Breaking Down Barriers: The Power of Engagement for the Future of New Towns

What role should community engagement play in developing and planning New Towns?

That was the question posed by the House of Lords Built Environment Committee, when it launched an inquiry into how the UK can successfully deliver its next generation of New Towns.

As an award-winning engagement agency, Deetu was uniquely positioned to respond – drawing on our expertise in delivering consultation and engagement exercises that reach far beyond the usual voices. Subsequently published by the House of Lords, our evidence highlights how inclusive, accessible engagement can transform planning outcomes.

Why engagement matters

For too long, public consultations have been seen by communities as tick-box exercises—complex, time-consuming, and unintentionally designed to encourage opposition – which leads to a widespread lack of trust in the process.

At Deetu, we conduct meaningful and inclusive engagement, that reaches beyond those hyper-engaged, collecting high-quality data to create better informed plans and improved outcomes for our clients.

Common Barriers to Engagement

Through extensive analysis and research across a broad spectrum of consultations, we have identified three key barriers that prevent broader participation:

• Language Complexity – Planning and development language is highlight technical, often requiring specialist knowledge and qualifications to understand.
• Material Comprehension – A significant portion of the population, especially minority groups, read at a primary school educated equivalent, making traditional materials inaccessible to many.
• Misinformation Spread – In the absence of accessible information, vocal opponents and anti-development groups can dominate the narrative, distorting facts, and manipulating public sentiment.

Our Approach: Making Engagement Inclusive

To address these barriers, Deetu has pioneered an inclusive approach, that focuses on increasing participation and encouraging feedback:

• Plain Language – We use everyday language that ensures clarity for all community members, including non-native speakers. For technical jargon that can’t be removed? We’ve developed a Jargon-Busting tool for that.
• Engaging Tools – We use simple, engaging formats – such as interactive maps and visuals, infographics, audio-narration and video integration – to easily explain plans.
• Carefully Crafted Questions – We design questions to uncover not just opinions, but actionable insights that shape and evidence design decisions.

Examples of some accessible Deetu engagement tools

Our methods reach a broader audience, far beyond those who normally engage with the planning process, gathering feedback from groups who have historically been excluded. Consequently, our clients have more, richer feedback to use in designing their developments, helping to create better places.

Real Results, Real Impact

Don’t just take our word for it – the results speak for themselves:

• In Milton Keynes, our consultation received 195 times more feedback than a similar exercise in the authority, conducted the previous year by a different agency.
• In Oxfordshire, insights gathered through our engagement directly influenced the design of new travel links, benefitting surrounding villages and demonstrating that even those opposed to development can help improve its outcomes.

To learn more about our approach and explore additional case studies, read our full submission to the House of Lords.

Let’s break the cycle

At Deetu, we’ve proven that it is possible to break the cycle of inaccessible consultation and noisy opposition voices – creating meaningful conversations that shape better places.

Ready to break the cycle in your next project? Get in touch with our team – we’d love to help.