Draft Consultation and Engagement Strategy

Section 2: Our Aims for Consultation and Engagement

2.1 In this section, we have set out the aims that will guide our decisions on who, how and when to consult and engage with you during local plan preparation. These aims cover the requirements of national legislation or guidance, accordance with our corporate approach to communication and engagement, matters of good practice and things that are specific to Rutland and the preparation of this local plan. In this strategy, for clarity, engagement refers to the sharing of information and ongoing dialogue, whereas consultation is defined as formal opportunities to comment on published documents at set points of the process.

National legislation, policy and guidance

2.2 The draft National Planning Policy Framework (December 2025) requires that we engage positively with communities and other key stakeholders using a range of methods, so that relevant issues are identified and addressed as early as possible in the plan making process. We will meet at least the minimum standards for consultation and engagement, as set out in The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026. These regulations cover things like the publication of notices about stages of plan preparation, the length of consultation periods and the organisations we must consult.

2.3 We have taken account of the initial government guidance on engaging the public when preparing a local plan, which was published in April 2026. We may have to amend this draft strategy if the guidance is updated before the strategy is finalised. The guidance promotes a ‘digital first’ approach, with options for non-digital engagement retained for those who cannot engage that way.

2.4 We will meet at least the minimum requirements of new regulations about how we should publish data. These are set out in The Planning Data (England) Regulations 2026 . The regulations deal with the format and timing of publishing data.

2.5 We will meet at least the minimum standards for making our online content accessible. These are set out in The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 .

Corporate Guidance

2.6 Rutland County Council has recently approved the publication and implementation of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy 2026-2029 as the Council’s framework for equality, diversity and inclusion. It sets out a clear vision for Rutland and will provide a practical framework for embedding equality, diversity and inclusion across the county.

2.7 The Strategy will support improvements in customer experience, service quality and outcomes by ensuring services are accessible, responsive and informed by evidence, engagement and a better understanding of different needs and circumstances.

2.8 The Strategy aligns with and supports the Council’s Corporate Strategy by delivering effective public services, supporting vulnerable residents, promoting inclusive communities and ensuring that corporate priorities are pursued in a fair, inclusive and evidence-based way, consistent with the Council’s wider values and ambitions.

2.9 The Local Plan Consultation and Engagement Strategy will consider the Council’s EDI Strategy when it is published to ensure this strategy aligns with it and will aim to clearly communicate with residents, key stakeholders and members about the process to develop the Local Plan.

Our approach to communication and engagement

2.10 Our communications and engagement approach aims to ensure that residents, businesses, stakeholders and elected members understand the plan-making process, have meaningful opportunities to participate at every stage, and can clearly see how their views are considered as the plan progresses. The preparation of the Local Plan will also involve ongoing engagement across Council services, elected Members and partner organisations. This helps to ensure that the Plan is informed by local knowledge, service delivery considerations and wider corporate priorities.

Role of Elected Members

2.11 Elected Members play an important role in overseeing the Local Plan and its engagement. Political oversight will be provided through the Local Plan Members Cross-Party Working Group. Officers report to the group at key stages of the Plan’s development, including presenting findings from engagement activities and emerging priorities. The Working Group will help shape the direction of the plan consider the feedback received through consultation.

2.12 This ensures that the Local Plan reflects local priorities and that decisions are informed by community views. Updates and decisions will be reported to members via all member briefings.

Parish Councils

2.13 Parish and town councils play a vital role in community involvement in the planning system. Parish and town councillors can comment on the preparation of policy documents that may affect their area as well as the wider County. Parish and town councils have an important role when identifying priorities in their areas and provide a valuable means of sharing information about the planning process to their local community.

Website

2.14 We use our website to publicise information our documents, and to share how to make comments during consultation periods. The website provides information about the current Local Plan and planning policy documents and is the main form of publicity and consultation we use to reach the community.

2.15 We make draft plans, background documents and response forms available on our website. We also update our website to publicise consultations on draft documents, including details of where and when you can view documents, and how and when to submit your comments. We also publicise the submission on documents to the Secretary of State for examination, examination details, formal adoption of documents and Plans, and other key information.

