West Midlands Combined Authority and Sandwell Council are bringing forward a long-standing allocated housing site in Wednesbury, which we’ve branded Friar Park Urban Village.
Providing consultation and engagement services, we provided stakeholder engagement and communications support as part of a joint venture alongside experts such as CampbellReith, LDA Design and Lichfields to develop a master plan for developer consideration.
Services Used
- Strategic Communications
- Community Consultation
- Stakeholder Relations
- Community Information Office
- Event Management
- Creative and digital
The Challenge
How do you effectively communicate the benefits of building a housing development on one of the largest brownfield sites in the west midlands located in a challenging area with a disengaged and disadvantaged local community?
The neglected brownfield site has the capacity to deliver around 630 homes. It has been allocated for development for over a decade, however, high remediation costs mean that the development has not progressed.
The site and local area presented many challenges, such as loss of perceived green open space, and its location right next to a railway. A large area of the site is contaminated, and the area suffers from high levels of anti-social behaviour.
The Solution
After carrying out initial research to understand the local area and community challenges and opportunities we determined our strategic approach to be a wide and multi-channel promotion to encourage engagement and help the local community to feel invested in the development and create something that they wanted for the area.
We created a brand and launched the project to the local community to provide background on the site and why it was now being brought forward for development. Aiming to dispel initial negativity about the site’s suitability.
We executed two rounds of public consultation to present emerging and then developed plans, to gain feedback and input from stakeholders. Designs and messaging were carefully presented to consider and address concerns.
Across two years we facilitated consultation phases including briefings and events and created communications to promote and inform, including a project website, press releases, exhibition materials and newsletters. Maintaining momentum outside of consultation phases by providing regular updates and open channels of enquiry through our managed community information office.
The Results
Clearly communicating the opportunities and constraints for the site meant that we achieved meaningful engagement with local people and obtained feedback that helped shape the final master plan – one that addressed local challenges and needs while delivering homes and an environment that supported Garden Village Principles was the final output of this process.
