A new era of community consultation

The consultation and results

Homes for Britain used Give My View to get an understanding about the public’s attitude towards development and the extent and type of public consultation that accompanies it. To achieve this, Give My View worked closely with Homes for Britain and long-term partner Iceni Projects to create a set of questions that could gather the most insightful data. Using Give My View, we then carefully selected the appropriate question types to create an engaging and seamless survey experience, incorporating visual elements wherever possible. 

To encourage participation from the local community, we placed ads on both Facebook and Instagram, using familiar imagery, such as local landmarks, to give context to the survey and encourage an inviting and relevant sentiment. Facebook and Instagram were chosen because of their ability to efficiently reach large audiences, allowing us to connect with more people across the targeted areas. 

As responses started to come in, Give My View was able to provide real-time insights about the trends that were starting to emerge across the various targeted areas. Below, we’ll look further into the framework of the survey, including a review of the areas targeted, and the results of each question in the survey. 

The target areas

Give My View targeted people located in the areas of Alperton, Milton Keynes North, and Chipping Barnet for this research. These areas were chosen as they had each recently elected Labour MPs, all on relatively small swings or slim majorities:

• Alperton is in the Brent West constituency, which in 2024 returned Barry Gardiner for Labour on a 3,793 vote majority and a 41.7% vote share (11.6% swing against Labour vs the notional 2019 results). 
• Milton Keynes North has been held by Labour since 2019 and returned Chris Curtis for Labour on a majority of 5,430 and a 42% vote share (3.5% swing to Labour). Reform UK came in third place, taking 6,164 votes and 13.4% of the vote share.
• Chipping Barnet has been held by a Conservative since its creation for the February 1974 general election. In 2024 the constituency changed hands for the first time as it returned Dan Tomlinson for Labour with a majority of 2,914 and a 42.1% vote share. A 10.8% swing against the Conservatives resulted in only a 2.1% swing to Labour, with Reform UK and the Green Party picking up 3,986 (7.8%) and 3,442 (6.8%) votes respectively. 

Among the objectives in selecting these areas was to demonstrate that the up-tick in housing delivery, which is anticipated following the new government’s planning reforms, will not necessarily be met with universal objection from those already living in areas of growth. 

The responses

Overall, the Give My View survey received 9,165 votes from 1,369 people over seven days which means that we collected statistically relevant sample sizes for each location. In addition to voting, these visitors provided 140 pieces of written feedback which provides more detailed opinions, in their own words, about these issues. 

Below, we have analysed the feedback that we received and created graphs for each question to illustrate the sentiments of the communities that were targeted. 

Question 1: What do you think are the biggest local issues in [your area]?

We asked this question in the form of a multiple choice. Each area had slight differences in what they believed to be the biggest local issue. According to the results, stress on healthcare services ranked top, and the need for an affordable housing market came in second for most areas. This shows us that among all of the issues in their areas, housing affordability is one of the top concerns. 

Question 2: How easy do you think it is for young people to buy their first home locally?

This question was asked in the form of a slider, allowing respondents to select an emoji that resonated with how they feel about the ease of getting on the property ladder. Splitting this data out into groups of 10, we can clearly see that a high majority of respondents selected a value in the lowest group - the emoji that equates to this range of figures is an angry face.

Question 3: Do you think there is a need for more homes or fewer homes in [your area]?

This question was asked in the form of a three option choice, where the respondents could only select one. 

The question asked respondents to think about the housing in their local area and asked them about the level of new housing that was needed, the options were: 

• We need fewer homes
• We are fine as we are
• We need more homes

Overall, we saw that the communities were open to more homes. The exception to this is the results received in Alperton, where the community seemed to prefer a slow-down in housing delivery. When we interrogate the data a little further, and examine some other sources of data, we can see some of the possible reasons behind this. 

According to the GLA’s London Planning Data Store, since 2020, the London Borough of Brent has approved 15,096 new homes. 13,368 of these have been flats or maisonettes, with just 23 new terraced or semi-detached homes approved in the period. 

