As politicians, journalists and lobbyists buzz about the year of electioneering ahead, many in the infrastructure and planning sector will be looking warily at the increased risk of politics creating delay and uncertainty around their projects.
Policies and promises will be bandied around, our politicians will be focused on immediate survival (rather than long-term planning) and small local issues could quickly become national talking points.
It’s also a year where we are likely to see more pre-application and examination activities for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects than ever before, putting resource pressures on statutory parties and risking consultation fatigue and the continued rise in local interest groups within communities.
And let’s not forget those DCOs due to be determined before the general election, will they be kicked into the long grass or approved to show progress? What we can be fairly sure on, is no Minister is going to approve controversial applications in a marginal seat held by the government in an election year.
How project teams navigate this environment will be a challenge. I suggest with some trusty risk and mitigation planning, projects can maintain momentum and continue to deliver throughout the year. Below are five bits of advice for navigating this tricky time.
- Keep your influence where it matters
Although the polls suggest a Labour win, the General Election result is far from certain. Retaining a finger on the pulse of what the main parties are all saying about infrastructure and planning in manifestos and the shifting fabric of influencers is important to the success of any DCO over the next year. As is seeking advocacy from MPs and candidates who will engage Ministers and Shadow Ministers.
Ongoing insight from a specialist public affairs team to work alongside planning communications experts will enhance your team and project’s success. At Cavendish our Government Relations team is regularly engaging with Conservative and Labour influencers to understand the likely future priorities and personalities of government, and the impact on DCO decision-making.
- Review your programme
No NSIP project team is complete without its integrated project programme. Making sure this considers local elections in May and the General Election (most likely Autumn, but a moveable feast) is important. Whilst there is no hard and fast rule for projects to stop public activities during pre-election periods, a conversation should be had about the risks.
It is likely that political campaign teams will be looking for issues in their local areas to draw on for election campaigns. Teams should consider if your project will make their list. If so, is it worth moving activities, such as a consultation and SoCC negotiations, outside these highly political pre-election periods?
- Consider local authorities
With many NSIPs concentrated in a small collection of local authorities there is already substantial pressure on resource. Many councils are actively responding to this and growing their infrastructure development teams.
Elections put extra requirements on authorities, with many staff reassigned to polling stations and counting ballots. With two elections in the year, this puts added stress on an already stretched service. And of course, in the pre-election period, authorities often put pretty much anything policy-related or potentially controversial on hold.
Project teams should be mindful of this context and where possible allow officers to prepare for incoming work by providing schedules of meetings to attend, documents to review and requests for consultation feedback.
Officers will also be working with elected members in a more highly charged political environment than usual. Seek advice on emerging issues and the best ways to engage councils and candidates during this time.
- Understand and prepare
Understanding the local political make-up is essential for all project planning, but this year a deeper assessment is needed. Are there local elections in your host and neighbouring authorities? Are these likely to bring a change in the political make-up of the council? Who are the candidates for MP? How will candidates view your project? How will the constituency boundary changes impact your project?
Once you understand the political environment you should consider appropriate actions. For example, reaching out to candidates to provide project information or a briefing.
- Invest in your channels
Monitoring will be key this year. From the micro-local to national, project teams should keep an eye on emerging issues which may influence stakeholders and impact projects. Use social media listening and media monitoring tools and review council agendas. It is important to share this insight across the project team to ensure all stakeholder-facing team members have a holistic view of the external concerns and opportunities.
Understanding public sentiment towards issues such as net zero and specific types of energy and infrastructure provides extra insight and something political campaigns will pay heed to. Cavendish undertakes regular polling and most recently released a report into MPs’ and the public’s perceptions of Net Zero policies.
The Development Consent Order process was created, in part, to remove politics from the planning process for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. Unfortunately, this is not the case. For years we have seen projects delayed by interferences and indecision from politicians. This year we will undoubtedly see more of this. All projects should be mindful of this and work with their communications professionals to understand, plan and prepare for what will be an interesting year in politics and planning.
Cavendish will be hosting a webinar on politics in DCOs in spring. Stay up to date by following us on LinkedIn.
