Challenge
Associated British Ports (ABP) is seeking to transform Port Talbot into a key hub for floating offshore wind (FLOW) and green energy development. However, the project faced a range of strategic and communications challenges:
- no clear consenting pathway, requiring a tailored and collaborative approach to planning
- community sensitivity, due to the historical closure of coal-fired industries and concerns around future economic identity
- a complex technical narrative, with numerous elements that needed to be communicated as a coherent story
- a diverse audience landscape, including the general public, local politicians, supply chains, media and technical stakeholders.
Approach
Copper provided end-to-end communications support, from strategic counsel to public engagement, focused on securing early stakeholder buy-in and preparing the ground for future planning.
Key activities included:
- leading strategic stakeholder engagement to align partners and develop a path forward for the consenting process
- designing and delivering tailored messaging, informed by local focus groups, to frame the project’s long-term benefits for different audiences
- running early-stage public drop-in events to build trust and transparency
- proactive media management to frame the narrative positively and emphasise that the proposals were being developed with, not for, the local community.
Value delivered
- Helped position ABP’s proposals as a visionary, community-informed energy transition project
- Secured early engagement and feedback from local communities to shape the evolving master plan
- Built a foundation of trust and credibility, key for future consultation and formal consenting
- Enabled ABP to progress confidently with its master planning and stakeholder strategy, supported by public and political awareness
Tailored messaging
We created communications that were committed to transparency and helped encourage community input.
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