RICS presentation FINAL
-
Upload
john-j-f-davison -
Category
Documents
-
view
512 -
download
0
Transcript of RICS presentation FINAL
RICS Development Conference
New forms of engagement: how to make them work?
3 November 2015
The widest
Perspective on Northern Ireland
Planning
Engagement
‘A wider perspective’ on
Engagement
New forms of engagement: how to make them work?
• Are their any new forms of engagement?
• Impact of new consultation requirement upon
development
• Successful Community Engagement
1
Are their new forms of engagement?
Are there any new
forms of Engagement?
The essence of engagement is
communication and influencing
Technologies may have changed
but the fundamentals remain
Is engagement the right word to use
on some projects?
Key Stakeholders
Communication
Disciplines
Engagement
Interactions
Route
Map
Consultation with DoE (Section 26)
PAN, PADs, PACC, EIA S/S
Prepare EIA, PACCR and DAS
Submit, publicise & consulted on application
DoE f orm view and consult Minister
Notify opinion to Applicant & Council
Planning decision
Applicant or Council requests public hearing
Public Hearing held by PAC & determination
DoE Minister has f inal decision
DoE initiates Public Inquiry
Public Inquiry held by PAC
DoE Minister has f inal decision
Planning decision
PADs, PACC, EIA S/S
Application ‘called-in’
Application processed by DoE
Application publicised and consulted on
DoE f orm view and consult with Minister
Notify opinion to Applicant & Council
Planning decision
Applicant or Council requests public hearing
Public Hearing held by PAC & determination
DoE Minister has f inal decision
Planning decision
DoE initiates Public Inquiry
Public Inquiry held by PAC & makes determination
DoE Minister has f inal decision
Planning decision
Prepare EIA, PACCR and DAS
Submit Planning Application
Notif ication of Direction
Application publicised and consulted on
Pre-determination Hearing
Council decides on planning application
Appeal av ailable to PAC (if necessary)
‘Call-in’
RS
Major
Wider Stakeholders
Engagement
Interactions
Are their any new
forms of Engagement?
A new awareness, new application of existing communication skills and disciplines
‘Engagement’ is integrating interactions into sequence of actions - part of your planning strategy;
“ The right message, heard by the right person, at the right time…through the best possible medium.”
Nothing new per se
2
Impact of new consultation
requirements on your development?
Impact of new consultation
requirements
Why is engagement important to
your development?
What impact will poor engagement
have on your project / application /
reputation?
3 recent examples
1. Casement Park
GAA applied to build 38,000 stadium
• Approved by Mark H Durkan MLA
• Quashed on Judicial Review
• Brought by MORA
Since been subject to:
• PAR by DCAL
• CAL Committee Inquiry
• Cabinet Office Report
Underestimation of the impact of
community concerns?
2. Newtownabbey Pig Farm
Farmer proposed 23 acre pig farm
• Raehill Road
• 30,000 pigs
• Two anaerobic digesters
Huge backlash
• 3000+ correspondence received
• 212,508 signatures
• And Brian May!
Too much, too far, far far too late
3. Ulster University
Jordanstown Campus
Submitted in May 2013
• 600 new homes on 26 acres site
• A village centre
• Two relocated playfields
• R&D centre
Rejected in August 2015 after predetermination hearing
• 50 objection letters
• “A quality layout had not been demonstrated.”
Consultation was not a statutory requirement at the time.
“This is a message to any applicant that under the new
planning regime if an applicant with a development of this
size wants to seriously consider getting a planning
application through they have to meaningfully consult with
local residents
“What this university did in this particular case was a
lamentable exercise in consultation.”
Cllr Tom Campbell, Alliance Party,
Antrim and Newtownabbey Council
Requirements for
community consultation
• Section 25 of the Planning Act (NI) 2011 sets out a new
hierarchy of development (i.e Major, Local and Regionally Significant)
• Planning (Development Management) Regulations (NI) 2015, published the thresholds
• Section 27 brought in the requirement for Major and RS
applications to undertake:
• PAN needs to consider the 5 Ws
• Pre Application Community Consultation
• 12 week minimum,
• 1 Public Event
• 1 Public Advertisement
• PACC Report ‘Meaningful Engagement’
• Social Housing DSD requirements – engagement fatigue
• Section 50 outlines the duty on the planning authority to decline to determine if Section 27 requirement not met
Threshold Residential Retail Office Energy Infrastructure
Regional n/a n/a n/a >30 megawatts (wind) 110 kilovolts (power line)
Major 50 units+ Or exceeds 2ha
1,000sqm + outside centres or exceeds 1 ha outside centre
5,000 sqm or more gross floorspace or site exceeds 1 ha
>5 megawatts (wind) 33 kilovolts (power line)
Local <50 units <1,000sqm outside centre and no limit inside centre
<5,000sqm and <1ha
<5 megawatts (wind)
Ramifications
Northern Ireland
• too early to know for sure
England & Wales
• Planning & Compulsory Purchase 2004
• Localism Act 2011 and NPPF
• Not a statutory requirement - except for NSIPs
• Lack of engagement has been stated as a reason for refusal
- “Whilst weight can be given [to engagement] in favour of a development… I do not agree that the lack of such engagement would in itself weight against a proposal development”
- Planning Inspectorate
• Despite this, generally viewed as positive, and part of the process
• Pre-app has made an impression on thinking – it benefits larger developments and NSIPs
Learnings
Criticisms
• Genuine vs Box-ticking
• Weighting of “uninvolved majority”
Lessons
• Must be part of joined up plan
• Integrates with your planning strategy
• Meaningful engagement is impossible if ‘ambushed’ or ‘parachuted’ in
Once again flip expectations
• Engagement is Marketing comms
Take a wider
perspective
Requirements are threefold:
• Yes - to meet the statutory
requirements, but developers who do it well treat it as a commercial concern.
