McDermott Homes – Hutton Residential Development Consultation

The Brief

Limitless PR was appointed by McDermott Homes to design and deliver a comprehensive public consultation and stakeholder engagement programme to support proposals for a new residential development comprising 159 homes in Hutton, Lancashire.

The objective was to ensure residents, community groups, elected members and key stakeholders had the opportunity to understand the proposals, provide feedback, and contribute to the planning process. The engagement programme also sought to identify local concerns and help the project team demonstrate a transparent and collaborative approach to development.

Campaign

Limitless developed and implemented a stakeholder engagement strategy that combined direct community consultation, stakeholder liaison, and proactive communications activity. The programme included managing and promoting public consultation activities, creating supporting consultation materials, developing online resources, managing media relations, and engaging with local stakeholders throughout the pre-application and planning stages.

Alongside engaging residents, the team coordinated communications with local businesses and organisations, community representatives, and elected members, ensuring stakeholders were kept informed of project developments and had clear channels to raise questions and concerns.

The team collated feedback from the consultation process and reported it back to the project team, helping shape the proposals and showing how community views were considered throughout the planning process.

Results

The consultation outcomes informed discussions with key consultees and provided a clear evidence base of community engagement to support the planning application.

By creating opportunities to communicate with the development team at McDermott, Limitless helped facilitate informed discussion around one of the area’s most significant proposed residential developments, supporting McDermott Homes’ objective of delivering new homes in line with local housing needs. The scheme has since been given approval.

Zach Brierly, Land Manager at McDermott Homes, said: “The team at Limitless delivered a professional and well-organised consultation programme that enabled us to engage constructively with local residents, businesses and key stakeholders. Their team managed the process effectively, helping us communicate the benefits of the development, understand community concerns and demonstrate a transparent approach throughout the planning process.”