In our blog, You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink, we reflected on the community engagement process for major planning applications, what more and better engagement promised under the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 might look like, and what some of the challenges and potential solutions to undertaking meaningful community engagement are. Last month, we attended the first public consultation event for the proposed development of Prestwick Spaceport, with that giving us food for thought on what good public consultation can deliver other than in just planning terms.
Whilst recognising the statutory requirements of the process, and the focus of that on planning outcomes, with the ultimate aim being to improve the quality of the proposal for which planning permission will be sought, pre-application consultation can also have wider benefits. We know, for example, that some developers view the pre-application consultation process as a public relations exercise, including on some occasions using it as an opportunity to effectively market their proposed properties. But, where a major employment generating development is proposed, there is scope for pre-application consultation to deliver more still, and the Prestwick Spaceport consultation event is a great example of that.
The Spaceport is part of the £80m Aerospace and Space Programme funded by the Ayrshire Growth Deal – a partnership between both the Scottish and UK Governments, and East, North and South Ayrshire Councils, to transform the Ayrshire economy. It is estimated that around 4,000 new jobs will be created as part of this by attracting new space sector manufacturing and supply chain capability to the region, with the Spaceport being a catalyst for that. At the same time, it is also hoped that the Spaceport will help nurture and develop STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and other skills needed to keep Scotland at the forefront of the growing global space industry for years to come.
That in itself was a key draw for people attending the consultation event and, whilst there was a lot of interest in the physical development aspects of the proposal (in terms of, for example, where it is to be located, what particular elements of it will look like, and what the environmental impacts might be), many were also interested in what it might mean for them and their community in economic and employment terms. For example:
– local business representatives were interested in how they might support the development and the opportunities for developing their own businesses as a result;
– individuals of all ages, and at all stages in their careers, were clearly excited by this emerging sector (who isn’t excited by space?!) and the potential employment prospects it could offer them, with some even seeking to speak to those who might have jobs to offer (and the project team being well represented to assist in that respect);
– there was also interest from local training organisations in exploring how they could work with the Spaceport operator and launch service provider to ensure that the skills required for future operations would be available locally; and
– children were inspired by the prospect of the Spaceport being located in their local area, with the interest in STEM subjects that this has the potential to generate likely to be of benefit both to those children in their own future careers, and to the space sector in Scotland as a whole.
What then became clear to us from the event was that, even before a planning application for the Spaceport has been submitted, the pre-application consultation process has enabled it to deliver some of its anticipated benefits in terms of developing interest in the space sector and making meaningful connections for the future delivery of skills and employment opportunities. At the same time, this serves as a reminder of the important relationship between land use planning and economic development, with the former having the potential to be a powerful facilitator for the latter, particularly when there is positive engagement with key stakeholders and the local community at an early stage in the process to ensure that potential economic and social benefits are maximised. So, to paraphrase Mother Theresa, “planning alone cannot change the world, but it can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples”, with this being something we should all be mindful of when preparing development proposals and engaging with communities on those.
Thanks for reading!
Pippa and Maggie
