Challenge
Copper was appointed to rapidly deliver compliant consultation and stakeholder engagement for the Norfolk Boreas Offshore Wind Farm, a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. The scale of the project – coupled with widespread development fatigue in Norfolk – resulted in significant opposition, particularly around onshore infrastructure and the cable corridor. Public trust was low, and a robust approach was needed to de-risk the planning process.
Approach
Copper’s strategy focused on building trust and demonstrating transparency to earn local support.
Key actions included:
- comprehensive stakeholder mapping and insight gathering to tailor engagement
- delivery of 31 community events and 200+ stakeholder meetings, including all affected landowners
- creation of accessible, easy-to-understand consultation materials to explain project benefits and promote input
- development of the statement of community consultation (SoCC) and a compliant consultation report as part of the Development Consent Order (DCO) submission.
This audience-led approach enabled for open dialogue and early issue resolution.
Value delivered
- Enabled delivery of “gold standard” statutory consultation within tight timeframes
- Captured meaningful, actionable feedback that strengthened the DCO application
- Supported a compelling regional and national narrative around project benefits
- Contributed to the successful consent of the Norfolk Boreas project in December 2021
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