CLIENT: north lincolnshire homes
PROJECT: Scunthorpe Community Masterplanning Event
What were MAKE asked to do?
Scunthorpe’s local council was busy developing its local spatial plan, and in order to ensure it was built on the best possible foundations, we were asked by one of the largest landowners in Scunthorpe - North Lincolnshire Homes - to organise a community planning event. The objective was to bring together every stakeholder in the town to start the process towards a new masterplan for the town centre.
We were chosen because the client wanted experts who could place an emphasis on harmonising residential development with nightlife and who had specialist knowledge about how to improve the retail, evening and night economies too.
How did MAKE do it?
Suggo Working with the client and other local private and public sector organisations (including the town’s largest employer – the local steelworks) we built a database of over 1,000 tenants, organisations and regional agencies.
In a carefully structured pre-event communications plan we engaged and excited participants to get involved in the project
It worked! Over 200 took part. Organising workshops, presentations, mapping exercises and charrettes was a challenge (we needed the largest accessible venue in town!). But we worked incredibly hard to make sure everybody had their say, ensuring that hearing loops were installed and workshops were built to enable vital contributions from visually impaired and blind people.
In particular, we focused on how to get more people living in the town centre (including identifying sites and buildings that could be used for residential development) and how to help turn around an ailing night-time economy - in a way that only MAKE has experience of.
After the event we surveyed every participant on how they felt the day went. 97% of those who responded said they felt it was worthwhile. Unbelievable! Most importantly, 95% said they felt their views had been taken on board in our capturing of the event.
What happened next?
Because the day was possibly the largest ever structured mass-participation community planning event (as opposed to a public meeting) to have been staged in the UK to that point, the outputs were overwhelming- albeit in a good way! We brought it all together in a report for North Lincolnshire Homes and the council. The report, including the brainstorming sessions (using our MagNotes technique), films, photographic and modeling outputs heavily shaped the council’s final Local Plan. Well done people of Scunthorpe!
What unique value did MAKE bring to this project?
We used our long experience of working with and including those with disabilities to ensure the event was truly inclusive and fully accessible. Indeed, a number of the outcomes that are now in the local plan came from local disabled people or organisations representing them who had attended the event. Result!