Interactive Masterplanning for Loughborough Town Centre
The consultation was deemed highly effective, successfully capturing comprehensive information and securing the evidence needed to forward-inform further masterplanning.
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Case Studies
Discover how PlaceChangers has helped communities transform their spaces through successful place-making initiatives.
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 separat
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Interactive Design Code Consultations for Rushcliffe
Context As one of the early local authorities to prepare a borough-wide design code under the Levelling Up, Housing and Regeneration Act (LURA), Rushcliffe Borough Council sought to create an ambitious Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) that would raise design quality standards across the district. Working with Harper Perry and Urban Design Works, the team aimed to shape a code grounded in local character and community values — ensuring it was practical, accessible, and informed by a genuin
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Park visitors shape design in interactive consultation
Context The Bodle Drive area at Riversdale Beach was identified as a high-priority project within the Riversdale Beach Community Plan (2024-2034). The goal was to develop proposed improvements aligning with the local character while addressing community needs. Xyst, a leading NZ-based landscape planning firm and PlaceChangers partner in New Zealand, initiated a public consultation process on behalf of Masterton District Council to gather feedback on the draft concept plan. The consultation was
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Revitalising a Listed Landmark: Jesmond Bus Depot Redevelopment
Context The former Jesmond Bus Depot, designed by the Newcastle-based firm Marshall and Tweedy in 1931 and now a vacant and vandalised Grade II listed building in a prominent city centre location, had deteriorated significantly since becoming vacant in 2022, suffering from graffiti, structural damage, and break-ins, with ongoing anti-social behaviour making the site unsafe and unsightly. Located close to Newcastle city centre, the site occupies a highly visible and strategically significant pos
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Driving Better Design: Community-Led Feedback for Picture This Stockport
Image credit: Our Studio Context Progressive Housing, working with Picture This and its partners, including Counter Context PR, AEW Architects, EKPS, and Re-Form Landscape Architecture, utilised PlaceChangers to incorporate an interactive online consultation for "Picture This Stockport" into their in-person market stall events. The project aimed to engage nearby residents in shaping ideas for community uses on the ground floor of a new landmark residential development. Picture This Sto
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Online 3D Community Consultation Drives Constructive Engagement for Affordable Housing
Context The Gentoo Group, a North East housing association, is developing an affordable housing project at Chester Gate, Sunderland, as part of the city's broader transformation plan. The design team facilitating this project included Pegasus and Blake Hopkinson Architecture amongst others. The project will deliver 296 affordable homes for Sunderland, addressing the critical need for affordable housing in the area. For Gentoo it was important to align with Sunderland City Council's "City Plan,
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Digital Planning Consultation for Age-friendly Housing: Karbon Homes’ Approach
Context Our population is ageing, and in many parts of England, there is a pressing shortage of homes designed for older people—homes that prioritise accessibility and provide excellent thermal comfort, particularly during the colder months. With the Trimdon housing development, Karbon Homes aimed to address this need by delivering 43 accessible and energy-efficient bungalows for affordable rent in a rural area with chronic undersupply. Designed for future adaptability, the development placed
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Engaging Communities on Strategic Sites: Beyond the Village Hall
Context Richborough Estates undertook a comprehensive community consultation for an outline planning application at Croxley Green. Given the site's Green Belt designation and strategic location near London, the project required careful planning to balance development needs with sustainability and local concerns. The consultation process was designed to provide clear, accessible information about the masterplan and gather valuable community input to help shape the final proposals. The project te
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Design Quality Reviews on 21 sites supported by Place Analytics tool
Context East Suffolk Council is preparing an evidence base to support future design guidance for developments, ensuring that new development meets high design and sustainability standards. To inform this work, the council undertook a design review of 21 previously completed residential sites. East Suffolk Council’s use of Place Analytics East Suffolk Council was able to leverage PlaceChangers’ Place Analytics tool in support of their extensive review. It helped that the tool was explicitly
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Eden Planning Leverages PlaceChangers for Rapid Health Impact Assessment
Context Eden Planning, a SME consultancy specialising in urban development, was commissioned by Place Capital Group to deliver a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) for a 122-dwelling development at Ovenden Green, Halifax. The project aimed to fulfil Calderdale's Local Plan requirement for HIAs on developments of 30 or more homes. The assessment ensured the proposal aligned with community well-being objectives while expediting the planning process. Eden Planning’s Use of Place Analytics To strea
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Interactive Consultation Sets Priorities for Keighley Vision Development
