Award-worthy community engagement delivers positive feedback
Company
Sunningdale House Developments
Sector
Services
The Brief
Sunningdale House Developments is delivering a proposed development at Princes Parade in Hythe, Kent. Once completed, it will comprise 150 seafront homes, hotel, restaurants and leisure facilities, set against a landscaped promenade. As part of a reserved matters application, a community engagement event was required to ascertain views of the public and ask for feedback before being submitted. Effective communication is key at such occasions so Fabrick was asked to manage and deliver the event.
The Solution
The Princes Parade development will occupy a prominent coastal position in Hythe, immediately to the south of the Royal Military Canal, and the Seabrook residential area. The proposed seafront houses will be central to the 14,500m2 site. These will comprise a mix of duplexes and townhouses, with a number of properties designated ‘affordable homes’ to meet local needs. The properties, along with commercial outlets such as a hotel, leisure centre, restaurants and shops, will be set against a landscaped, traffic-free promenade. This innovative design aspect will contribute to a 35% increase in public realm area.
Fabrick recommended that a two-day community consultation event was held at a venue conveniently located and accessible – Hythe Town Hall. The event – which ran from 2pm to 8pm to cater for as many people as possible – required information to be presented in a clear and easy to absorb manner. In creating the information, Fabrick liaised with the client, architects Holloway Studio, and the wider project team.
Fabrick suggested information was communicated by a series of A0 display boards and a website for those who couldn’t attend in person. These were designed and produced by Fabrick and provided information on the latest proposal, the principles already approved by the earlier outline consent and key project elements such as architecture, landscaping, transport, flooding and ecology.
To ensure good attendance, Fabrick delivered a promotional campaign to the local community and managed engagement with the Town Council and local press prior and post event.
Feedback was encouraged via the website and feedback forms. These were duly collated by Fabrick with information provided back to Sunningdale House and Hollaway Studio for assessment as part of the refinement of the planning submission.
The Results
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1 Delivery of a highly successful community engagement event with over 640 attendees over two days
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2 The two-day event provided an opportunity to engage and inform the local community of the proposed plans
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3 Many local residents left the event feeling positive and excited about the proposed development, having entered with negative opinions
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4 The informative event collateral was very well received by the development's partners and the local community
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5 Successful engagement with the Town Council and local community
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6 The feedback collated helped refine the planning submission
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7 Positive working relationships were formed between Fabrick and the project partners
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8 The project achieved finalist status at the 2022 Construction Marketing Awards in both the Best Use of Events & Live Marketing and Best Stakeholder/Internal Communications categories