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Case Study: Unlocking the planning system with communities

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Name of project: Andover Town Centre Masterplan

Led by: Test Valley Borough Council

Summary: Test Valley Borough Council integrated statutory consultation processes with creative and participatory community engagement to create a shared vision for the physical, social and economic regeneration of Andover town centre, outlined in a Masterplan. The scale of resident involvement and weight of community backing made it easier to generate buy-in across the community, politicians and council partners, and also to apply for funding externally.

The situation: Like many places across the country, the market town of Andover had witnessed changes in people’s living, working, shopping and socialising habits. Some of the developments from the 1960-80s were no longer fit for purpose, there had been periods of significant population growth particularly as a result of London overspill planning, while recently declining retail activity also resulted in a loss of vibrancy. Residents wanted more from their town centre. In response, the council set out to identify opportunities to replace declining retail spaces with housing, workspace and community facilities.

The team needed to consider how to get the community on board with potentially major changes. They knew that traditional engagement processes made up of statutory consultation surveys on specific projects often resulted in a series of piecemeal processes which attracted narrowly focused sources of feedback or opposition. This often generated suggestions which were either impossible to implement, or out of touch with the full context. The council resolved to take a more holistic and community-rooted approach to creating a shared masterplan for the future of the town centre.

The approach: The creation of the masterplan involved deep and sustained community engagement over a period of years. Rather than a one hit conversation, the council made a commitment to continuous dialogue, sequencing a number of opportunities for different stakeholders to share their views on the regeneration and what they felt was right for the future of the town centre. This involved several steps:

  • Developing a vision: Before considering specific projects, the council held a range of events, conversations and activities to understand people’s priorities for the town centre. Residents shared their ideas on what would make the town a better place to live, work and visit. This generated a shared understanding about what the masterplan was trying to achieve overall, rather than being rooted in specific questions about retail planning.
  • Masterplanning: These priorities were considered all together and resulted in an overarching plan for the town centre. This balanced out different social and financial objectives (including property development, public realm creation and overall balance of space-use in the town centre). The community was consulted extensively on the masterplan overall, building understanding and consensus on the overall vision, rather than focusing on specific projects. The extensive engagement resulted in a community approval rate of 97%.
  • Sequenced individual projects: Once a masterplan was set, the work could be divided into 39 separate capital projects, each subject to a normal statutory consultation process on its own terms, but always set within the context of the broader masterplan.

When it came to challenging discussions and decisions, this consensus provided a basis to return to. When a very narrow part of the population critiqued or sought to block a decision, the council could point to a genuine mandate and ambition from the community to see change happen, made clear through deep rooted engagement. This helped to unlock the planning system – individual statutory consultations faced little opposition because residents had been involved all the way through.

The detail: The council had been developing networks and relationships within the community of Andover for several years prior to the master planning process. This was vital to being able to kick-start the process positively.

At the outset, there had been a temptation to bring on a development partner right from the early stages to streamline the delivery of the project. However the team took a key decision to delay the appointment of development partners until the council felt able to be “an intelligent client”, that had a clear sense of its own vision and priorities - as driven by the community. This meant that priorities were not at risk of being influenced or distorted by any partners with their own agenda. Instead, the team appointed a partner specifically focused on a feasibility study that helped the council develop a holistic plan. In this overall plan, some elements offered greater financial value, while others served important community objectives.

Several thousand people engaged in the activities to develop the 20-year vision for the town centre. Visioning events were held at locations across the town, including at the theatre and local carnival. These sessions provided opportunities for a wide range of stakeholders to contribute, including residents, local businesses and community groups. This set the foundations for the master plan approach and for the community to be more deeply involved in decision-making going forward.

An emerging vision was created, and then further tested out with different parts of the community. The wider public were engaged through a 5-day pop-up shop attended by 600 people, and an exhibition at a local church. The proposals were also available to view online, and the council received more than 500 detailed responses which helped shape the final report. Specific stakeholders were both invited to events or engaged via targeted outreach. This provided a thread which ran through each stage of the project, making it clear that the council was on the journey alongside residents and was acting on the community’s views.