Engagement is also:
• A first step in Marketing/CSR a product or developing a relationship, reputation, or brand
• An effort to exert maximum pressure
upon the determining authority – simply can’t be a ‘bolt on’
3
Successful Community Engagement
Engagement is good for
Northern Ireland
• Good that NI has as strong emphasis on pre-app
• Successful engagement is normalising
• Repatriating planning with local government
• Its is normalising our society, and our politics
• and politics in planning is tricky everywhere
Public Affairs
NI Political Environment
• 11 District Council as determining authorities and DoE (for now)
• Less predictable - no planning committee has a single party majority
• Requires cross party and cross community support
• 6 unionist councils, 4 nationalist and Belfast
Impact
• Could be a particular issue for social housing
• Or for LDP process – politicians may be asked to make hard decisions on how land is used
• Dispute could lead to delay in development
Credibility
• Still a cause for concern in every jurisdiction
Party /
Council
DUP SF UUP SDLP AP OTHER Total
Belfast CC 2 4 2 2 2 2 (PUP / TUV) 14
Derry City & Strabane DC 3 6 1 4 0 0 14
Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon BC
4 3 4 2 0 1 (UKIP) 14
Causeway Coast & Glens District Council 4 4 4 2 1 1 (TUV) 16
Antrim & Newtownabbey District Council
4 1 3 1 2 1 (TUV)
12
Ards & North Down Borough Council 7 0 4 0 3 1 (Green) 15
Fermanagh & Omagh District Council 2 5 3 3 0 0 13
Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council 5 0 3 1 1 1 (TUV) 11
Mid & East Antrim Borough Council 5 1 3 0 1 2 (TUV/UKIP) 12
Mid Ulster District Council 3 6 4 3 0 0 16
Newry, Mourne & Down District Council 1 4 1 4 1 1 (Indpendent) 12
Public Affairs
Public Affairs Approach
• Political decision making has already taken place
• Can be swayed by a vocal minority
• Access to MPs and 108 MLAs at an advantage over other jurisdictions
• Cllrs, MPs and MLAs are ‘Peer Influencers’ of planning committee
• Engage them early, let them identify issues and objectors
• Give them tools and messaging to inform a response
Public Relations
Communications Strategy
• Info in the public domain early
• Everything can be shared
• Agree strategy early, even just Q&As
• Be proactive in press and online
• Be a good new source to the media – press releases and briefings
• Shape the environment by controlling the flow of information
• Be multi-disciplinary, multi-channel and maintain presence throughout
Community Consultation
Community Consultation Approach
• Challenge isn’t to represent all views
• It is to motivate ‘uninvolved majority’
• People who unless pro-actively asked - won’t offer their view
• Plan Recruitment of your Public Event
• Two categories or people pro-actively attend:
- Soft Objectors: personal concerns to be answered
- Hard Objectors: object on principle
• Public Displays vs Town Hall / Community Meetings
• Polling & Petitioning proactively seeks views – will more reliably present a representative sample
• Face-to-face will always be at the core
Digital Media
Engagement
21 hrs Per week
Digital and Social Media Approach
• Direct engagement:
- Facebook (65% of NI adults)
- Twitter (33% of NI adults)
• A majority of NI Cllrs, MPs, and MLAs are on Twitter and/or Facebook
• Email is as reliable as hard copy mail
• Average person in NI spends 21 hrs and 36 minutes a week online*
• Smartphone use is up (2/3 of adults) - Information needs to be clear and simple
• Predominantly information sharing – link pictures, videos, infographics – a picture paints 1000 words
• Be aware it is a conversation – one simple rule applies – DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS
* According to
Ulster Bank / Ofcom (October 2015)
Over-arching themes
In summary: • Multidisciplinary, multiphase and multichannel
• Inclusive and proactive
• Requirements reflect complexity
• Any scale of project will benefit even local
development applications
• Clear simple messages tailored to their audience and outlet
• Reported rigorously – captures the views of the ‘uninformed majority’
• Adapts to community or customer, or adapts your proposals