Online community consultation specialist Consense in Ipswich is continuing its march into the property and construction sector, announcing Bloor Homes as its latest client.
The UK developer, which builds around 2,000 homes every year, is the latest property firm to see the benefit of using online tools to canvass community opinion on new projects.
Bloor joins the commercial property developer Hammerson in appointing the online consultation experts, and will be using Consense’s innovative, award-winning ‘Open Debate’ system to garner views on plans for the 800-home Grange Road Development in Hugglescote, Leicestershire.
Denise Parkinson, Consense Business Development Manager, who is responsible for extending the ‘Open Debate’ product to new clients across the property sector said: “It’s not enough to simply hold an event in a village hall any more – developers need to engage with more people and, more importantly, more types of people. Online consultation helps them do exactly this, by making the process more convenient and accessible, encouraging more depth of comment and more positive involvement. In fact, 70% of our current online consultations are running in support of planning applications.”
Consense’s expansion into the property sector enables developers to reach a wider, more representative, cross-section of the public according to Consense Director Jessica Topham. She said: “With the government’s commitment to increased community involvement in planning for local environments and neighbourhoods, Consense has developed a practical solution to help developers manage public consultation more effectively. Online consultation is an excellent way to broaden the reach of planning and engage with more than just those people who would typically attend a public exhibition.”
William Blincoe, Group Strategic Project Director of Bloor Homes welcomed the introduction of Consense’s innovative system to the property market and said: “It is an excellent and effective way to engage an, often, difficult to reach public, and offers great potential benefits to our industry.”
The move into the property market is a new application for the online consultancy which already boasts an impressive client base including Sanctuary Group, ScottishPower Renewables, Thames Water, National Grid, Galliford Try, Sky and Partnerships for Renewables. Consense is currently running 110 online consultations for a variety of planning applications including renewable energy schemes and property developments across the UK and internationally. The team also manages traditional community, political and media relations, using their in-depth knowledge of consultation to run inclusive and auditable engagement campaigns that meet the aspirations of the Coalition’s localism agenda.
