Public engagement support for a mini-Holland programme

The London Borough of Waltham Forest was successful in its bid to the Mayor of London for £30m funding to set up a ‘mini-Holland’ programme. This comprised a range of walking and cycling improvements across the borough. The introduction of the schemes required a comprehensive programme of public engagement and consultation throughout the design phases of the schemes.

Steer was appointed to facilitate over 20 co-design workshops across the borough. Our expert team advised on the structure and content of the workshops and provided independent facilitation at the public workshops. Our facilitators ensured the sessions stuck to time and agenda while enabling all those who wanted to contribute the opportunity to make their views known.

The programme introduced a range of schemes and generated a high level of interest among local residents, many of whom were keen to take part in the co-design workshops. This resulted in vocal contributions from those supportive and unsupportive of the schemes.

The public workshops received positive feedback from members of the public and local councillors. The sessions were praised for enabling the public to make a meaningful contribution early in the scheme design process. This helped the client team to develop designs that were acceptable to local communities by the time the schemes reached the formal public consultation stage.