Shaping Blaby’s Growth: Early Engagement on Outline Masterplan

Context

Blaby is facing a mounting housing need, with limited opportunities for younger residents and families to find affordable, well-located homes. In response, Bonnel Homes proposed a mixed development of up to 350 homes at Keepers Farm, alongside an expansive new country park integrated with nearby open spaces and walking routes to serve the wider community. 

The site lies on the edge of Blaby, adjoining Countesthorpe, and presents both opportunities and sensitivities: maintaining separation between communities, protecting landscape character, and balancing housing delivery with biodiversity gains.

Consultation Approach

To deliver this vision and productive consultation with nearby residents, ECF used the PlaceChangers Engagement Tool to run an accessible and interactive online consultation. 

Key aims included gathering feedback on the housing layout, gauging community interest in the design of the country park, and generating ideas for its naming and features. The online consultation featured an interactive map and was supported by 2000 leaflets and a webinar.

The response was encouraging: 800 residents reviewed the plans online, 85  made comments on the design through the survey and responses to the interactive proposal map. The feedback covered both high-level concerns and detailed suggestions, particularly around connectivity, green space, and infrastructure.

Key Outcomes

The consultation confirmed general public support for housing growth, provided it is delivered with clear local benefits. Residents valued the proposed biodiversity features, the integrated green buffer between Blaby and Countesthorpe, and the creation of safe, walkable connections. 

Even without detailed plans at this early stage, PlaceChangers' industry-leading interactive consultation helped to maintain trust and transparency with an engaging, visual, and clear presentation.

The structured format ensured quality input. The AI-generated summaries provided within PlaceChangers were especially helpful for the team to keep a concise overview of responses while the consultation was live. Suggestions on how to enhance reporting and homepage customisation have been fed back into the PlaceChangers development team.

The Keepers Farm consultation demonstrates how a digital-first approach can support inclusive engagement on large-scale, early-stage housing projects. With PlaceChangers, ECF was able to provide a trusted, affordable solution to gather high-quality input and start shaping a shared vision for new neighbourhoods.