Deetu, part of the wider BWB Group, alongside Blueprint, the developer behind acclaimed Nottingham neighbourhoods such as Green Street in The Meadows and Trent Basin, have won a prestigious national Planning award.
The partnership took first place in the Stakeholder Engagement in Planning category for their pioneering Trent Basin Waterside Engagement Exercise – an innovative, digitally led public consultation – commissioned by Blueprint, to provide a once in a lifetime opportunity to shape the urban regeneration of the new neighbourhood and the wider Nottingham waterside area.
Judges of the award were quick to recognise the achievement and also the potential influence of this new approach.
They said of the winning entry: “A once in a lifetime opportunity to shape the urban regeneration of Nottingham’s waterside led to a revolutionary, digital-first stakeholder engagement exercise that increased meaningful participation by 1500%.
“Rather than being constrained by the COVID-19 pandemic, sustainable developer Blueprint took the opportunity to rethink the traditional engagement methodology, providing a truly inclusive, anytime, and anywhere consultation using real community evidence to influence its design.
“The use of innovative, interactive tools, combined with powerful data analytics, and an emphasis on youth-friendly content ensured that a remarkably diverse audience, including those seldom heard, was consulted during a multi-stage, irrefutably transparent engagement campaign.”
Josh Dickerson, Associate Director at Deetu and Engagement Project Lead, said: Myself and the team at Deetu are thrilled to have won this award. The project provided us with the opportunity to put in practice the art of the possible when it comes to exemplar digitally-led engagement. I want to thank everyone that contributed to the consultation; it was great to see such enthusiasm in creating a place informed by so many views, especially during such testing times.”
Blueprint Chief Executive Samantha Veal added: “Community engagement is core to Blueprint’s approach to placemaking. Working with Deetu’s innovative platform and our talented design team helped us to take our engagement to a far greater audience than a traditional approach, including a much wider demographic. As a result, the feedback was far richer and the outcome a better development proposal which reflected a truly representative range of needs and viewpoints.”
“We could not be more delighted that our collective efforts to engage so fully with our local community during the restrictions imposed by the pandemic has been acknowledged in a national arena.”
Neither Deetu or Blueprint are strangers to wider recognition for their work – both award-winning firms are well known for their tireless ability to think outside the standard box and bring new innovations to the property development table, keen for the wider industry to share learning and best practice.
The Planning Awards recognise outstanding work by councils, consultants, developers, lawyers, voluntary groups and other key organisations operating in the UK planning system.