Solar and Storage Live: The shift from tick-box consultation to meaningful engagement

The Government recently published its guidance replacing the former statutory requirement for consultation on Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) with an expectation of meaningful stakeholder engagement.

At Solar and Storage Live in Birmingham last week, a panel including my colleague Imogen Fawcett discussed how the changing rules around consultation were being implemented on site.

While the new system is still largely untested, we’re already starting to see it play out in examination as well as on projects still in development for solar, NSIPs in particular.

Recent hearings on a solar farm have been interesting to watch to better understand how Examining Authorities are approaching the new guidance.

In this case, the Examining Authority has been pushing the Applicant to not just confirm how they have met requirements for consultation or Environmental Impact Assessment, but to detail all of the ongoing engagement with specific stakeholders to resolve issues. This is not just technical bodies, but local residents and businesses, to understand their specific concerns and potential local impacts, then describe how they would be mitigated.

The scope of the discussion goes well beyond tick-box exercises or standard methodology. It’s too early to tell if this will impact the Examining Authority’s recommendation or Secretary of State’s decision, but already the line of questioning is pushing the Applicant to do more on stakeholder engagement, even during the examination process.

Similarly, on site, we’re seeing more developers leaning into the new guidance and trying new approaches to engagement.

Taking part in the Solar and Storage Live panel event, Imogen explained some of our recent experience on a number of projects across the UK, including direct engagement with opposition groups, design workshops with local businesses, early Community Liaison Groups with parish councils and other elected officials, and recurring visits with near neighbours.

Increasingly this type of engagement is what results in meaningful, actionable feedback that can influence and improve a project, as well as constructive engagement with communities.

Now that the guidance has finally been published and gate 2 offers are coming through, we’re seeing a wave of new solar and wind projects coming into the pipeline.

Our team is standing by to discuss how to build a consultation and engagement strategy for your projects, and how to meaningfully engage with local communities and stakeholders to lead to better outcomes.