According to the ONS, between the last two censuses (held in 2011 and 2021), the population of Brent increased by 9.2%, from around 311,200 in 2011 to around 339,800 in 2021. The population here increased by a greater percentage than the overall population of London (7.7%), and by a greater percentage than the overall population of England (up 6.6% since the 2011 Census). This significant change, not only to the number of people but also the type of housing in the area, is reflected in the results that we received from this area.

The scale of recent development in the Alperton area, along with an influx of new flats into an area, which had been traditionally more suburban, could have influenced the local community’s receptiveness to new development. 

Using our demographic segmentation of the results we were able to drill down into this local opposition to find out if it was more focussed in any particular area. What we were able to identify is that respondents who have lived in the area for longer and those that own their own home are much more likely to oppose new development. Conversely, those who have lived in the area for less than five years, and those who have not yet had the opportunity to buy property in the area are more receptive to new homes being built. 

Question 4: What mix of housing do you think [your area] needs?

With this question, we wanted to provide an opportunity for respondents to distribute a percentage of the housing types they felt should be prioritised in their area. Respondents were given three options: “private rent”, “social housing”, and “homes to buy”. 

Through the results, we can see that “homes to buy” overall came out as the highest priority, followed by “social housing”. Social housing was very important to the people of Milton Keynes North, who gave it the highest percentage of the three options. With the desire for more homes to buy, this could indicate that the availability of homes to purchase is currently unsatisfactory and there is a need for an increase. In all locations, new homes available for private rent was the least popular outcome. 

Question 5: How likely are you to contact the council about a development in your area?

We positioned this question as a slider, where the higher values equate to higher likelihood that this person would contact the council. Combining this data with the perception of housing need in the area allows us to determine that the people who are least likely to have their thoughts shared with the council are actually the people who are more receptive to change, meaning that naturally there is a skew towards negativity towards developments and we need to enforce a way to hear from all sides.

As we saw in a previous graph, ‘We need more houses’ was overall the highest voted option, but here we see that they sit as the least likely to contact the council. This means that the voices of the people who are open to change are not being heard when planning decisions are being made. 

Question 6: Which ways of engaging would you prefer to use during a local consultation?

This question was asked as multiple choice, giving a range of consultation methods including:

• Digital or mobile surveying 
• Sign a petition 
• Submit a letter to council 
• Attend and in-person event 
• Call the council 
• Door to door conversation

There is a common misconception that digital surveying excludes the older generation, whereas the data from our survey challenges this notion. In all ages, with the exception of 75+, the preference is digital or mobile surveying. 

The 75+ age category prefer to sign a petition, however their second top preference is digital or mobile surveying. This goes to show that digital surveys are an important tool in maximising engagement in a way that these communities prefer. There will always be a place for a range of these methods within a communications strategy, but including digital can be extremely powerful. 

Question 7: Should it be a council requirement to hear the views of the wider community?

This question was available to answer with three options: yes, no, and not sure.

We believe the data speaks for itself. An overwhelming majority agree that the council should take more ownership to speak to the wider community, rather than relying on the outdated strategies that are being widely used across the country.

Looking forward

It is clear from our research that communities are, on the whole, open to change. They see the need for new housing and the various benefits that new housing can deliver. However, when decisions are made, the only voices that get heard are those who are motivated to show up and object to development. 

Analysing this data and working closely with the team at Homes for Britain has allowed us to paint a much clearer picture of the complexities of the communities we speak to. Using a range of consultation methods, including geographically and demographically targeted online consultation solutions like Give My View, allow a wider and typically under-represented section of the community to have a say about policy and developments, allowing a more complete picture of local opinion to be painted. 

It’s said that once you’re aware of an issue, failure to address that issue is as effective as an endorsement of it. What are you going to do to get a more diverse set of opinions involved in your scheme?

Request a demo below to see Give My View in action, and check out these Homes for Britain reports, Get Britain Building and Inclusive Planning, to learn more about the recommendations on how to Get Britain Building and how to ensure your planning and consultations are inclusive.