Our role

Cascade were appointed by Greenwich Millennium Village Limited (GMLV), a joint venture between Countryside Properties and Taylor Wimpey Central London, to provide strategic advice and community consultation for the Reserved Matters planning applications for the Greenwich Millennium Village (GMV) Masterplan. This included managing relationships with residents who had occupied the first phases of the development, as well as well-organised local interest groups focused on ecology and sustainability.

Impact

Cascade devised an engagement strategy to consult with local stakeholders on the proposals for the continued development of the GMV Masterplan. The key challenge was in facilitating constructive dialogue with both the currently settling and long established residents within the completed phases of GMV. There had previously been minimal engagement with the new community, who had become increasingly hostile to ongoing development activity, due to their lack of awareness of the wider masterplan.

The implemented strategy ensured clear separation between estate/asset management issues, construction and the ongoing delivery of the site including planning matters. This included establishing communication channels to manage engagement around each issue, setting out the lead person within the team and importantly, how information will be shared across the teams managing the interface with residents.

Each planning application attracted attention from residents and a major challenge from a political and communications perspective was the phasing of the masterplan. For example, the earlier phases delivered a high proportion of affordable housing ahead of the overall site wide percentage. One of the key subsequent phases sought the delivery of a taller building which was 100% private housing. Cascade were proactive in effectively managing the political messaging around the positive impact of the early affordable housing delivery.

Cascade successfully supported 3 planning applications, and established formal communication channels for GMV residents which continue to be implemented by the development team.