2.16 When sending our direct notifications via email or postal letter, we normally direct consultees to our website to view the documents and for further information about the consultation. The planning policy web pages can be viewed at: https://www.rutland.gov.uk/planning-building-control/local-plan

Availability of physical consultation documents

2.17 We may make copies of draft plans and other planning policy documents available to view in the Libraries and Customer Service as considered appropriate, to publicise documents and give you the opportunity to inspect physical copies.

2.18 You may also request that a copy of a document is made available to you in physical format. Printing and postage charges may apply.

Mailing List

2.19 Direct notification via email or postal letter will be used to publicise information or documents, and for consultation. We maintain a list of individuals and organisations who wish to be kept up to date on progress with the local plan and other planning policy documents. Where we have an email address for an individual or organisation in our consultation database, we will send notification by email. Postal letters will be sent where no email address is held. To help reduce resource use and improve efficiency, email is our preferred method of contact.

Social Media

2.20 The use of social media provides a cost-effective method of reaching parts of the community that may not respond to traditional methods of consultation. We will use our official Rutland County Council social media channels to raise awareness of consultations, where and when documents can be viewed, and direct attention to our website for further information.

2.21 Please note we will not engage in discussions on social media, nor consider social media comments as consultation responses.

Local press and press releases

2.22 Press releases may be prepared to raise awareness of planning policy documents and highlight opportunities for you to get involved. We may use the local press to publicise planning policy consultations, examinations, the publication of an Inspector’s recommendations, and the formal adoption of planning policy documents.

Posters

2.23 Posters may be prepared to share with the town and parish councils for them to distribute to raise awareness of a consultation, summarising the key points of interest and directing attention to our website to find out more about the consultation.

2.24 In addition to the key engagement methods outlined above, we may also take different approaches to involving the community, businesses, and other stakeholders in the preparation of planning policy documents.

2.25 These may include in-person or online engagement events, meetings, workshops, presentations and the use of interactive engagement software. Where such methods are used, consideration will be given to accessibility and participation.

2.26 Our communications objectives that flow from this are as follows. They will shape what we do during local plan preparation.

We will:

2.27 Underpinning the above are our guiding principles, to:

2.28 To make sure we know how we are doing and if we need to change what we are doing, we will evaluate

2.30By applying the above throughout the plan-making process, we will foster informed participation, strengthen trust in the Local Plan, and ensure that engagement is not simply a statutory requirement but a meaningful conversation about the future of Rutland.

Good practice and specific aims for local plan engagement

2.31We want you to understand what we are doing and to have all the information you need to make an informed contribution to preparing our new local plan, so we will aim to:

• inform and guide interested parties through the new plan making system
• signpost and share information transparently in easy-to-use formats
• share new information as soon as we can
• make getting involved as easy as possible for everyone
• make use of existing communication channels wherever possible, e.g. Parish Forum, RCC social media accounts
• ensure that consultations are accessible to all
• be clear about what is and is not included in a consultation, and what you can expect to happen afterwards, and when.
• ensure documents are easy to read, explaining technical terms where necessary
• make sure people who get involved can see how their feedback has been considered.
• avoid sharing or publishing consultation response content which we consider to contain inappropriate, offensive or discriminatory content.
• be mindful of the potential for artificially (bot) generated responses, or the use of multiple e-mail addresses to absorb a disproportionate amount of staff resource and skew statistics about response rates for specific issues/sites.
• establish clear processes to maximise responses from a diverse range of stakeholders, using both digital-first and traditional methods
• seek feedback from key decision makers and stakeholders when developing the strategy
• use our limited resources effectively by targeting consultation and engagement activity where it is most likely to improve understanding of, and participation in, plan preparation
• retain flexibility in our proposals. This is so that we can fine tune the targeting of our consultation and engagement resources on the key issues and locations that emerge through the plan making process and so we can accommodate any new national guidance in our approach.

Produce our documents in a clear, concise and understandable manner and, where proportionate and appropriate, publish non-technical summaries of key evidence documents, particularly those prepared or commissioned specifically to support the new Local Plan.