the work ...
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A strategic approach to consultation
In consulting on a specific proposal, the logical sequence of a strategy, however wide-ranging the involvement activities, establishes clear aims and objectives, enabling the development team to share values, expectations and understanding with local residents and organisations. A strategy is also the best means of identifying relevant issues, which provide context and insight as the ...
Does a consultation need a strategy?
The simple answer, from my point of view is yes – all good consultations will have a consultation strategy. A strategy puts in place clear aims and objectives which ensure that the consultation team shares values, expectations and understanding. It also ensures that a wide range of relevant factors are identified at the start of ...
Online consultation and accessibility
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 – ...
Reporting negative responses to a consultation
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 ...
The disappointed consultee – remedies and mitigation
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 ...