The ISV Review

Contributed by Nikki Davies, CEO, Meeting Place 

The challenge

Social value is often discussed in terms of what development delivers - new homes, jobs, skills, community investment and better places. But there is another important part of the equation: whether people have a fair opportunity to influence the decisions that shape their communities in the first place.

To mark Meeting Place’s 20th anniversary, we launched Building on fair foundations, examining how people participate in the planning system across England. We found a fragmented picture, with significant differences between local authorities in how communities can comment on planning applications.

The research found that 78% of planning portals require contributors to publish their name and/or address for their representation to be considered valid, while 67% require users to register before commenting online. 16% of authorities do not accept representations by email and there are more than ten different naming conventions to describe planning committees.

These may sound like procedural details. In practice, they influence who feels able and willing to participate, and whose voices ultimately reach decision-makers.

The response

We looked beyond individual consultation exercises and considered the infrastructure for participation itself. Our research examined accessibility, transparency and the balance between support and objection across local authority planning processes.

We also drew on our experience working with communities, councils and developers. That revealed some striking examples: supporters being unable to speak at committee unless an objection has been registered, and more than 50 individual letters of support being recorded as a single petition.

Our conclusion was simple: local places should retain local choice, but the basic principles governing participation should be clearer and more consistent.

What changed

The research has helped us reframe the conversation about good engagement. Inclusion cannot begin and end with holding a consultation event or providing an online survey. If the wider system makes participation difficult, confusing or inadvertently favours one type of response over another, engagement cannot be genuinely representative.

We are therefore calling for practical changes, including a clear option to support applications, minimum accessibility standards, removing unnecessary registration requirements, equal committee speaking opportunities for supporters, and reconsidering requirements to publicly disclose personal details.

The objective is not to make development easier to approve. It is to make participation fairer and the evidence available to decision-makers more representative.

What the experience shows

For organisations serious about social value, there is a wider lesson. Social value is not only about the benefits created by a project. It is also about how decisions are made, who gets to participate and whether communities can engage on equal terms.

A planning system that hears disproportionately from those best equipped to navigate it risks overlooking quieter voices - including people who need new homes, younger residents, working families and others who may experience the consequences of decisions for decades.

Better participation will not remove disagreement, nor should it. But more accessible, balanced and transparent processes can strengthen trust, improve decision-making and ultimately help create places that better reflect the communities they serve. That, in itself, is social value.

Nikki Davies is CEO of Meeting Place, a PR and communications consultancy specialising in the built environment. With over 15 years’ experience, she is passionate about delivering insight-led engagement and compelling messaging to build trust, uncover support and make progress possible.