Context Keighley, a town in West Yorkshire, is poised for significant regeneration. Transport and housing are at the forefront of its development framework. In collaboration with CBRE and the Keighley Town Board, Bradford Council sought to engage the local community in shaping projects for Keighley's future, with a vision to position the town for strategic future investment. With a tight deadline and the need for community-focused solutions, PlaceChangers was chosen as the platform to facilita
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Facilitating Productive Community Consultation in Renewable Energy Projects
Context Industria Brand Energy Limited (IBE) designs and operates renewable energy projects across the UK. As a renewable projects developer, IBE wants to give local communities a valuable and easy opportunity to respond meaningfully to proposals. One such project, located in North Warwickshire, was designed to produce 16.2MW of electricity annually over 40 years, powering 5,225 homes and reducing carbon emissions by 3,078 tonnes yearly. Solar farms like this one play a critical role in enhanc
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Combining data and feedback enables innovative play strategy for Worcester
Context Worcester, a cathedral city in Worcestershire with a population of 103,872 (2021 census), recently issued a tender for a new play strategy. The goal was to rethink play space development, calling for an innovative approach that aligns with the needs of children and families in the city. Harper Perry, an unconventional design practice known for their creative solutions, won the project. James Perry, the project lead, stated: “We aimed to evaluate existing play provisions and identify g
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Barbican residents feed back on Beech Street Zero Emissions Scheme
Context For many years, people using Beech Street have experienced poor air quality. Beech Street, the underpass below the Barbican estate, is one of the worst polluted streets in the City of London, even though it has much less traffic than many streets. The City of London Corporation wanted to understand the level of support for permanent changes to Beech Street, known as the Beech Street Zero Emissions Scheme. These changes included restrictions for cars to enter Beech Street and changes t
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Setting priorities for Bunhill, Barbican and Golden Lane Healthy Streets with residents
Context Prioritising spaces for people walking, cycling and accessing public transport in busy inner cities can be a powerful way to make neighbourhoods more successful and vibrant places to live, work and visit, helping local people to lead active and healthy lives. For the Bunhill, Barbican and Golden Lane areas, The City of London Corporation and Islington Council work together to create a healthy neighbourhood plan. At the early stage of development, SYSTRA supported The City of London C
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Repurposing Ebenezer Chapel: Converting a Former Methodist Church into Affordable Housing for the Local Community
Context Ebenezer Chapel is a former Methodist Church in Prudhoe, Northumberland, England. The chapel has remained an essential part of the town's heritage even after its closure in 2015. Prudhoe Community Partnership (PCP) and Karbon Homes recognised the potential of the building to serve as affordable housing for the local community. The organisations collaborated to convert the chapel into five flats, with four two-bedroom flats and one wheelchair-accessible one-bedroom flat. The project inv
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Health impact assessment for new homes accelerated by PlaceChangers toolkit
Context The Roseberry project from Karbon Homes was no easy feat - designed on a long-vacant former school site in an area that was waiting for regeneration. With the increased focus on the project impacts of larger housing projects, for the project team, it also meant addressing new requirements in Durham Council's revised local plan in relation to health impacts. As of late, any development with more than 100 homes requires a dedicated health impact assessment to fulfil planning application v
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3D proposal maps drive planning consultation for North Tyneside Council
Context North Tyneside Council’s housing team is committed to expanding the provision of social and affordable homes across the borough, mostly through their portfolio of smaller or in-fill sites. As part of this initiative, a derelict site near Swindale Drive was identified for redevelopment. At the time of the consultation, the site was vacant and occasionally used as overflow parking for families dropping off children at a nearby school. It was also a common pedestrian through route, where i
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PlaceChangers tools support call for sites for updated local list
Context Gateshead, South Tyneside, and Newcastle Councils had won funding to update their respective local list. Local lists are a compilation of built environment assets, which are recognised and valued locally, and complement other, more formal listings, looked after by English Heritage. Each of the three councils had kept its local lists in very different formats, and most of the local lists had not been updated for many years. Some entries may no longer be relevant, as the listed entry may
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Priorities for UK’s largest urban farm set with residents
Image credits: JDDK Architects (Visitor Centre CGI design by JDDK Architects in collaboration with communities in Oldham) Context Surrounded by residential areas in the heart of Oldham, Greater Manchester, Northern Roots is creating the UK’s largest urban farm and eco-park on 160 acres of green space. Led by JDDK Architects on behalf of Oldham Council, the project team included Arup, PlanIt IE, and others. When embarking on this project, the project team around architect Alison Thornto
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Interactive public consultation on 105 homes project receives balanced response from 80 residents
Context: Homes in Pelton Looking to invest in affordable housing while making a difference in local communities? Look no further than Karbon Homes. As a profit-for-a-purpose organisation, Karbon Homes is committed to providing innovative, customer-focused solutions to their clients. With the help of the PlaceChangers planning toolkit, Karbon Homes and the consultant team around JDDK and Hedley Planning delivered insightful consultations and community engagement, ensuring this project was respon
