The project was in one of London's most high-profile areas, Leicester Square, with significant heritage complexities to navigate and address. 

The turnaround was exceptionally tight - just four weeks to secure approval from the planning committee. We had to bring planning, efficiency and resource to the table to form the correct messaging, a dedicated project website, accessible briefing materials and an online consultation to support the team and secure buy-in across diverse stakeholders.

Having worked within planning comms in London for many years, our strategic director for the built environment, Ollie, was able to apply his connections to get things moving in a positive direction as soon as Cartwright was appointed. By defining both the local and relevant business audience through research with these connections, a hit list of the voices and approval that mattered was quickly formed. 

We designed a targeted stakeholder engagement strategy with two core components. First, we delivered a series of tailored briefings to key stakeholders - planning committee members, local business representatives, heritage organisations and community groups - each customised to address their specific concerns and priorities around the proposals.  

Second, we developed an agile online consultation approach that enabled real-time dialogue. Rather than a static consultation period, we created a constantly updated project website with live Q&A functionality and responsive asset drops, allowing us to address concerns as they emerged and demonstrate that feedback was being heard and acted upon. This dual approach - direct stakeholder briefings combined with transparent, responsive online engagement - built understanding and buy-in across diverse audiences within the compressed timeframe.

Our proactive approach kept risk low and visibility high - helping to secure 100% unanimous approval despite the short timeframe. 

The tailored stakeholder briefings and agile online consultation strategy delivered measurable results. By engaging key stakeholders directly with customised messaging addressing their specific concerns, combined with real-time responsive online engagement, we built genuine understanding and buy-in across planning committee members, local business representatives, heritage organisations and community groups.  

This dual approach generated positive sentiment and support faster than conventional consultation methods. Members felt well-informed on the proposals during deliberation of the application, with the scheme securing unanimous approval and full stakeholder alignment despite the four-week timeframe.