Scheme

Plans for new homes, landscaping and spaces for businesses and the community in Fishponds, Bristol.

The project is part of the larger Atlas Place project that will see a large area of a Bristol suburb developed to benefit local communities.

The three landowners that makeup the area are collaborating on a masterplan for the area.

Strategy

Three rounds of consultation are ensuring local communities have an opportunity to be involved in and influence the plans.

The initial round of engagement focused on the Atlas Place masterplan as a whole to understand what people thought of the area as it is now and how the plans could improve it.

The second focused on the plans for Filwood House and Verona House. A more traditional community drop-in event was supplemented with site tours and targeted social media to ensure as many people as possible were made aware and could get involved.

A social value needs analysis was conducted to understand how the plans could deliver positive social impact. The findings from this then became a key component of engagement with communities. This activity will result in a range of initiative captured in a social impact strategy for submission with the planning application.

We’re now preparing for the third round of engagement before a planning application is submitted later this year.

Outcome

By taking the time to engage properly the plans are evolving in a way that will help build local support.

The commitment to social impact is creating a different platform to discuss the plans and changing the question to allow for a more constructive dialogue.