Lands Improvement Holdings & AXA Real Estate - Houghton Regis
Statement of Community Involvement and a nine-month engagement programme that helped secure planning approval for a £1bn, 5,000-home town extension - and avoided call-in by the Secretary of State.
- Location
- Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom
- Region
- UK
- Sector
- developers
- Services
- Public Affairs & Stakeholder Engagement · Placemaking & Community Engagement · Strategic Communications · PR & Thought Leadership
Innesco was part of the project team delivering planning for the £1bn Houghton Regis town extension in Bedfordshire for Lands Improvement Holdings (LIH) and AXA Real Estate - a 5,000-home masterplan and one of the largest planned urban extensions in the South East. A scheme of this scale, sitting next to a local population of around 17,000, required early, transparent engagement with residents, community groups and the local Council to build understanding, surface concerns and shape the masterplan as it evolved.
Major residential-led masterplans of this profile carry a real risk of call-in by the Secretary of State if community engagement is seen to fall short. A disciplined consultation strategy and a robust evidence base were essential to balance development ambitions with local priorities, support the planning process and establish long-term trust with stakeholders.
- Developed the public consultation strategy for the 5,000-home masterplan from the outset - framing objectives, audiences, channels and milestones across a nine-month programme
- Delivered multiple public design workshops and public exhibitions, engaging residents, community groups and local Council representatives in shaping the evolving masterplan
- Ran a telephone survey to capture structured local sentiment and broaden reach beyond those attending events in person
- Designed and delivered a school engagement programme and ongoing dialogue with local charity and community groups to widen participation
- Supported the engagement programme with an informative letter mail-out, dedicated scheme website, and email and phone hotline support to make participation easy and accessible
- Provided strategic PR and regional media promotion across the Bedfordshire press to inform and reassure the wider catchment
- Prepared the Statement of Community Involvement document that supported the planning application through to approval and helped the scheme avoid call-in by the Secretary of State
The results.
- Planning approval secured for one of the South East's largest planned urban extensions - £1bn town extension comprising 5,000 homes
- Call-in by the Secretary of State successfully avoided thanks to a robust, well-evidenced engagement programme and Statement of Community Involvement
- Total reach of more than 253,750 people - against a local population of just 17,000
- Constructive, on-the-record engagement with residents, community groups, schools, charities and the local Council across the full nine-month consultation
- Clear, credible narrative and lasting foundation of trust established to support long-term planning and delivery
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