Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
PLACED has been delivering a series of activities and events to engage people in the development of Liverpool City Region (LCR) Combined Authority’s first Spatial Development Strategy (SDS).
In our first phase of engagement, we delivered a series of pop-up events in town centre shops across the City Region and workshops with young people through our PLACED Academy Summer School.
In the second phase we delivered online engagement in response to Covid-19 in the form of interactive workshops, a Digital Academy programme, primary school workshops, debating events and a quiz.
The focus was engaging with those who would traditionally be underrepresented in planning consultation, often defined as ‘harder to reach’ groups.
What we did
Between November 2019 and January 2020, the first phase of engagement, three-day events took place in Halton, Knowsley, St Helens and Wirral.
Engagement questions focused on five broad themes (as defined by Liverpool City Region): housing, environment, health and the economy. The LCR also wanted to hear what people from across the local authorities feel should be priorities for the future, which could inform future plans.
In the first engagement round, PLACED captured 350 people’s views of the City Region as a whole, and which additional local issues which were unique to each place.
Between November 2020 and January 2020, PLACED engaged on the next phase of the SDS. This included five themed objectives, which were informed by the previous engagement. These objectives were tackling climate change, a healthier city region, promoting an inclusive economy, place making and communities and social value.
We also designed a series of online events to engage residents of LCR in conversation about their thoughts on the objectives.
Over 400 people took part in at least one of our events.
“PLACED have been an essential partner in delivering engagement. Their understanding of how best to engage and their ability to adapt to a purely digital engagement has ensured we have engaged with the wider City Region community to ensure that their voices are heard. PLACED’s contribution was a significant factor in our national award for inclusive engagement.”
– Mark Dickens, Lead Officer – Spatial Planning, Liverpool City Region
Outcomes
These engagement events provided an opportunity for detailed, open and informative discussion which as positively received, and enabled many people to share their views on the SDS who wouldn’t engage in consultation events.
The feedback received was analysed and shared with the LCR Combined Authority in order to inform an enhanced version of the SDS, which was released in Autumn 2021.
PLACED will be delivering a third phase of engagement on the SDS in 2023.
