Blog

Don't forget the print!

I love printed design – you simply can’t beat the smell of a freshly printed newsletter and the feel of the stock on your fingertips!

In recent years there has been a dramatic move to online consultation as developers strive to ensure community and stakeholder engagement is more accessible, interactive and auditable.

Whilst there are clear and tangible benefits to online consultation, such as the ability to attract a broader audience, it is imperative that developers don’t neglect traditional methods of communication.

We recognise the need for a well-planned strategy, which facilitates both genuine and meaningful consultation, part of this is ensuring you have the tools available to involve everyone in the engagement process, not just those with a broadband connection.

With an in-house design team and large-format printing facilities we are able to provide our clients with a variety of printed materials which can aid the consultation process. These materials form part of our full consultation management service, but can be used on a flexible, ad-hoc basis too. Given we hold these capabilities in-house, lead times are reduced and our prices are competitive.

Typical projects include newsletters, exhibition boards, posters, invitations, leaflets and logo/brand design. We can also supply address databases and arrange distribution via Royal Mail. To find out more about our full service offering please click here.

Budget 2013: Building the UK out of recession

The 2013 budget delivered a mixed bag to our diverse range of clients. Whilst house builders are rejoicing in light of the Chancellor's speech, renewable energy developers will be disappointed to hear they have been overlooked in favour of shale gas.

With an extra £225 million for affordable housing, a new ‘Help to Buy’ project and an additional £800 million for the existing ‘Build to Rent’ scheme, George Osbourne has finally addressed the shortfall in available housing in the UK.

This financial boost, coupled with the recent changes to planning law, should in turn create a notable increase of jobs in the construction sector and have an added knock-on effect to the wider economy.

The benefits of these proposals are already visible from this morning's markets with shares in Barratt Homes and Taylor Wimpey up 6%.

Our renewable energy clients may however be slightly more sceptical of yesterday’s budget with George Osbourne first exclaiming that the shift to a low carbon economy “should be done in a way that creates jobs rather than costing them” but then going on to segregate fracking as his energy source of choice adding: “Shale gas is part of the future. And we will make it happen.”

Renewable energy technologies such as wind, solar, tidal and hydro did not receive a single mention in yesterday's statement, despite contributing to nearly one third of economic growth in recent years – a serious blow to those who believe the green economy could pull the UK out of recession.

Fortunately, it’s not all doom and gloom for the environment with the Chancellor promising to take forward two new carbon capture and storage plants, taking up to 90% of carbon emissions from burning coal and biomass for storage beneath the North Sea.

No doubt there will be a strong reaction to the budget over the coming days from both sides of the spectrum, there's certainly been divided opinions in the Consense office!

One thing’s for sure, we look forward to seeing how the planning process evolves in light of yesterday's announcements and how we as a company can support the range of applications proposed by our varied range of clients.

The move to mobile and responsive web design

We've all had the same frustrating problem, you visit a website on your smartphone or tablet and the formatting is so distorted that you quickly go elsewhere.

Apple sold over 125 million iPhones last year, Microsoft has just launched a new range of tablet computers and Smart TVs are being billed as “the next big thing”. As the industry changes it is vital that developers embrace these emerging technologies and adapt their online consultations to improve functionality and increase accessibility.

Rather than creating a website for desktop viewing and an additional site for mobile viewing, responsive web design uses fluid grid layouts to automatically adapt the design of a site to the relevant browser and screen size, whether that is a traditional PC screen, a tablet or a smartphone.

An obvious advantage of implementing responsive web design is improving usability, and in the case of community consultation, further broadening your audience and ensuring inclusivity. Also, since responsive web design uses a single URL (separate mobile sites would typically need an additional URL) it makes it easier for users to interact with the site and share content.

In a the new era of ‘bottom up’ planning, where communities are being encouraged to actively shape local plans, good community consultation is a crucial element in producing a robust planning application. Responsive web design not only demonstrates a willingness to engage but also opens up your consultation to a whole new audience – an audience which wouldn't attend a traditional village hall exhibition.

If you make the effort to engage in new and innovative ways you may be surprised by the positive reaction you receive.

Mid-term review: Is UK energy policy blowing hot and cold?

The UK’s coalition government this week reiterated its pledge to become the “greenest government ever” as part of the high-profile mid-term review. They were unsuccessful however in introducing any new policies to strengthen their environmental portfolio leaving green groups slightly disillusioned.
 
The 52-page review, issued by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister at Downing Street on Monday, does however include updates to policies already delivered by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) such as the introduction of the Energy Bill, the Green Investment Bank and the eagerly anticipated Green Deal energy efficiency scheme.
 
The review states: “Climate change is one of the gravest threats we face and we have to confront it. We promised to be the greenest government ever and we will fulfil that commitment.”
 
With £110bn of government investment expected by 2020 this is clearly a sentiment reflected in policy. Sceptics however argue that whilst these intentions seem honourable, policies designed to decarbonise the UKs energy sector are significantly undermined by competing policies to maximise shale gas drilling – a practise endorsed by Conservatives but opposed by Lib Dem MPs.
 
The UK is undoubtedly on the cusp of an energy revolution but whether this will lean towards renewables or shale fracking, we cannot currently predict. One thing’s for sure – we are certainly in for another bumpy two and a half years!
 
To find out more about UK energy and climate change policy please click here.

2012 Highlights

Just a very quick entry to say Merry Christmas to our clients, partners and colleagues from all of us here at Consense HQ; and to wish everyone the very best for 2013. We look forward to working with you in the year ahead!

2012 has been an exciting year for us, here is my pick of just some of our highlights…