Consulting communities in support of Gatwick’s Northern Runway Project

IMPACT

We helped Gatwick Airport engage communities across multiple channels as part of its DCO consultation programme, with more than 7,500 people taking part and over 5,000 providing feedback. 

CHALLENGE

The scale and significance of the Northern Runway Project required consultation across a wide and varied region. The UK was also emerging from social distancing requirements at the time we were planning the consultation.

While it was possible to meet in person, many people remained uncomfortable about the prospect of attending large scale events. We had to innovate to deliver an inclusive and wide-ranging consultation.

DELIVERY

We used a combination of in-person and virtual engagement methods to encourage participation by a wide range of audiences. These included:

Taking a Mobile Project Office to over 30 locations across the region.
This was designed to make consultation materials available and help signpost people towards the different ways they could take part in the consultation.

Holding ‘Call the Expert’ events online and by telephone.
These offered people the opportunity to speak one-to-one with relevant technical experts from the project team, allowing them to have the same in-depth consultation they would have online.

Hosting online events with more than 350 stakeholder groups, including all-member events at 10 local authorities across the region.
These provided an opportunity for these groups to ask questions on the proposals and for the Airport to reach a wide range of groups efficiently.