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Design-focused consultation help unlock £10m for major active travel project
Context In 2021, North Tyneside Council embarked on an ambitious active travel programme to support investment in walking and cycling corridors across the local authority. The programme of work was designed to replace the temporary measures that were put in place during the pandemic. Given the size of the proposals, each programme of work touched a large number of distinct communities living in different parts of the borough. Council officers needed to understand the general support for the p
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Multi-stage engagement underpins Homes England's reserved matters application in Ripon
Context In early 2021, Homes England acquired land at West Lane, Ripon, to progress and submit a Reserved Matters Approval Application for 390 new homes within a tight timescale. The site has an interesting planning history. Council members refused an outline planning application by Gladman Developments in 2018; the Secretary of State subsequently granted the application on appeal. The outline permission led to more detailed planning proposals that were, in the end, not pursued by housebuilders
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Residents leave detailed feedback on proposed affordable housing projects
Context During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Advance Northumberland, Northumberland County Council's economic regeneration company, was looking to engage with local residents on proposals for two affordable housing projects on smaller infill sites. * Klondyke in East Cramlington: A housing project for 14 affordable homes * Lysdon Avenue in New Hartley: A project for 9 affordable homes. These housing projects were focused on in-fill sites in existing communities. Each site was al
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North Tyneside Council receives detailed feedback on master plan
Context North Tyneside Council used the PlaceChangers platform to deliver an interactive consultation for a major regeneration effort during the recent Covid-19 lockdowns. The master plan ‘Ambitions for North Shields and the Fish Quay’ is a key part of the Council’s effort to regenerate the area between North Shields and the Fish Quay with the aim to transform the town centre and riverside into an environment where people choose to live, work and spend their leisure time. The draft master plan
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Interactive consultations guide the designs for community-led housing in Crook
Context During the lockdown, Crook Community Leisure was focused on delivering a 30-home, affordable housing project for Crook (County Durham). The project was funded via the community-led housing fund. Crook Community Leisure was ambitious about the project design and wanted to capture as much feedback as possible from the community to understand their priorities and any obstacles the project might encounter. Crook Community Leisure is a registered Charity and a community-led organisation. T
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Orbit delivers an interactive master plan consultation for Gilston Park
Context On behalf of Hansteen, Orbit Communications used the PlaceChangers platform to deliver an interactive pre-application consultation for their Gilston Park development, Scotland. Falkirk Council identified the site for a mixed-use development including residential, business and employment land, and a local town centre function. A large share of the site required careful planning of green and open spaces for recreation, play and sport. This consultation was for a permission in principle.
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491 ideas for the improvement of the Byker Community Trust housing estate
1 In January 2019, architecture firm JDDK and their project partner 22Sheds used the PlaceChangers platform to deliver the resident engagement work for Byker Community Trust (BCT)'s estate improvement program. BCT is one of the largest landlords in the North East. The estate is located to the East of Newcastle City Centre and covers a large area with six distinct neighbourhoods. With the help of the PlaceChangers platform, JDDK delivered a resident engagement programme that combined onl
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250 people reached to feedback on new Wolverton neighbourhood
Developer Town used the PlaceChangers platform to add another response option to the stakeholder engagement activities for the Love Wolverton master plan. Love Wolverton was a £25m mixed-use master plan in Wolverton town centre, establishing five new residential blocks and commercial spaces with a master plan designed to reopen traditional street patterns. Town develops sustainable, well-designed new homes which respond to people’s needs. The wider team also involved leading firms Urbed and Mi
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Ouseburn Futures generates 5300 responses in four months
Context Between February and May 2017, Ouseburn Futures sought the views of the public on buildings of cultural and heritage significance for a new heritage strategy for the Ouseburn Valley, which lies to the east of Newcastle city centre. Ouseburn Futures is a charitable development trust based in the Ouseburn Valley (Newcastle). Ouseburn Valley holds a significant part of the proud industrial heritage in the North East. Today, it has emerged as a vibrant cultural spot integral to Newcastle’s
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Morecambe generates 58% of engagement feedback through PlaceChangers
Context In May 2016, Morecambe Town Council sought the views of residents to set the priorities for a new neighbourhood plan. The Council priorities for the plan were to encourage investment, raise civic pride and enable regeneration of key heritage assets. What was done? Working with PlaceChangers, the town council adopted a digital approach that could quickly generate a wide range of ideas. The digital platform allowed citizens to easily see these comments and provide enhanced input. Act
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