The Purpose Behind Genuine Consultation Community consultation, when it’s done properly, is a lot more than ticking a box. It’s a structured way to give people a real say in decisions that affect their neighbourhoods, local services, and shared spaces. Dr....
I’ve sat through enough stifling community meetings to last a lifetime—the ones where fluorescent lights hum over half-empty chairs, acronyms plaster the walls, and everyone shuffles out feeling slightly cheated. Then again, I’ve also watched a room of strangers turn into...
There’s a quiet, nagging anxiety that hangs over plenty of public meetings. It’s the suspicion that the whole consultation is a bit of theatre—a box-ticking show where the real decisions got made weeks ago. After twenty years of designing and running...
I’ve sat through dozens of community consultations over the years—some crackled with energy and sparked real change, others just left a room full of people feeling ignored and fed up. As a community planner and facilitator, I’ve learned that a good...
If you’ve ever sat through a town hall meeting where the decision was clearly made weeks ago, you know the particular exhaustion of a consultation that’s just theatre. I’ve been on both sides of that table. Over twenty-odd years working across...
I’ve spent more than twenty years in community development, and if there’s one thing that stands out, it’s this: the best plans come together when people actually feel heard. Too often, consultations are just box-ticking exercises. Residents get invited, they speak,...