We believe in working with residents to shape their neighbourhoods, but we also recognise a fundamental tension: people often arrive with the understandable sense that decisions have already been made for them, rather than with them. So how do we carry designs forward with the communities we serve? We have five principles.

In most cases, a site capacity study - or several over time - has already established the broad viability of a site before any public conversation begins. It is better to be honest about this than to obscure it. Transparency at this stage builds trust: has retrofit been considered, has infill been tested, why is demolition proposed, who are the new homes for, and what will this mean for existing residents?

Once the fundamentals are established, the process opens into a shared phase of learning. This is where local knowledge, lived experience and priorities are gathered. Engagement should have a clear narrative arc with defined milestones – steer clear of open-ended consultation without direction or closure.

Design and engagement must run in parallel. We share early thinking, review it together, refine, and repeat. This is not a retrospective “presentation of design” but an active loop where feedback genuinely informs outcomes.

Crucially, we must be explicit about what has changed and why, and equally what has not changed and why not. In doing so, we mediate between competing priorities, advocate for quieter voices, and help make trade-offs legible.

This process should remain agile, actively seeking out perspectives that are missing and going to those voices directly.

Done well, this leads to better places: communities feel they have genuinely influenced their neighbourhoods, and projects benefit from the insight of those with local experience and tacit knowledge.