Communications, engagement and consultation expertise for major planning and development programmes
We are a marketing and communications team specialising in devising and running bespoke engagement and consultation programmes for major planning and development projects.
Community involvement is a fundamental component of the pre-application planning process and a statutory requirement for schemes of a certain size.
At Avril Baker Consultancy (ABC) , we understand that early and ongoing engagement with stakeholders and the local community is key to securing a positive planning outcome.
Based in Bristol, we work across the South West and beyond with a broad range of clients from University of Bristol, Bristol City Council, UNITE, Exeter City Living, and Canada Life Asset Management, to smaller corporate developers and charities including Bristol Charities and Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust. Find out more about some of our recent projects
Our services:
We cover a wide range of tried and tested public consultation and engagement methods:
Developing consultation plans to identify and involve key stakeholders and the community
Devising and hosting events, including exhibitions, workshops and site visits
Organising and hosting face to face and virtual meetings
Conducting online engagement through the creation of bespoke websites, delivering targeted digital communications and gathering feedback via online surveys
Designing and distributing printed communications to spread the word e.g. postcards, leaflets, newsletters
Managing media relations, including press releases and social media
Our role is to:
Encourage effective stakeholder and community engagement ahead of the submission of a planning application;
Invest time in understanding the issues, listen to the community and build relationships with stakeholders;
Explain the process, manage expectations and show how plans have evolved in response to feedback;
Publish this activity in a Report of Community Involvement, which forms part of the suite of documents that make up the planning application.
"We have engaged ABC to lead our stakeholder engagement process across some of our developments, and have benefitted from their many years of experience, providing a friendly, structured, no-nonsense approach. They are easy to work with and understand our needs, with their ability to connect with communities easing the minefield of the public engagement process. The fact that that they are nice people as well is a bonus!"
Richard Hayman, Interim Managing Director, Exeter City Living