ConsultOnline blog
Ideas for better planning consultation
Insights on public consultation, community engagement, and planning communications.
The Raynsford Review: an opportunity for greater community involvement in planning
The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is undertaking a considerable review of the English planning system, intended to make it fairer, better resourced and capable of producing quality outcomes. A key tenent of this is improved community involvement in the planning system. The task force, which is chaired by former planning minister Nick Raynsford, ...
Professionalising consultation in planning
The law surrounding statutory consultation is extensive. And yet when developers consult on planning applications, there is a stark absence of official guidance, regulation and case law. Why, in a discipline led by professionals – chartered surveyors, planning consultants and lawyers – is the approach to consultation so lacking in professional rigour? Because in most ...
Changing communication in planning published in RICS Land Journal
While the property world is being transformed by PropTech, a comparison between most developer-led consultations with those of the late twentieth century would suggest that little has changed: today’s consultations appear to rely on newsletters, exhibitions and paper surveys, just as they did then. And yet innovative and effective communications tools exist, and have the ...
PNPR is working with The Consultation Institute
Penny Norton becomes an Associate of The Consultation Institute (tCI), joining and network of consultants who have considerable expertise in consultation and public engagement.
Participatory planning: a welcome replacement to the public meeting
‘A lot of heat but no light’ is an apt description of the majority of public meetings. In the 1990s an open meeting at a local village hall or school was regarded a necessary element of most consultations. The development team would prepare substantial amount of information and aim to talk about the proposed scheme ...
Online consultation: a social media warning
As someone who believes strongly in online consultation, I work with social media on planning applications on a daily basis. On the whole I think that social media offers some fantastic opportunities for promoting and extending the accessibility of a planning application. But I have to say, don’t be tempted to use social media just ...
21st Century community relations: using online communications to benefit resident liaison published in Construction Manager
From the first planning meeting to the last construction vehicle leaving site, building benefits from positive communication with local residents. And as the way in which people’s approach to communication changes, so too should the construction industry’s. The internet is changing communication in every context. Today over 90% households have internet access, 73% adults own ...
How the web is changing construction community liaison strategies published in Construction Manager
Digital communication is transforming how contractors approach stakeholder liaison on major projects. Penny Norton explains. From the first planning meeting to the last vehicle leaving site, construction benefits from positive communication with local residents. And as the way in which people’s approach to communication changes, so too should the construction industry’s. The internet is changing ...
Changing forms of consultation published in Town & Country Planning
Try to envisage a world without Local Plans, the NPPF, Neighbourhood Planning, Localism and CIL and its clear quite how much planning has changed in the last ten years. And the same is true of communication: not only the means by which we communicate but also the manner in which we communicate. The extent of ...
The book tour goes to Belfast
On Friday Penny Norton will be in Belfast presenting to law firm Carson McDowell and the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action on the importance (and context, structure, issues and techniques) of consultation in planning.
The book tour goes to Belfast
On Friday I’ll be in Belfast presenting to a law firm and the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action on the importance (and context, structure, issues and techniques) of consultation in planning. I’ll be covering some of the content of my book Public Consultation and Community Involvement in Planning: a twenty-first century guide and Rhion ...
A positive book review by The Consultation Institute
Read the review here.