Community Engagement

We are committed to proactive engagement with local stakeholders in the promotion of our land including elected members, parish and town councils and local communities.

We are proficient in the promotion of land through both the plan-making and decision-taking processes. Our land interests vary from short term land for immediate promotion through to long term, strategic scale sites where detailed stakeholder discussions are often required over extensive periods of time.

We recognise the integral role that stakeholder engagement has in the planning process and are attentive to stakeholder requirements. Meeting the range of stakeholder requirements is often a challenging part of the planning process, particularly as they can raise competing demands.

In conducting stakeholder engagement, we seek to adopt a collaborative approach, with an aim to achieving mutually agreeable solutions.

Local Authorities

We recognise the independent role that planning authorities must play in the plan-making and decision taking processes. We are aware of the day to day pressures local authority officers and members face in fulfilling their statutory planning functions.

We seek to actively engage with Officers and Members as early as possible in the planning process and as our proposals evolve, to ensure a positive outcome.

Parish and Town Councils

We work hard to gain a full understanding of local issues and endeavour to develop our proposals to fit local requirements and circumstances. We view the role of parish and town councils as key in this process.

We recognise that in some cases our proposals may initially unsettle some local communities. Our aim is to have open dialogue so that all interested parties are fully informed, as we firmly believe the best schemes are delivered where local communities are wholly engaged in the planning process.

An example of where collaborate work with the local community has delivered real benefit is illustrated at our Shifnal development, where sites for a replacement medical centre and swimming pool form an integral part of the planning permission. The need for these local facilities only came to light through effective public participation. As a result of which, our planning application on this greenfield unallocated site received local support and gained planning permission when first reported to Planning Committee.