Agenda item

 5.1      The Committee received a report which provided an update on the Draft Early Community Engagement Guidance. The initial version of the draft Early Community Engagement guidance was published for consultation in spring    2021 and reported to the PCD Committee in March 2021. All respondents welcomed the principle of introducing guidance that provides greater clarity           regarding the expectations for early community engagement on emerging      development proposals. Those who engaged with the Council on the initial   version of the guidance were notified of the updated version of the draft      guidance at the beginning of October and additional comments were sought by 5November. The intention is to publish the finalised guidance by the end of November 2021 following review of comments in response to the second consultation period.

5.2           The first engagement phase enabled the approach set out in the initially published guidance to be developed and finessed so that it is better aligned with the expectations of communities, whilst providing sufficient flexibility to allow developers and applicants to design their engagement strategies to meet the needs of each development they bring forward. There were several themes which arose from the consultation these include: -

• The role of neighbourhood forums should be better explained and the need for development to accord with neighbourhood plans should be better articulated.

• The need to deliver development that complies with the development plan should be more clearly explained.

• Developers should speak to community groups in advance to establish how they can best be engaged with.

• The scales of development within the scope of the guidance should be expanded to include non-major development. Many respondents noted that non-major development can often have greater impacts on neighbouring communities.

5.3       Following initial consultation amendments were made to the Guidance. These include an expectation that developers who frequently undertake development in Westminster should adopt their own engagement charter and/or set of principles, better         recognition of the role of Neighbourhood Forums and Plans, systems to       encourage community groups to engage with officers, the introduction of  the concept of a ‘Community Champion’ and extension of the  scope of the guidance to include impactful non-major development. Case studies have also been added to provide worked examples.

5.4       Members held a discussion and noted the following: -

• That a number of pilot studies would start in 2022 and would operate over the first year following publication of the guidance. The case studies will be used to test the principles and processes set out in the guidance. There has been a positive response from the planning and development community about the proposed guidance. Members were advised that consultation on the guidance had already successfully promoted the benefits of early engagement in the planning pre-application process within the developer community.

• That the Early Community Engagement Guidance was would not be a compulsory document, but instead offered detailed advice on how to deliver best practice engagement. Members noted that not all interested parties would adhere to the guidance, but that the engagement that developers have undertaken would be set out in greater detail in committee reports in future.

• The Committee agreed that where the developer team engages meaningfully with interested parties earlier in the pre-application process, this typically delivers better planning outcomes at application stage. Early consultation enables better, more informed decisions to be made.

• That the community engagement process would also be used by officers to gain greater insight into the views of interested parties and to obtain local expertise on proposed developments and this would aid their roles when negotiating with potential developers at pre-application stage.

• The Committee welcomed that local Ward Councillors would be included as part of the consultation process and noted that they already act as community champions.

• That an updated list of Amenity Society and Neighbourhood Forums would be provided, and these contact lists were reviewed periodically. Officers advised that data from other Council Services were drawn upon and measures put in place to ensure that they capture all interested parties. Members noted that there had been an increase in the digitalisation of the planning application process and that data from these databases were utilised.

• Members requested that officers circulate the list of Amenity Society and Neighbourhood Forums to the Committee.

• Members agreed that developers should use hybrid meetings when consulting with interested parties, where appropriate, and commented that this would improve participations and be a more cost-effective way of engaging with many groups.

• Members welcomed the Community Champion concept and their future role in assisting the local communities with their response to pre-application engagement. The Committee noted that the Community Champion expertise could also be used during consultations on proposed Council owned scheme developments.

• Members agreed that the Draft Early Community Engagement Guidance should also include good practises for smaller planning applications and should encourage agents and applicants to engage with their neighbours and interested parties prior to starting their applications.

• The Committee agreed that the Draft Early Community Engagement Guidance should include examples of good community engagement for different sized developments such as domestic applications and large developments. Members also agreed that applicants and planning developers should be encouraged to engage with interested parties throughout the construction phases.  

5.5       Members welcomed the Draft Early Community Engagement Guidance and             thanked Officers for their work. The Committee agreed that there should be a             launch event for the guidance.

RESOLVED:

1.     Members noted the updates made to the Draft Early Community Engagement Guidance following the initial consultation phase undertaken in spring 2021.

2.     That Officers circulate the list of Amenity Society and Neighbourhood Forums to the Committee and that Members provide feedback on its contents.

3.     That a launch event be arranged for the Early Community Engagement Guidance.