We are regularly commissioned by local authorities to design and run programmes of community engagement. Over the years these have included neighbourhood planning projects, parks and open spaces, community safety, road and traffic schemes, community buildings and consultations on service provision.

Our techniques are flexible, meaning that we can tailor and design a programme of community engagement to suit your specific requirements. Recent projects we have worked on include:

The PFR model for Park Wood, Maidstone

• Maidstone Borough Council – Park Wood is one of Maidstone Council’s priority estates. We worked with the Community team to deliver a community-led process which developed a neighbourhood action plan. We ran a Planning for Real® (PFR) engagement process which included training for residents, council staff, elected members, and local agency staff as well as stakeholder analysis, consultation activities, prioritisation and action planning workshops
• London Borough of Lambeth – This was a road safety project working with the Somali community in Lambeth. Evidence held by the Council showed that the Somali community were involved in more traffic accidents than other sectors of the community. This project was designed to engage with the Somali community to look at issues, attitudes to road safety, and identify possible solutions
• Wigan Council – We are delivering a full PFR programme for the Leigh Neighbours project. This is a community development partnership between the Council, the CAB, the Big Lottery Big Local Trust and local residents.

We have also worked with many parish and town councils to develop community-led engagement programmes for specific local issues. Examples include:

• PFR was appointed by Leighton Linslade Town Council in September 2011 to undertake a consultation exercise about what improvements were needed to Pages Park and Mentmore Road Memorial Gardens. The Town Council were reviewing the facilities offered in both parks to inform the production of a long term 20 year plan for future leisure and recreational development at these locations
• Minchinhampton Parish Council ran a consultation weekend based on a PFR approach. A potential development site had been identified with part of it sold to a housing association for the development of 20 affordable homes. The Parish Council wanted to establish local people’s views on the new or improved services they would like to see in the Parish in the context of this new site, the arrangement of uses and the implications for the village centre.