Reframing consultation to secure public backing for the York Central masterplan
Client
Services
- Stakeholder communication and engagement
- PR
- Property and Construction PR
Sectors
- Property & Construction
Following a number of false starts leading to scepticism about deliverability, alongside opposition from communities adjacent to the York Central site, we were appointed to galvanise support as a masterplan for one of the largest city centre brownfield regeneration projects in England was developed.
Tasked with creating meaningful engagement with residents and communities around the development and securing support for the partnership and its plans for the site, we set about rethinking the traditional consultation process.
We organised pop-up events and community workshops as well as the ‘Festival of York Central’, a six-week interactive campaign which included 43 events focused on targeting and informing key audiences and encouraging them to be part of the conversation.
Results
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0 - contributions logged during the Festival of York Central
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0 - of all comments made via Commonplace were positive – rare for a scheme of this size and complexity
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0 - community events including workshops, walks, bike rides, talks and film showings
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0 - briefings, workshops and pop-ups secured with local organisations and businesses
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0 - pieces of print, online and broadcast coverage including The FT, Estates Gazette and Look North
- Planning
- for York Central Masterplan approved
Key Insight:
In a historic city known for campaigning against major built environment change, we identified the need to reshape community engagement, providing a wider range of opportunities for debate with a broad range of communities, alongside a more traditional consultation process.
