Consultation without a compass: Five questions to guide your approach. 

By Olivia White – Director

The Planning Infrastructure Act, passed in December 2025, promises to transform the landscape of community engagement for nationally significant infrastructure projects – removing statutory consultation requirements and ushering in a new era of proportional, purposeful engagement. Yet, as we await the regulations that will bring these changes into force (expected Spring this year), developers face a period of transition.

For those preparing now to enter statutory consultation, our advice is simple: continue to follow the current regime. The rules remain unchanged for now, and compliance is paramount. But keep your eyes on the horizon – change is coming, and with it, fresh opportunities to engage communities freed from the rigid box ticking regime based on evidence rather than effectiveness.

For those in earlier stages of consultation planning, the new regime will offer greater flexibility. The removal of rigid statutory requirements means consultations can be tailored to the scale, context, and risk profile of each project and be more effective for local communities, stakeholders and the developer.

Here are five key questions to guide your approach:

1. What is the local context?

Every community is different. Understanding the local landscape – its priorities, sensitivities, and history – is the foundation of effective planning. Start by asking: Where are the communities most directly impacted? What’s the population density? What are the prevailing concerns?

For example, an isolated village of a few hundred residents will require a more personalised, face-to-face approach, building trust through direct conversations and tailored materials. In contrast, engaging with tens of thousands of residents in a nearby urban area calls for broader digital engagement and scalable feedback channels. Planning begins with context – by recognising these differences, you ensure consultation is both proportional and genuinely meaningful.

2. What’s the political landscape?

Equally important is politics. While the original intent of the Planning Act was to depoliticise the process, the reality is quite different. With the removal of legal engagement requirements, political dynamics will play an even greater role in the NSIP pre-application process. Local councillors and MPs may not hold the final decision-making power, but their expectations around consultation and engagement are likely to be clear and public. With the removal of the Statement of Community Consultation, there is no set pathway for negotiations over what the council considers a reasonable consultation, and so this, if left as a vacuum, could cause issues.

Elected representatives support or opposition can shape public perception, influence outcomes, and have a lasting impact on both the project and the developer’s reputation. In this landscape, understanding and engaging with the political context is not optional – it’s essential.

3. What’s the scale of your project?

Let the size and complexity of your scheme shape your approach. A new power station in a highly industrialised area will likely need lighter touch community engagement than a long linear electricity transmission scheme. Consider the environmental impacts especially those which are of most interest to the public – noise, traffic and visual impact – as well as the cumulative impacts with other nearby projects.

4. What’s your design process?

Some projects and technologies naturally offer broader opportunities to shape outcomes than others. In some cases, there is genuine scope to influence thinking early – such as exploring routing options at the formative stages of design. In others, the greatest impact emerges later, for example when shaping environmental mitigation as proposals evolve.

With good design a clear expectation of the planning process, whatever the technology, there are opportunities to work with stakeholders and the communities to consider design, whether this be in the development of design principles, master planning or refinement.

It’s worth keeping in mind the Gunning Principle that ‘consultation must take place when proposals are still at a formative stage’.

Developers should consider their design timetable and factor in consultation at the most appropriate time when influence is truly possible.

5. What’s the right balance of risk, programme and innovation for this project?

Flexibility is liberating, but responsibility remains. Some developers will be keen to try new things and drive best practice. For others, there may be factors which reduce their risk profile, for example customer expectation, governance or internal processes. As an industry though it is our responsibility to follow the intention of the PIA to speed up pre-application and provide opportunities for engagement and consultation which better meet the needs of communities.

The Planning Infrastructure Act is more than a legislative change – it’s a call to raise our game. By asking the right questions and embracing a creative approach, we can deliver consultations that are compelling and accessible for the public, and that provide better results for projects.

At Cavendish, we’re ready to help you seize this moment and set a new standard for engagement. If you’d like to discuss how these changes affect your project, our Infrastructure & Energy team is here to help.