An early example of the approach in action was the redevelopment process surrounding the river running through the town. The visioning process had identified that residents would like the river – currently hidden by a road and a car park – to be more of a key feature of the town. The significant degree of community engagement in the visioning process enabled the council to unlock additional funding to re-route a road, and remodel a nearby park. Once the initial plans were drafted, a Vision Stakeholder meeting was held at the river itself, reflecting back the community’s initial hopes, and why this scheme had been developed in response. The meeting was attended by community stakeholders, but also council experts with a range of expertise including highways, ecology and design, who each explained why the plans were emerging in this way. Where stakeholders had a particular interest e.g. in the area being more nature-focused, or involving brighter lighting, responses could be made by someone with real insight as to rationale for particular elements. This allowed residents to take an informed view and openly discuss the constraints and trade-offs, working with the council as equal partners.

Sequencing of projects was very important. The redevelopment process around the river took place over three years. As residents saw such a signature scheme take place, it built buy-in for later elements of the project. Once the river had been made a focal point again, it was possible to imagine further major changes including to road layout. These bigger, more disruptive schemes did not face opposition campaigns during the statutory consultation processes, because the backdrop was a shared long-term vision.

Challenges: Not everyone across the council had the right skills straight away to facilitate effective community engagement activities. The first session on the master plan, for example, did not work as well as hoped and was not particularly participative. Recognising that it could have gone better, the council quickly pivoted its approach, identifying the existing skills and relationships within the organisation that could be drawn on to come up with future sessions that more closely aligned to the vision. Skills gaps were also identified, and measures were put in place to address them. For example, officers took part in facilitation training and the council produced practical resources, including a toolkit on how to set up an inclusive meeting.

Top lessons:

  • Manage expectations but don’t underestimate the community: The council invested time from the start to set realistic expectations around what could be achieved within financial and time constraints. By both sharing insights and evidence, but also respecting community expertise, the community were taken on the journey as equal and intelligent partners capable of making informed decisions about priorities and trade-offs. This also led to more positive day-to-day interactions.
  • Strong foundations are critical: The council’s track record of sustained dialogue created a baseline of trust and fertile ground for the scale of community involvement and weight of community backing achieved through the master planning approach. Planners need to engage directly with the communities and networks that are already flourishing in that place, if the buildings are going to be fit for purpose. If you don’t have the connections needed to understand the context and the place, you need to build them.

Sources:

Andover Town Centre Masterplan (thinkandovertowncentre.co.uk)

Name of project: Andover Town Centre Masterplan

Led by: Test Valley Borough Council

Summary: Test Valley Borough Council integrated statutory consultation processes with creative and participatory community engagement to create a shared vision for the physical, social and economic regeneration of Andover town centre, outlined in a Masterplan. The scale of resident involvement and weight of community backing made it easier to generate buy-in across the community, politicians and council partners, and also to apply for funding externally.

The situation: Like many places across the country, the market town of Andover had witnessed changes in people’s living, working, shopping and socialising habits. Some of the developments from the 1960-80s were no longer fit for purpose, there had been periods of significant population growth particularly as a result of London overspill planning, while recently declining retail activity also resulted in a loss of vibrancy. Residents wanted more from their town centre. In response, the council set out to identify opportunities to replace declining retail spaces with housing, workspace and community facilities.

The team needed to consider how to get the community on board with potentially major changes. They knew that traditional engagement processes made up of statutory consultation surveys on specific projects often resulted in a series of piecemeal processes which attracted narrowly focused sources of feedback or opposition. This often generated suggestions which were either impossible to implement, or out of touch with the full context. The council resolved to take a more holistic and community-rooted approach to creating a shared masterplan for the future of the town centre.

The approach: The creation of the masterplan involved deep and sustained community engagement over a period of years. Rather than a one hit conversation, the council made a commitment to continuous dialogue, sequencing a number of opportunities for different stakeholders to share their views on the regeneration and what they felt was right for the future of the town centre. This involved several steps:

  • Developing a vision: Before considering specific projects, the council held a range of events, conversations and activities to understand people’s priorities for the town centre. Residents shared their ideas on what would make the town a better place to live, work and visit. This generated a shared understanding about what the masterplan was trying to achieve overall, rather than being rooted in specific questions about retail planning.
  • Masterplanning: These priorities were considered all together and resulted in an overarching plan for the town centre. This balanced out different social and financial objectives (including property development, public realm creation and overall balance of space-use in the town centre). The community was consulted extensively on the masterplan overall, building understanding and consensus on the overall vision, rather than focusing on specific projects. The extensive engagement resulted in a community approval rate of 97%.
  • Sequenced individual projects: Once a masterplan was set, the work could be divided into 39 separate capital projects, each subject to a normal statutory consultation process on its own terms, but always set within the context of the broader masterplan.

When it came to challenging discussions and decisions, this consensus provided a basis to return to. When a very narrow part of the population critiqued or sought to block a decision, the council could point to a genuine mandate and ambition from the community to see change happen, made clear through deep rooted engagement. This helped to unlock the planning system – individual statutory consultations faced little opposition because residents had been involved all the way through.

The detail: The council had been developing networks and relationships within the community of Andover for several years prior to the master planning process. This was vital to being able to kick-start the process positively.

At the outset, there had been a temptation to bring on a development partner right from the early stages to streamline the delivery of the project. However the team took a key decision to delay the appointment of development partners until the council felt able to be “an intelligent client”, that had a clear sense of its own vision and priorities - as driven by the community. This meant that priorities were not at risk of being influenced or distorted by any partners with their own agenda. Instead, the team appointed a partner specifically focused on a feasibility study that helped the council develop a holistic plan. In this overall plan, some elements offered greater financial value, while others served important community objectives.

Several thousand people engaged in the activities to develop the 20-year vision for the town centre. Visioning events were held at locations across the town, including at the theatre and local carnival. These sessions provided opportunities for a wide range of stakeholders to contribute, including residents, local businesses and community groups. This set the foundations for the master plan approach and for the community to be more deeply involved in decision-making going forward.

An emerging vision was created, and then further tested out with different parts of the community. The wider public were engaged through a 5-day pop-up shop attended by 600 people, and an exhibition at a local church. The proposals were also available to view online, and the council received more than 500 detailed responses which helped shape the final report. Specific stakeholders were both invited to events or engaged via targeted outreach. This provided a thread which ran through each stage of the project, making it clear that the council was on the journey alongside residents and was acting on the community’s views.

An early example of the approach in action was the redevelopment process surrounding the river running through the town. The visioning process had identified that residents would like the river – currently hidden by a road and a car park – to be more of a key feature of the town. The significant degree of community engagement in the visioning process enabled the council to unlock additional funding to re-route a road, and remodel a nearby park. Once the initial plans were drafted, a Vision Stakeholder meeting was held at the river itself, reflecting back the community’s initial hopes, and why this scheme had been developed in response. The meeting was attended by community stakeholders, but also council experts with a range of expertise including highways, ecology and design, who each explained why the plans were emerging in this way. Where stakeholders had a particular interest e.g. in the area being more nature-focused, or involving brighter lighting, responses could be made by someone with real insight as to rationale for particular elements. This allowed residents to take an informed view and openly discuss the constraints and trade-offs, working with the council as equal partners.

Sequencing of projects was very important. The redevelopment process around the river took place over three years. As residents saw such a signature scheme take place, it built buy-in for later elements of the project. Once the river had been made a focal point again, it was possible to imagine further major changes including to road layout. These bigger, more disruptive schemes did not face opposition campaigns during the statutory consultation processes, because the backdrop was a shared long-term vision.

Challenges: Not everyone across the council had the right skills straight away to facilitate effective community engagement activities. The first session on the master plan, for example, did not work as well as hoped and was not particularly participative. Recognising that it could have gone better, the council quickly pivoted its approach, identifying the existing skills and relationships within the organisation that could be drawn on to come up with future sessions that more closely aligned to the vision. Skills gaps were also identified, and measures were put in place to address them. For example, officers took part in facilitation training and the council produced practical resources, including a toolkit on how to set up an inclusive meeting.

Top lessons:

  • Manage expectations but don’t underestimate the community: The council invested time from the start to set realistic expectations around what could be achieved within financial and time constraints. By both sharing insights and evidence, but also respecting community expertise, the community were taken on the journey as equal and intelligent partners capable of making informed decisions about priorities and trade-offs. This also led to more positive day-to-day interactions.
  • Strong foundations are critical: The council’s track record of sustained dialogue created a baseline of trust and fertile ground for the scale of community involvement and weight of community backing achieved through the master planning approach. Planners need to engage directly with the communities and networks that are already flourishing in that place, if the buildings are going to be fit for purpose. If you don’t have the connections needed to understand the context and the place, you need to build them.

Sources:

Andover Town Centre Masterplan (thinkandovertowncentre.co.uk)

Page published: 22 Nov 2023, 12:11 PM